Man With The Golden Gun
As the James Bond series got into its ninth entry, long gone was the Blofeld / SPECTRE continuing storyline, as each entry now became a āstand-aloneā story, and greatly improved in the process. Roger Moore (in his second outing) continues to show the coolness and cockiness that made his Bond distinctive (particularly when throwing an obnoxious little boy out of a boat into the water), plus he displays some Connery-style ruthlessness when he slaps a female operative around for some information. This film in many ways is unfairly belittled by Bond fans, when actually it features the most underrated villain in the series in the title character, Francisco Scaramanga. As played by the legendary Christopher Lee, Scaramanga is unique in the fact that he actually greatly looks up to and admires Bond as an assassin, all the while running his own business as a killer for hire who charges a million dollars for a shot from his golden gun. This can be seen by the fact that at one point he suggests that he and Bond simply go their separate ways, and later when Bond tracks him to his island lair, greets 007 with genuine respect and reverence and seems happy to hang out with him prior to their fateful showdown, which in turn establishes Scaramanga as a gentleman who believes that the best man should actually win (unlike previous baddies, who hated Bond and wanted him dead, yet somehow were still cordial to him face to face). Helping him out is the late midget actor Herve Villechaize as Nick Nack, a cool character in the fact that he doesnāt seem to care if someone takes out his boss, since he inherits everything (which is why he invites other hitmen to the island to try their luck while Scaramanga considers it ātrainingā). What is dumb is that when others come to the island to square off against Scaramanga, instead of a Most Dangerous Game type scenario, the two instead play cat and mouse in a VERY corny āfunhouseā style setting, with optical tricks and wax dummies popping up that suggest that the title character might take a dose or two of acid prior to these jaunts. As for the Bond girls, we get Maud Adams as Scaramangaās go-between and plaything, beautiful yet hating her boss for what he does, and Britt Ekland (one of the main reasons Peter Sellers was a manās man) as easily the STUPIDEST Bond Girl on record, a fellow agent partnered with 007 whose idiocy makes her more trouble than sheās worth. Much of the filmās locations take place in Southeast Asia, namely China and Thailand, and that also results in the viewer getting a heavy dose of martial arts action as a result, particularly an Enter The Dragon-style sequence of Bond fighting for his life within a martial arts dojo. Unfortunately, director Guy Hamilton (in his last go at a Bond movie) insists on bringing back Clifton James for an unwelcome return of the Sheriff J.W. Pepper character, apparently āon vacationā in the area (which doesnāt stop him from hurling racial epithets at the Asian locals), and actually teaming up with Bond (complete with pained look on Mooreās face) for an extended car chase sequence as well, which leads to Scaramanga actually putting wings on his car and flying off as in an airplane. Luckily, the scenery and pacing are right on track, and Scaramangaās āmaster planā, which involves him seizing the secret of perfect solar energy and planning on franchising it and selling it to the highest bidder, in some ways seems perfectly reasonable. Overall, an underrated entry with only a few flaws that keep it from greatnessā¦
7/10