Guy Hamilton

Bond takes on a more personal assignment. He's being challenged by Scaramanga, a man who kills for pleasure. Locating him won't be so easy, but it doesn't take too long before Bond has a good lead on where he can find him. His journey will eventually take him to Thailand, where he also has to take Hai Fat, a wealthy businessman.

Moore looks a lot more comfortable playing Bond, Hamilton directs as if it was the last Bond he'd ever make (and it was), the villains are fun, the different locations keep it interesting and the camp levels spike through the roof. Even the relatively long runtime wasn't a bother, with so much going on. Good fun.

Bond is sent to America to deal with a drug baron. He is kidnapped by a black gang who have roots in voodoo culture, which makes for a rather ominous start to the film. Once the back and forth between Bond and his enemies starts though it turns pretty goofy, which was quite the relief.

The start isn't all that great and Moore needed a little time to settle into his character, but the action scenes are some of the best in the series (the boat chase in particular stands out) and the second half is plenty cheesy (Bond jumping on crocodiles to cross a pond). The US setting isn't that exciting and the Bond girls are rather plain, but in the end this was pretty amusing.

Goldfinger brings back the underground bases, the lasers and the goofy gadgets. Then there's the larger than life characters like Goldfinger and Pussy Galore, who leave very little to the imagination. Sure enough this is a suave spy flick, but please don't take it too seriously.

The effects are pretty crud though and the action isn't very dynamic. In a way it adds to the charm, on the other hand it takes away some of the fun. Performances are decent though and the tone is pleasantly light. Goldfinger is decent and amusing enough to keep exploring the Bond franchise, but great cinema this is not.

With Bond's archenemy gone, he is assigned a simpler job. Bond has to take care of a shipment of diamonds, which he needs to keep out of the hands of notorious smugglers. With a little help from his crew (and his token female companions), Bond travels around the world to keep the diamonds safe.

Maybe it's me who's getting a little tired of the formula, maybe the actors and directors felt like they'd all done it before. Amsterdam and Las Vegas aren't the most inspiring locations either. There's a little fun to be had here, but overall I think a film like Goldfinger was a lot kookier and crazier. Let's hope Moore can reinvigorate the series.

It's hard to explain how bad Fred Ward is in this film, but it comes very close to Tommy Wiseau levels of shame. It's also crazy they managed to stretch a simple flick like this beyond the two-hour mark, as to make matters worse, the action scenes aren't even any good. Unless you love bad cinema, it's probably best to just skip this one.