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"It's gone berserk!" ~ Diamonds are Forever appreciation

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  • TorgeirtrapTorgeirtrap
    Posts: 17,849
    The Spyhards podcast most recent episode is an interview with Lana Wood.

  • slide_99slide_99 USA
    edited January 22 Posts: 725
    Of the classic Bonds it was always the one that I watched the least, but upon a rewatch, it clicked with me, much to my surprise. My old criticisms still hold- Connery should've gotten into character more and Blofeld should've been recast entirely so that the two leads ground the movie better instead of going full camp- but if you take it as Bond wandering into a comedy it's pretty enjoyable. The supporting cast is colorful, the dialogue is witty, and the intrigue with the diamonds is genuinely engaging. Some of the plot points are vague (how did Bond switch the diamonds when Tiffany was with him the whole time?), but overall it's a fun romp despite the flaws.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 16,850
    I think Connery's great in this, it's a real star performance. But it feels like they had a load of ideas for scenes for a Bond film and just kind of lumped them all together, it's all over the shop. And although there's memorable stuff in there, I'm not sure there's any set piece which is actually handled well: the Mustang car chase is okayish, but the moon buggy one has no structure to it, you've got stuff like the Bambi and Thumper fight which is just illogical (how does he actually beat them? He just does), and the oil rig climax is just rubbish... I dunno, it's not the worst film ever but it's not a great one.

    One thing I have wondered though is if it's a bit of a precursor to the Smokey & the Bandit style of comedy blockbusters you got in the 70s- did it start here?
  • thedovethedove hiding in the Greek underworld
    Posts: 5,564
    Connery sparkles...see what I did there. There is a light in his eye and he seems to relish the lightness of the script and action. If he approached it with a harder edge he would stick out. I love the scenes with Professor Metz and the radiation shields.

    The climax is a huge letdown. Whoever decided to use an oil rig? Helicopters buzzing around with no real stakes. Better to have men scale up and have some hand to hand combat like YOLT. Tiffany loses her way as a character about halfway through the film. I love Jill St. John in the role. The script lets her down.

    The fight in the elevator is another highlight and done in a grounded way.

    DAF is my guilty pleasure Bond. It wouldn't likely crack my top ten, or even top 15 but it's a fun film to watch when I want something light and entertaining.
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