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You phrased this very well, @007HallY. And you're right. Just yesterday, when I was watching TB, my mind started thinking about the plot, a natural tendency when seeing a film for the 50th or so time. I discovered that I was looking for logic and plausibility, two things that Bond films don't always value that much. I also lost track of everything that gives me pleasure and joy. It's so easy to destroy the plot of a Bond film when overanalysing it. I try to avoid doing that.
But AVTAK makes it a bit harder for me than most other Bonds. This may prove a controversial thing to say, but MR is an easier film for me to work through than AVTAK...
Because of all of the above, I rate it 16th.
Not any higher though, because I just cannot bring myself to look past some of the obvious stunt doubles, the poor writing and the fact that this one at times feels terribly lethargic and exhausted.
Very true, MR of course is also a gorgeous film to behold, which always helps. But we'll get to that one later ;)
I think MR is a straightforward plot about space, it's the intention of the film since from the start, it's not that much complicated.
If there's a Bond film that I could compare to AVTAK and makes my head aches everytime, funnily enough, it might be TLD, it's so difficult for me to watch because the plot is so convoluted and confusing, for all of the flaws of Octopussy, It's easier for me to watch than in either AVTAK or TLD (it doesn't helped that those films' plots moved from one place to another, those are kinda confusing, like there's a scene happening in one place, then minutes later, there's another scene happening in another place, then so on).
One thing that turned me off in AVTAK was how silly it is too, like DAD, why MI6 needs to be involved in this plot in the first place? Yes, I agree with the early comment about MI6 investigating the horse cheating, but what bothers me most was Max Zorin's plan about Silicon Valley and the pipelines, was Bond needed to be involved in that? For all I know this should've been a main mission of Felix Leiter and the CIA with Bond being just in help due to the Microchips (that was supposed to be his only goal, nothing to do with Pipelines and Silicon Valley), and after Chuck Lee died did the CIA never sent another agent again in replacement and just let Bond, an MI6 agent who had no connection to the plot do the job? It felt to me like this is the third time that Mother Britannia interfered in a foreign affair, the first one was in GF, the second one here in AVTAK, the third is DAD, all those plots where Britain/MI6 had nothing to do with.
TB's a funny one for me because it's one of those rare times in Bond where I've always questioned the PTS! To this day I'm not sure what purpose Bouvoir dressing as his own widow served even in the context of the film.
I can understand saying that about MR. I think MR's biggest advantage is that it's fun. It's easier to get swept along by it than AVTAK (at least it is for me). You don't necessarily question why Bond has decided to trek into the jungle just to look for a specific orchid (it would serve absolutely no purpose in itself). Your only concern is when the next chase is going to happen, and so it does immediately afterwards which leads him to Drax for the finale. So yeah, I completely get it.
Moore is obviously too old for the part and looks wierd. Stacey is one of the worst girls. The Beach Boys segment is maybe the lowest point in the whole series. Some segments are just plain boring, like in the mine.
On the other hand, Duran Duran’s song is one of the best and Barry’s score is excellent. The pre-title is good up to the Beach Boys part. The climax on the Golden Gate bridge is breathtaking.
There is much to like here, and unfortunately also a lot to dislike.
THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN (1974)
Directed by Guy Hamilton
"That's what I call trouble."
Definitely an entry that's not without its defenders, with two 7th and one 8th spot. Other than those three top 10's, only two more top 15's were noted however.
That's a far cry from the eight bottom 5's it received, amongst which one at the very bottom. Therefore it's safe to say that the film's defenders are rather outnumbered here.
TMWTGG obtained a total of 84 points.
It's also a film with a crude side to it. Goodnight is depicted as a bimbo, the final fight with Nick Nack is played for laughs rather than depicting his as a truly worthy opponent, Bond's initial treatment of Andrea leaves a bit of a bad taste in the mouth, and that's not even mentioning stuffing Goodnight in a closet! Bond is written as a bit of an unlikeable cad throughout the whole thing. Moore does an admirable job trying to sell Bond's more cruel side (especially when he's holding Lazar at gunpoint, which I think is Bond being understandably ruthless) but without those moments of humanity you get in TSWLM and MR there's not much he can do to salvage this depiction of the character.
Christopher Lee is fantastic. I'm also a big fan of the Beirut fight in the dressing room with its close spaces and gritty tone (the set up makes no sense as to why Bond needed to go after the bullet considering he was sent one, and why these men are beating up Bond is unclear, but oh well). The lunch scene with Bond and Scaramanaga is one of the best Bond/villain scenes of the series. I also like how Bond is doing some genuine detective work for the first half, which feels very Fleming-esque. Also, I can't help but love JW Pepper, silly as he is.
Unfortunately, this is where Hamilton's direction on the series/character fizzles out for me. Like his previous 70s efforts there's an unfortunate lack of spectacle and filmmaking polish that Bond should have, and I think it goes beyond the budget. While a bit of a misfire, at least the course correction after this film gave us TSWLM (one of my favourites).
We were talking about silliness v. boredom a few days ago. I called boredom a bigger sin than silliness. BUT... TMWTGG is where the silliness goes to the extreme for me. The plot has zero focus, things just happen for no apparent reason, poor Goodnight is written as one of the most shallow and useless girls in the series, J.W. is a but much this time around, the logistics behind Scaramanga's suddenly erected Solex installation are even more whiplash-inducing than a private space station in orbit, and the potential of Lee and the Scaramanga character is squandered.
The good things? I like Moore, Barry's score and theme song, the funhouse, and a few crazy things here and there. For the record, I don't hate this film. I can't. It's never boring and it still gives me pleasure. But due to its relentless silliness and almost insultingly implausible occurrences throughout the film, this was now my least favourite Bond film.
I adore the PTS, Moore and Lee are both great and Andrea ranks only behind Solitaire as my favorite Bond girl of the Moore era.
Barry (despite holding his work here in low esteem) delivers another strong soundtrack and the movie's pacing is excellent... never a dull moment.
- title sequence is pretty good
- Dressing room fight (one of the best)
- Lazar scene is awesome
- following Andrea on the hydrofoil
- outside the Bottoms Up club
- Lieutenant Hip shows his ID upside down
- Hi Fat's Dragon Garden is a great location
- Bond drinking Moët & Chandon-- I mean Phuyuck-- with Goodnight
- ship headquarters
- JW emerging from the water holding a banana
- kickboxing scene
- astro spiral
- seaplane flight
- dining with the villain (sadly this element is missing from recent films)
- fun house labyrinth
Moore's tone is a bit off in this one, prefer his performance (and haircut) in LALD. And as for Scaramanga, well anyone who likes Tabasco can't be all bad.
I believe they "fixed" the mirror reflection in the restoration process for the Bluray release.
My beef with that fight scene is that I don't get it. We never understand why the bald dude, "Achmed", and whoever else feel compelled to attack Bond there. Things just happen in this film.
Oh my this is the bottom of the barrel for me, at #25, yes, the absolute one in the underground or I must say, underworld 😅.
I just can't stand this film since my first viewing of it, there were films that I've liked since from the first viewing alone, but there are some films that irked me at first viewing and this film is one of the examples of that.
From the color (almost yellow brown hue that even made SPECTRE, another yellowish film, a decent one in comparison), the wrong portrayal of Bond, I just don't liked it, he's too smug, arrogant, overconfident and cruel towards women and even children (not even the Bond of the books did that and he's definitely not cruel, just his smile), JW Pepper served no purpose in this film other than be a nuisance, a distraction, just like Jaws was in Moonraker, the bad acting with an exception of Christopher Lee and Maud Adams, the Karate School scenes that's very corny, the close up shot of woman's butt in Bottom's Up club opening scene that's cringe inducing, everytime I think of it, badly written characters like Chew Mee, Lieutenant Hip, Hai Fat and all those supporting characters (yes, JW Pepper was included again) and especially Goodnight, speaking of Goodnight who's more of a liability than an asset and became a hindrance to Bond's mission, almost ruining every Bond's plan, the incoherent and another badly written plot, and Bond becoming a celebrity like almost everyone in this can't help but to recognize the man who was supposed to be a 'secret agent' (really? An assassin targeting 007 to be his trophy among all of his collections and achievements and he targeted Bond because he knew Bond as the most dangerous and deadliest secret agent so Scaramanga wanted to kill him so he could prove himself to be world's most dangerous assassin, that "battle of the titans and best of the best duel" line from Scaramanga, JW Pepper's line of "Secret Agent from England"), I don't liked when Bond was always being made out to be notorious and popular, it all started with that "You've just killed James Bond!" Line by Tiffany Case in Diamonds Are Forever, and the plot convenience of having Scaramanga own the Solex Agitator where it could've been a different person, it's seemed like a very small world to me.
Then there's the silly score (John Barry's weakest by a mile), then that awful theme song by Lulu being added to the Pre Title Sequence with that water ripples and sexual innuendos that made me cringe, silly ending, this was the closest to EON replicating the quality of Casino Royale 1967.
I can love Die Another Day, the most hated Bond film in the circle, I would rather do that than to have this Bond film unfold once again to my eyes.
For some people who enjoy this film, good for them, but not for me, just no, my least favorite Bond film of the bunch, everything just gone wrong in this film.
And yes, the book, for its flaws is so much better than this film.
I always thought EON refused to fix it because it's a part of the film and don't want to tamper with it. No idea one way or the other though.
The scene is very much there just to have a fight (I mean, fair enough. We've gone about 10 minutes without any action by that point I suppose, and let's be the honest the plot isn't going to captivate audiences enough to wait any longer). It's very silly, but I think it's a great fight. The choreography/way its shot makes it look realistic. You even have quite brutal moments like Bond smashing the goon's head against the wall, and I love the idea of him using hairspray as a sort of weapon.
It's one of my favourite fights of the series. I rank it alongside the train fight in FRWL, or the staircase one in CR. Perhaps even the elevator fight in DAF too. Again, they all feel more real to some extent.
You and me both! 😂
I guess I was always too caught up in the fight sequence, which is one of Rogers better ones!
Oh, and I have the bluray, and it's still there (I now look out for the mirror men every time I watch it now, dammit!)
Imagine the PTS involving Bond suffering amnesia during an action sequence and wandering off to Russia. After the OT we are informed that several months have passed. We then get the funhouse scene that introduces Scaramanga, Nick-Nac and Andrea to us. Next, Bond returns to London, tries to shoot M, is stopped and healed, and through M's trust in his abilities is quickly reinstated and given the cold case of the agent who got killed in Beirut.
Let us then spend some time in Beirut and get a couple of lovely views of the actual world instead of the smallest sets Pinewood had left. Let Bond do some investigation, which then takes him to Thailand (if we must go there) where a more brutal, Hammer-ed up (see what I did here) Lee is shown hanging out with a couple of blokes who mean business. Bond isn't known to Scaramanga, and so he can infiltrate. The book's version of sweet Mary Goodnight could easily fit in as well.
Bond understands that he cannot move in on Scaramanga yet since the stakes have been raised. Some action scenes will come when Bond sneaks off, fights some of the gangsters who are on to him, that sort of stuff. Finally, we can have a climax close to the one in the book, accept that I'd change the final confrontation between Bond and Scaramanga to another funhouse sequence, since that's the best part of the film IMO. And yes, Leiter and Nick-Nac as CIA agents are invited too.
I just pulled this out of my ***, so it probably sucks as an idea and leaves much to work on. But at least I'm trying to fuse the best parts of the novel with the best parts of the film's script (i.e. the funhouse). I wish that's what they had done in '74.
Over the years, the wheels have come off a bit, and so now I see the film in a different light. As with all Bond films, I still enjoy it and find it entertaining.
The plot is weak, a large part of the cast are far older than they should be in the context of the story. Sorry to say that Sir Rog probably made one Bond film too many.
Walken and Jones are a saving grace as the villainous pair, though MayDay's turn from evil is quite hard to swallow. Walken of course shines, and is a memorable villain of the series.
The action is quite bland compared to what we got in the previous two films, and the stuntmen are more than noticeable when they're required. The poor guy hanging from the blimp is probably the most impressive stunt, but this is hardly ever mentioned in the Bond fan community, nor is much information known about the stunt, with few behind the scenes photos available.
On the whole AVTAK is still a good film, and has some good moments.
But Sir Rog and the whole film look tired. OP should’ve been his swan song.
The characters, the locations, the music, the production design, the pts, the title song + title sequence, the atmosphere, etc.; I just love this film.
Moreover, Scaramanga is my favourite main Bond villain, the golden gun my favourite gadget / weapon and, for me, this is also Moore's most Flemingesque performance as Bond.
I know there are some issues here, but all of the above make me look past them. Number 7 in my Bond film ranking.
But of course the film has a lot of issues. Goodnight is a terrible character, Bond is kind of a prick, JW Pepper is completely out of place, most of the action and the climax is underwhelming, the kung fu stuff is not super interesting.
Overall I find the storytelling and film making a lot more disciplined than Hamilton's Diamonds are Forever, but certainly below LALD and Goldfinger.
I quite like the way that they tried to make Moore's Bond tougher in this movie, obviously I didn't fit, so in future Moore Bond films he was allowed to play it the way he liked to.
But it's fun to see a slightly more aggressive Bond from Sir Rog.
I like the idea of the world's greatest assassin targeting James Bond, the adding of the solex and the 70's energy crisis wasn't needed at all, and sadly really dates the film. It was a side story that didn't really need to be added. The story could've been that Andrea did send the bullet to Bond, as we get in the movie but when Scaramanga is made aware of this, he does make Bond his next target to hunt. They could've kept it a much simpler thriller.
Christopher Lee is excellent as Scaramanga and it's a pity he wasn't given a better film to play a villain in.
Britt Ekland is as always lovely to look at, but Goodnight is a character that you could pretty much lose, and it wouldn't make hardly any difference to the overall film. She serves no real purpose, and if anything causes more potential harm to Bond than most of the villains.
Nick Nack is a unique character due to his size but is never a threat to Bond. I do like the idea that he orchestrates the fun house and oversees the proceedings.
Andrea Anders is a much better female character, a real damsel in distress. It would've been better (imo) to flesh out her character and make her the lead Bond girl. She needed some sort of back story and given more screentime. She could've still served as the sacrificial lamb. I guess EON weren't quite ready to change the formula in '74.
The less said about Hip and the return of Sheriff JW Pepper the better. Hip is another character who serves little to no function. He's likable as a character, but really does nothing. Bringing back Sheriff Pepper might've sounded like a good idea, but it's just to silly in practice. Worse still is him shopping for an AMC car in Thailand! It's weak storytelling for me.
Stuff I like
Scaramanga
Scaramanga's island
Scaramanga's fun house
John Barry's score
The car chase and spiral jump
The locations
Andrea Anders
The villain dining with Bond
Stuff I don't like
The dated solex sub plot
Bringing back JW Pepper
Hip
Goodnight (as a character)
As with several Bond films, a tweak here and there and this could've been a much better film. Alas we have what we have, and as with all Bond films it's still a good film.