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Jackson Booth-Millard 2012-05-23 01:17:37

The Man with the Golden Gun

For the second of Sir Roger Moore's James Bond films, this is a prettygood one. In this film, Bond is assigned to look for links leading tofind Francisco Scaramanga (Christopher Lee) to question him. Scaramangais a high paid assassin and obviously plans to put his name in historyfor killing James Bond. He is the man with a golden gun made with apen, a cigarette box and and a lighter, he also has an extra nipple onhis chest. Bond, with the help of agent Mary Goodnight (Britt Ekland)is also trying to return a "Solex Agitator" unit that completes apowerful laser controlled by the heat of the sun. Also starringOctopussy's Maud Adams as Andrea Anders, Hervé Villechaize as short(midget) henchman Nick Nack, Clifton James returning from Live and LetDie as Sheriff J.W. Pepper, Richard Loo as Hai Fat, Soon-Taik Oh asLieutenant Hip, Bernard Lee as M, Lois Maxwell as Miss Moneypenny,Marne Maitland as Lazar and Desmond Llewelyn as Q. James Bond wasnumber 3 on 100 Years, 100 Heroes & Villains, he was number 21 on The100 Greatest Sex Symbols, and he was number 21 on The 100 Greatest PopCulture Icons, Christopher Lee was number 31 on The 100 Greatest MovieStars, and he was number 13 on The 50 Greatest British Actors, and thefilm was number 14 on James Bond's Greatest Hits for Lulu's title song(they also mentioned the Alice Cooper version). Good!

Marshall 2012-05-22 08:46:04

Well done

All right, so The Man With The Golden Gun may not be the most exciting filmin the series. Compared to the more thrilling Live And Let Die I can kind ofsee why people don't like it. It also has the worst theme song, annoyinglysung by Scottish pop singer Lulu. But this movie still has my vote, for itis very well made and has fantastic scenes, great scenery, and a nice score.In this one, Bond must kill Fransisco Scaramanga (Christopher Lee), theworld's most dangerous assassin who plans on converting solar energy into adestructive force. TMWTGG carries very interesting elements such as thegolden gun itself, which overall proves to be one of the best Bondinventions, bar none (Why did Bond just leave it after he killed Scaramanga?He should have grabbed it). The karate scene, which most people consider tobe stupid, is still pretty good and a bit funny. Like I said, there may notbe action; however the car flip jump was very cool! The humor in this film,which I thought would be kind of dumb, turned out to be funny overall(You've got to admit that no matter how much people say Roger Moore's humoris dumb, it still proves to be entertaining). Roger Moore himself delivereda great performance, and Christopher Lee played one of the best villains.Maud Adams was terrific as well, and I'm glad she returned years later inOctopussy (Even in 1983 she was still attractive). Britt Ekland's character,Mary Goodnight, is annoying and helpless. But I believe her character ideawas wasted. For one, she does look good in that bathing suit, and she wasalso an MI6 agent! But instead of giving her cool shooting skills orsomething, the only talents they gave her were getting kidnapped and beingstupid. Quite disappointing. Hey, at least she's better than Tanya Roberts!Definitely can't stoop that low. Clifton James returns as sheriff J.W.Pepper, and yet again proves to be annoying but funny (Has anyone noticedthat his mouth is the size of a grapefruit?). Herve Villechaize alsoprovided some good comical relief (Although there already seems to be enoughof it) in his role as Nick Nack. Another plus was the fun house duel,although I believe they jumped to the end of that sequence a little tooquickly. But I guess that provides a surprise. This movie is easily surprassed by most of the other films in the series,but it is still entertaining and it put me in a good mood, and sometimesyou've got to be in the right mood for some Bond films. The Man With TheGolden Gun is a very good thriller that's worth checking out. My rating: 4out of 5.

Darth Sidious 2012-05-22 01:10:44

An all-time low?

After a lacklustre debut in Live and Let Die, Roger Moore is back as 007.The Man with the Golden Gun is a weak film, all the potential is replaced byboring exposition and boring set pieces. There's nothing very interesting, they had Christopher Lee, but didn't makegood use of him. He had nothing to do, even the finale wasflat.Roger Moore was getting more comfortable, but he seemed to be doing a SeanConnery Bond instead of adding something unique to the role. Moore's stylewould change in 'The Spy Who Loved Me'.The Bond girls are boring, Maud Adams has little to do. Britt Ekland is veryaverage, nothing to shout about. The Nick Nack character is boring. Boringis the operative word to describe this film. Don't get me started on JW! Nota very funny character, why he's here is a mystery!The direction is lazy, the script is terrible. Mankiewicz went in the wrongdirection. The film is very cheap, didn't have a sense of size to it.Overall, Moore's 2nd outing is boring and lazy. The potential to have Leeand Moore at their best is not realized on screen.Things were about to change, Moore relaxes to become a fun Bond in the nextfilm......The Spy Who Loved Me!

march9hare 2012-05-21 15:09:18

the film with the leaden plot

Roger Moore returns a second time as Bond in this yawner about ahigh-profile international assassin (huh?) and solar energy (doublehuh??). Complementing, or perhaps "abetting" Moore is Christopher Leeas Scaramanga, the eponymous million-dollar-a-hit hit man, who in turnis assisted by Herve Villachaize (this is all getting rather a bit toomuch now)as the thoroughly dis likable Nick Nack. Eye candy is providedby ex-supermodel Maud Adams and Britt Ekland, both of whom are gorgeousto look at but prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that neither one canact. The plot, what there is of it, seems to center around somethingcalled a "Solex Agitator", a palm sized thingamajig that somehowmiraculously makes the widespread use of solar energy a practicalproposition. As for the titular gun, this is unquestionably theclunkiest, least-convincing looking prop yet seen in ANY Bond film.Ever. Even Scaramanga's wildly improbable flying AMC Javelin (actuallya scale RC model) was far more interesting even though it's time oncamera was very short; the "gun", on the other hand, is regularly andtediously displayed time after time, looking for all the world like aLego toy that's been spraypainted gold.As if all this wasn't bad enough, we're treated to a return appearanceof J.W.Pepper, the redneck sheriff who first appeared in "Live and LetDie" (itself a dog of a Bond film), who, um, "dogs" (sorry) Bondperiodically throughout this picture, most notably during the by-nowobligatory spectacular car chase. Indeed, as spectacular as the 360degree roll performed by the stunt car was, even this scene misfiresthrough the use of a cartoonish sound effect."The Man with the Golden Gun" remains, as of this writing, one of thepoorest grossing Bond films yet made, and one look at the finishedproduct will tell anyone why. Not that this is the fault of eitherMoore or Lee: any actor, no matter how good, can only do so much with aweak script. Just ask Max von Sydow after he made "Flash Gordon". "TheMan with the Golden Gun" plays like it was written by committee and,judging by the box office returns, was probably attended by them almostexclusively. For hard core Bond addicts ONLY.

Ryan Smyth 2012-05-20 13:47:33

Could have been a classic, but failed...

"The Man With The Golden Gun" had the potential to become a classic Bond,but failed. Maybe if it was done a few years earlier with Connery, then itcould have worked. The ultimate low point in the entire series comes when Mand Q start bickering with each other. Q and M would never fight, no matterthe conditions! Another bad turn is taking a great action piece and ruiningit with a stupid sound effect. The car jump across the river could of beena classic action scene, but was ruined with a campy whistle sound. The onlyredeeming feature is the plot, which I found to be most interesting. Scaramanga made for a good villain, but his buddy Nick Nack was a joke. There was no way Nick Nack could be any match for Bond. Just bad casting Iguess. Rent this Bond when no others are available.

2012-05-20 09:44:44

"Golden Gun," despite a few bright spots, Moore's Weakest Bond.

Roger Moore's second go around as Bond, James Bond. By this time, he is filling out his Bond role quite well. Too bad he didn't have better material to work from. A bit more cheekiness and juvinile humor weigh down this stylish Bond effort which has 007 matching wits against Fransisco Scaramanga (the awesomely enigmatic Christopher Lee), "The Man With the Golden Gun". I'm sharply divided on the Bond girls on this one. Britt Ekland makes for the ditziest Bond girl in history! Maud Adams, on the other hand is perfectly appropriate as Scaramanga's girl, Andrea Anders. Herve Villechaize (Tattoo of Fantasy Island fame) is fun to watch as Scaramanga's mini-henchman, Nik-Nak. Clifton James is worse here than he was in Live and Let Die! Very little good action in this one. Only a couple of good fight scenes, and the BEST car chase of any Bond movie, stand out. Bond's 360 degree car barrel roll jump over the broken bridge, is the greatest car stunt in film history! Beautiful cinematography, a polished production, and a lush score by John Barry also help a lot.

2012-05-19 10:14:42

Moore please

This James Bond movie can be listed up near the top of any Bond movie there is. I have heard complaints about too little action in a 2:04 movie, but take the good with the bad, and, unless you are a hormonal 14 year old, then action isn't the only thing that is required in a great Bond movie. This movie is pretty much a "Duel between titans" if I could quote Scaramanga himself, with (surprise, surprise), a plot thrown in. Action is not great, but the plot is a cat-and-mouse chase that you won't want to miss. Bond's sidekick Goodnight was hot, but that does not distract her extremely annoying incompetence, but Christopher Lee was perfect at Scaramanga. The movie pits itself into the final showdown between Scaramanga and 007, two of the few remaining killers in the world, while still racing for the impossible device that will save the world's energy crisis. How does it end? Buy this movie and you shall see.

thatguynamedphil 2012-05-19 02:52:49

Bond at its absolute worst!

Ok, most bond movies hve james bond saving the world from a somewhatfar-fetched, but equally engaging terror threat. THIS bond movie has bondtraveling to a secret island in the pacific to murder a three-nippledassassin, who is already being targeted by his midget butler/personaltrainer. Insert sarcastic comment here.Awful, Awful bond movie

2012-05-17 06:06:43

Great fun 007 on Blu

This is one of my favorite 007 movies. It's totally not serious but instead lots and lots of fun. I've watched it no less than 30 times, and the Blu-ray edition as played on my PS3 and Sharp LCD TV looks just absolutely fabulous.

2012-05-17 03:10:17

Bad Burn

This review is from: The Man With The Golden Gun (Special Edition) (DVD) Really like the James Bond flix.. brings me back.. this copy played for half the movie.. then the whole screen was pixelated.. tried it on other systems. same thing.. Bad Burn.. what do i mean... i whould be surprised to find an MGM release with this type of disk error.. I did notice something strange as well. the cover art. some of the pictures were NOT from the movie inside.. Hmmmm. could it be that the "art director" at "MGM" used the wrong pictures for this DVD case... hmmm.. wonder how that happened.. ?I hope that the seller would look into his or her source of their DVDs.. and make sure its the real deal..

Nick Zegarac 2012-05-14 21:32:27

A valiant attempt that falls short of expectations for a Bond caper

The Man With The Golden Gun (1974) is Roger Moore's second outing as007, and something of a letdown after his meteoric introduction in Live& Let Die. After receiving a golden bullet marked with his double-onumber, Bond is relieved of all duties and asked by his superior, M(Bernard Lee) to disappear for a while. Instead, Bond plots to stakeout Francisco Scaramanga (Christopher Lee) – the man with the goldengun. Unbeknownst to Bond, Scaramanga doesn't really want him dead. Thebullet was actually sent to Bond by Scaramanga's girlfriend, AndreaAnders (Maude Adams, in her first appearance in a Bond movie).Unfortunately, Bond realizes that Scaramanga's intentions to annihilatethe world through harnessing a destructive solar device have broughthim full circle in his original mission; that of recovering anexperimental Solex converter that was stolen from British intelligence.The film is justly famous for several fantastic set pieces, including athree sixty mid-air roll over car stunt, another featuring a car thatturns into a plane, the novel staging of two fun house sequences, and,the climactic showdown on Scaramanga's island, in which a miniaturemodel of the doomsday device appears remarkably full size – even undertoday's scrutiny in special effects. The film is also notable for pintsize Bond villain, Nick Nack (Herve Villechaize, of Tattoo fame ontelevision's Fantasy Island). The Bond girl on this occasion is thelargely forgettable, Mary Goodnight (Britt Ekland), a vapidflaxen-haired bubble head to whom the concept of zero refrigerationgoes unnoticed until a complete thermal meltdown of the island isimminent.MGM/UA's DVD is disappointing. Colors are dated and faded. Contrastlevels appear a tad low. Fine details are lost in a barrage of agerelated artifacts and digital anomalies including edge enhancement andpixelization. Blacks are rarely deep or solid. Whites are more of apasty pale yellow. The audio is mono and strident. There's not much torecommend either the picture or sound elements. Extras include twodocumentaries, an audio commentary, some promotional junkets, stillsgallery and theatrical trailer.

2012-05-14 02:50:53

Man with the Golden Gun

I received this DVD for Christmas. At 1:20:00 the disc locks up. I later rented a copy from the video store and it too locked up at the exact same spot. The DVD of this film appears to be deffective. The movie is great so long as you have a working DVD.

megunticook 2012-05-14 19:52:43

Not so bad

I hadn't watched this film since my teen years when I first got intothe Bond films and watched them on television. I picked up one of thenew enhanced DVDs and watched it with Roger Moore's commentary. First,the picture looks stunning. It's amazing what they've done. I thought,at best, it'll be nice to look at. But I was surprised how good it wasin both story and performance. While it entirely ditches the plot ofthe novel, the writers did manage to keep some of the character historywhich gave it some legitimacy as an Ian Fleming adaptation. It alsoadded some depth to the villain that could sometimes be lacking in theseries. The film relies more on drama and light suspense than gadgetsand action; it's more of a cat-and-mouse game than a race to save theworld. The only drawback to the plot is the inclusion of the Solex. Isuppose this was added in an attempt to reflect the current worldenergy crisis, but its handling of it gives a grounded, grittyaction/drama film a bit too much of a sci-fi touch. Scaramanga's FunHouse set is a bit silly for the proceedings as well. Might have been abit more interesting had the two stalked each other through the streetsof Hong Kong. But the locations are beautiful, John Barry's score isbetter than I remember and Moore balances toughness with his trademarklight touch very nicely. And he's a delight to listen to on thecommentary track. I will be pick up the rest of his films (replacingthose I already have) just to hear his recollections.

lonestarr 2012-05-14 07:47:06

Moore is good

This was one of his best Bond Movies, this and "The Spy Who Loved Me" werethe best two Moore Bonds....people say that Connery was the best Bond, Idon't think he is. actually he is the best at being Bond but they gave himthe dumb movies where bond is boring he would "hang out" with the villin,like go to his house for dinner or play golf just do stupid crap that noonewould ever do. they have re-made James Bond since Connery. even whenLaznbywas Bond he was the "Connery Bond" I don't know why people give him so muchcrap about being Bond he was a very good Bond he acted like Connery a lotand OHMSS was a great movie, anyway this was a really good James Bond moviegreat villin great plot...it was just a realy good movie

bob the moo 2012-05-10 00:26:18

A little weak but still has some fun bits

When a scientist developing a powerful new solar cell for energy ismurdered, it is linked to the actions of hitman Scaramanga. Scaramanga usesa golden gun and charges a million dollars per hit. When he seems to betargeting Bond as he tries to track down the solar cell, leading to a showdown between the two men.Roger Moore will never be one of the best Bonds, simply because his filmsaren't as good as some of the other Bonds. Here it is actually one of myfavourites despite not being great. The basic story is little more than anexcuse to bring Bond into conflict with Scaramanga. As a plot this isbetter than the usual Russians as baddies stuff and he is a better subject. The best element of this is that it allows Bond to be more fully exploredbecause, really, both Bond and Scaramanga are really alike and do have muchin common and this fact is well used.Outside of this the stunts are good and the action is nicely mixed withcomedy in a Roger Moore raised eyebrow type of way. Sadly the best stunt(the 360 car jump) is spoilt by a `comedy' sound effect right on top ofit.The cast are good. Moore is definitely a different type of Bond but he'sgood in his own way. Christopher Lee is a really good villain – simplybecause he isn't a Russian who wants to take over the world etc but rather afleshed out person. Britt Ekland is a bit bland as a dipsy Bond girl butit's nice to see Q brought back into play as well as a brief return forClifton James as J.W. Pepper.Overall not the best Bond but it has plenty of good moments and a goodbaddie. Also the theme music is one of my favourites simply because it'squite fun!

2012-05-09 19:15:59

dvd purchase

Very dissapointed in item. The case of dvd (The Man with the Golden Gun) was broken. As this was a gift, it was huge disappointment to give it in that condition. The case obviously did not break in shipping, it was clearly box ed that way prior to shipping. Thank you for asking my opinion.

2012-05-09 17:08:09

Underated Bond

This review is from: The Man with the Golden Gun [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) Except for the title song which is dreadful, this is a very good movie. Roger Moore in his second outing as Bond is still playing 007 in a tough manner. A lot of action in this movie and a great car stunt as well. This Bond is much better than normally reviewed.

2012-05-08 22:48:53

A Favorite Bond in some Circles

THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN has always been my favorite James Bond movie. It has a great cast, great special effects, a good John Barry score and it does not take itself too serious. It brought "Q" back to the series after being absent from LIVE AND LET DIE and re-established him as a major team member to the series. Sheriff Pepper was the greatest comedic character ever to appear in a Bond film be it a positive aspect or not. This is perhaps Roger Moore's best performance as James Bond. THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN is a definite curiosity piece because it tried to revert back to the established tone of the series after the departure made by the unique LIVE AND LET DIE. However, a lot of other elements got distorted in the process. Essentially we have a dedicated James Bond going up against a charismatic and equally worldly villain portrayed by Christopher Lee. These two actors played their roles straight while the film around them fell into a comedic maelstrom. Yet, there is a certain charisma and enticement about this film that intrigues some of us Bond fans.

Leon Robertson 2012-05-08 18:34:33

Who said it was bad?

Who said it was bad? People don't like the slapstick in it but it's thesameas any other James Bond film. Comedy, action, suave & dashing villains,beautiful women and our hero. I think Christopher Lee IS the best Bondvillain. Not just saying that because he's my favorite actor, but it'sdefinitely his best role- good points: he gets to smile, tell jokes, havenormal K9 teeth, gets a beautiful girlfriend, he charms you and scares you(okay, so I was little when I first saw it!!!). But he kills Maud Adams!Anyone who knows me can confirm that this nearly traumatized me (!). Ithinkshe should have been a villainess but I think they just added hercharacterin as a plot device. Shame, because when (apart from some early Hammerfilms) did Christopher Lee get the girl.Anyway, it's light hearted, if it were close to reality we'd hate 007!It'sgot comedy, action, romance, the performances are good. I know they'rejustBond films but I think it helps if the actors are adequate. I hope therearepeople who share similar opinions, but we're all different!Watch this film, and you will not be disappointed. It's what made me aJamesBond 007 fan!

2012-05-08 03:19:51

For Christopher Lee Fans And James Bond Enthusiasts Only

I was a fan of the James Bond films as a child and my interest in these films has recently returned to me. I don't believe "The Man With The Golden Gun" is the worst Bond film because this negative honor goes to either "Moonraker" or "A View To A Kill." I do feel, however, that it qualifies as the third worst one."The Man With The Golden Gun" has a lot of weaknesses. I don't know why Roger Moore was allowed to make seven Bond Films. Although Moore wasn't as weak as George Lazenby, he still comes across as being bland and mannequin-like. Timothy Dalton was a much more effective James Bond. If Dalton had been given better scripts and more time, he would have been nearly as effective as Sean Connery. Britt Ekland's Mary Goodnight rivals Tiffany ("Diamonds Are Forever") Case as the most ineffectual and irritating Bond woman. Maude Adams is more effective as Andrea Anders, the villain's long-suffering mistress, but this character is given too little screen time. A pre-"Fantasy Island" Herve Villechaize makes an awkward henchman. The return of Clifton James' J.W. Pepper character was also unnecessary. The weaknesses of this movie also extend beyond the cast. An awesome car stunt is weakened by a poor sound effect. Tacky humor is woven throughout the entire film. The martial arts motif in part of the film also seemed out of place.Christopher Lee is the saving grace of this film. If Lee weren't in this movie, I would have ranked it with "Moonraker" and "A View To A Kill." He is excellent as the egotistical and cruel Francisco Scaramanga. I am only sorry that the screenwriters didn't further develop this interesting character. Lee is one of the screen's greatest bad guys and can effectively play just about any villainous character. He is a much better actor and greater presence than Roger Moore. Lee's villain is more interesting than Moore's hero."The Man With The Golden Gun" is only for big Christopher Lee fans and those who feel that they need to see every James Bond film. A disappointment.