Day 09 - The Man With The Golden Gun (1974) - Film Review

Starring: Roger Moore, Christopher Lee, Britt Ekland & Maud Adams

Screenplay: Richard Maibaum & Tom Mankiewicz

Directed By: Guy Hamilton

Certificate: PG

After a lukewarm start to the Roger Moore tenure, we arrive at 'The Man With The Golden Gun'. MI6 alert their 007 agent when they receive a golden bullet with the very same code etched into the metal. It is believed to be a symbolic gesture signifying that one of the world's deadliest assassins, Francisco Scaramanga, who dispatches his targets for no less than $1m, has been commissioned to kill James Bond. With no idea where he lives or even what he looks like, Bond sets out on an unofficial mission to track down the latest threat to his life...

Unlike the snappy openings of most prior films, 'The Man With The Golden Gun' is much more drawn out, with Scaramanga and another man playing cat and mouse around a hall of mirrors-inspired set-piece. To the best of my knowledge, who the other man is or why he and Scaramanga are trying to kill each other is never actually explained once this opening sequence is over, which in hindsight renders it a little pointless. It's a strange opening that I don't think really sets the film off to a great start, and the opening titles that follow it don't do much to rekindle any optimism. The theme song, this time sung by Lulu is something of a change of pace from your typical Bond theme. However, it's not a particularly great change and even the team that composed it have since stated that they were pretty unhappy with it. The heavy use of innuendo doesn't bother me, but it does feel a bit disjointed and fails to rouse any kind of emotional response beyond a "meh". With this disappointing theme and a pretty flat first ten minutes, 'The Man With The Golden Gun' feels deflated before it's even got properly started.

But to its credit, once we're past that opening, 'Golden Gun' does pick up a fair bit in the next half hour or so. The premise of a world-renowned deadly hitman targeting Bond is a strong one, and following Bond as he tracks down his would-be assailant is pretty engaging. Up until now, I felt Moore hadn't really had the opportunity to flex his acting muscles all that much when it comes to interrogation scenes or delivering a punchy one-liner. Here the material appears to suit him a lot better and while I've still yet to be wowed by him, I did warm to Moore's performance a lot more this time around. The "I've lost my charm!" "Not from where I'm standing" moment did make me chuckle, and Moore completely owns the screen when he's interrogating the manufacturer of Scaramanga's golden bullets. A common take on this film seems to be that Christopher Lee outshines Moore, and while there's definitely truth to that, Moore still felt a lot more comfortable here than in 'Live & Let Die'. 

By the forty-minute mark however, that initial setup of Bond being the target of a hitman is pulled from under our feet. Rather than targeting Bond, Scaramanga kills a scientist who holds an answer towards solving the present energy crisis, and his henchman Nick Nack steals the "Solex Agitator" - a crucial component of a new renewable energy plant. This subversion isn't necessarily a good or bad thing in itself. On the one hand, I think it's a shame to do away with the initial setup because it's a strong one and more than enough to build a whole film around. But by bringing in this aspect of the Solex Agitator, it does serve as some nice wider political commentary on the energy crisis. The 1973 energy crisis would still have been very fresh in the minds of audiences at the time, so it was a smart move to weave it here into a Bond film.

That said, it's not perfect. Before the film can properly get round to developing the energy crisis angle, there's a whole lot of padding to get through. Bond's time in Hai Fat's martial arts academy comes to mind here - you could very easily trim these sequences down and wouldn't lose a great deal. Similar to how 'Live & Let Die' tried to amp the success of the blaxploitation movie, 'Golden Gun' rides on the coattails of popular martial arts movies of the time, such as those featuring Bruce Lee. But whereas 'Live & Let Die's genre influences were integral, in this case the martial arts sequences and the ensuing boat chase feel like conciliatory padding in a film that's not in need of padding. And speaking of padding, why the bloody hell is that sheriff back from the last film? I know it makes me sound like a miserable b*stard, and I do honestly think it's important for these films to have some levity in them, but the sheriff is just so OTT that it just doesn't work. I preferred him a little more here than in the last film, but both times it feels like he's in a completely different movie and has just wandered onto the wrong set. 

Undoubtedly the biggest success of 'Golden Gun' is Christopher Lee's turn as Scaramanga. It's a good job that Moore upped his game for his second film, or he was at risk of Lee outshing him completely. In previous films, many of the best Bond villains have been the megalomaniacal likes of Blofeld, Largo or Oddjob and Goldfinger - all very different characters from Bond himself. But Scaramanga is a match for Bond in the suave charm department - he's not one for ranting speeches, white cats or eyepatches - he's smooth and even has his own Bond girl of sorts with Anders. He's not above cracking a one-liner, but like every villainous role Lee turned his hand to, he maintains an air of threat about him. His presence elevates the whole film, and it's telling that when he's killed off near the end, the process of shutting down his facility and dealing with Nick Nack just drags on and on. The cast as a whole is strong in 'Golden Gun' though two exceptions come to mind, specifically the Bond girls. We've already talked about how so many female characters in this franchise are poorly serviced in the scripts, but Anders and Britt Ekland as Goodnight put that problem firmly in the spotlight once again. Neither actors give a bad performance per se, but they feel like archetypal Bond girls at best, with nothing to differentiate them from the Bond girls of the other films.

If I were to sum up 'The Man With The Golden Gun' in just a single word, it would be... frustrating. When compared to its predecessor, it's a ripe example of two steps forward and two steps back. Moore adapts to the lead role a lot better here, and Scaramanga is one of my favourite characters in these films so far. But to its detriment, it slips back into the old habit of letting its female supporting characters down, and with the unnecessarily long intro and martial arts sequences, it's padded too. Reading other reviews of 'Golden Gun', I don't think it's the failure some would make it out to be, and in some ways I almost think I enjoyed it a little bit more than 'Live & Let Die'. But it sits in that troublesome "fine" category, where it's no catastrophe but no classic either. Let's hope third time's a charm for Moore.

5/10

NEXT TIME - The Spy Who Loved Me