After finishing Live And Let Die, Roger Moore reprises his role as James Bond, for the second time in another follow up called The Man With The Golden Gun.
The Man With The Golden Gun was released in 1974. (the exact year Leonardo DiCaprio was born) Unlike Live And Let Die, Roger’s second Bond film was a critical disappointment for critics & fans alike, despite a box office success, it didn’t make a bunch of money at the box office like it’s predecessor.
In response to Roger Moore’s untimely passing, here are my real thoughts about what’s good or bad about this picture.
For those who are familiar with the James Bond tropes ranging from Sean Connery to Pierce Brosnan’s 007, this review contains SPOILERS.
Positive: Roger Moore did a terrific job for his performance as a James Bond, retaining his comedic chops without going too far.
Desmond Llewelyn (may he Rest In Peace) comes back as Q since he’s been abesent from the previous entry.
Christopher Lee (also known as Saruman, Count Dooku) also did a good job for his performance as Scaramanga. Don’t forget Tattoo’s (the plane guy from Fantasy Island) performance as Scaramanga’s henchmen, Nick Nack.
Action Sequences were enjoyable to watch. I mostly enjoyed Bond’s fight with Nick Nack, The Duel Scene with Bond & Scaramanga, and a boat chase. The flying car was pretty cool too.
The titular weapon went on to become an iconic weapon featured in Bond related video games like Goldeneye from the Nintendo 64. Those were the good ol’ days.
Cinematography was normal, it didn’t have any technical difficulties whatsoever.
Pre-Title Sequence begins with an area resembling a funhouse filled with mirrors, wax dummies with live rounds of bullets, and a security camera. This predates Jigsaw’s M.O. from Saw.
I’ll give this movie an Extra Point for Tattoo’s character, Nick Nack, who was the inspiration for Mini-Me from Austin Powers.
As I’ve mentioned on my previous review for Live And Let Die’s Sub-Genre, Golden Gun has a Sub-Genre involving Martial Arts, during Bruce Lee’s prime as an influential icon as a fighter/actor.
Negative: I swear for the love of cinema, I’m not making this up, Bond’s disguise to infiltrate Scaramanga’s Compound, is a prosthetic nipple on his chest. EGAD! Why didn’t he wear prosthetic makeup or a mask that resembles Scaramanga? The writers unintentionally made Bond a moronic twit! Gonna have to Triple Down this con for making me feel incredibly stupid like Cosmo from The Fairly Odd Parents!
J.W. from Live And Let Die, you know the discount version of Jackie Gleeson’s character from Smokey & The Bandit, returns for this movie who does nothing but screaming and complaining, he’s such as a nuisance! Why didn’t he die in The Pre-Title Sequence? To put salt in the wound, he ruined a car chase sequence for constantly yelling and screaming! I’ll have to Double Down the Points for bringing him back, plus he’s a precursor to Capshaw’s Disease! (CD for short) The number one stock character I hate the most is an annoying idiot!
Product Placement featuring certain brands including Nikon, Sony, Pepsi, American Motors Company. I’ll let this con slide, because I couldn’t find any other brands to spot.
The Final Verdict: C-
In my opinion, I felt underwhelmed with this picture. I enjoyed most of the good stuff, except for the ugly things like J.W.’s unexpected return which made me cringe. The Man With The Golden Gun wasn’t that good for me, I don’t blame Roger or Christopher for participating in this film, it’s just the aspects that didn’t keep me busy. One more thing, producers of the Daniel Craig movies, don’t even think about bringing J.W. back! Take notes on my blog, it’ll save you from ruining a franchise’s image.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 