The Man With The Golden Gun is the only Bond film to introduces both the main villains in the story and the main Bond girl before the opening credits, and I think it worked quite well. The introduction sets up the character of Scarmanga as an excellent marksman as he tests his skills against a man sent to kill him. It also sets up the rather interesting character of Nick Nack the small and amusing right hand man of Scarmanga. The opening credit sequence is quite dull compared to past Bond films.
I never thought a theme song could get worse than Live And Let Die but I've been proven wrong. The title song for The Man With The Golden Gun sung by LULU is not only a horrible song for a Bond film but it’s a horrible song in general, really it's a total crap.
He has a powerful weapon, he charges a million a shot. An assassin that's second to none, the man with the golden gun.
Lurking in some darkened doorway, or crouched on a rooftop somewhere, in the next room, or this very one, the man with the golden gun.
Love is required, whenever he's hired, it comes just before the kill. No one can catch him, no hitman can match him, for his million dollar skill.
One golden shot means another poor victim, has come to a glittering end. For a price he'll erase anyone, the man with the golden gun.
His eye may be on you or me. Who will he bang? We shall see.
Love is required whenever he's hired, it comes just before the kill. No one can catch him, no hitman can match him, for his million dollar skill.
One golden shot means another poor victim, has come to a glittering end. If you want to get rid of someone the man with the golden gun will get it done. He'll shoot anyone, with his golden gun.
Roger Moore definitely steps up his game in this second outing but unfortunately the overuse of humor in this film really doesn't help Moore look more like the Bond we have all grown to love. He's better than Lazenby this time around but still no where near the caliber of Sean Connery.
Main Bond Girls
Andrea Anders is the first Bond girl we are introduced to in the beginning of the film. She plays a role very similar to Dominique Derval "Domino", from Thunderball, she's the mistress of Scaramanga and remains so against her will. She was the one responsible for sending the golden bullet to Bond in hopes that he would come and kill Scarmanga to set her free. Anders is played by Maud Adams who begins her rather impressive career in the Bond franchise with this role. She is the only actor to appear in three Bond films as a different character each time and also holds the record as the only one to be a different Bond girl twice, in this role and as Octopussy in the Bond film with the same title.
Goodnight works in some capacity within the British Secret Service and is sent to assist Bond in anyway she can, but she ultimately ends of being more of a hindrance. It's obvious she has an infatuation with Bond from the start, so her character becomes more of a wide-eyed school girl, who can be rather annoying at times.
The Villains
A much younger Christopher Lee plays Scaramanga the infamous and mysterious "million dollar hitman". Scaramanga, in my opinion, is probably the best type of villain in the Bond franchise so far, Christopher Lee has that look about him probably due to all those years playing Dracula. Unfortunately as with Roger Moore, the corny atmosphere of the film has somewhat of a negative effect on Scaramanga as well, I never really came to the conclusion what his "master plan" was due to the mess of story, so Scaramanga lost a few points with me.
Most known for his role on the television show Fantasy Island, Hervé Villechaize plays Nick Nack, Scaramanga's assistant. Nick Nack was my favorite character in this film. He's exactly the type of character a main villain’s right hand man should be, quirky, humorous and at times a dangerous foe. The part had to have been written for Hervé and he reminds me a lot of my favorite Wild Wild West villain, Dr. Loveless.
Total Rating : 6.4/10
Overall (Including Film Rating) : 6.7/10
7/10
7/10
I'm totally with you on Hervé. Nick nack is my third favorite of the goons yet!
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