Review of Goldfinger (1964) by Brendan C — 05 Apr 2013

This is when James Bond really became James Bond. When we think of 007 we think of cars with cool gadgets, and cheesy villains. Sean Connery was the best Bond after Daniel Craig and this was the best film he did, and the best in the whole series after Skyfall, and Casino Royale. The first two in the series Dr. No, and From Russia With Love were great, but not as great as this, because they were slower, and they didn't have all the gadgets that make the stereotypical 007 film that we love. They had them, but not as much as this film did. All the James Bond films are cheesy, but some of them are too cheesy. This one was cheesy enough for it to be funny and entertaining, but not so much that the film couldn't be taken seriously at all. That is why this is my favorite of the old ones. What is good about Sean Connery is that he is like the Cary Grant of the 60's in the Bond films. He sounds like him and was similar in personality to him. He had the same leading man presence that Grant had too. Which was perfect for a 60's Bond film.

James Bond (Sean Connery) is ordered by his superior M to go to Miami Beach to observe Auric Goldfinger (Gert Fröbe), a bullion dealer that is staying at the same hotel. After bond catches Goldfinger cheating at gin rummy, and stops him he consummates the relationship with the employee he used to blackmail Goldfinger into losing. He is knocked out by Goldfingers servant Oddjob (Harold Sakata)he wakes up and finds her dead covered in gold paint. After he learns what Goldfinger's true mission is he arranges to meet Goldfinger and play golf with him. He beats Goldfinger, and then follows him to Switzerland determined to find out how he smuggles Gold internationally.

This film gets parodied a lot in Austin Powers films. OddJob's famous thing in this film is that he throws his hat and it breaks a statue. In the first Austin Powers there is a guy who throws a shoe. The 3rd Austin Powers film was called "Goldmember" which was a parody to the title of this film. The Bond films have had a huge effect on the film industry, and the fact that they get parodied so often shows that. This film is one of the most important films in the series, and it is one of the greatest films of all time. It is the one Bond film in the book "1001 movies you must see before you die.".

This is a great movie that is fun, funny, and cheasy. You can make fun of it without ruining it, which makes Bond films so special. Also because this is only the third film it was still original and new. After a while it got ruined because it became the same thing over and over again. I liked this one because it felt so original at first. The other Bond films were mostly decent, but they weren't as good until Daniel Craig came around and reinvented 007 and made it better. This is a great classic overall.