Review of Goldfinger (1964) by Patrick V — 27 Mar 2015

It could be argued that the Bond franchise overstayed its welcome many years ago, but this film is the best example of when the Bond franchise meant anything. In fact, this is the only Bond film where everything was done to absolute perfection.

The film introduced many of the gadgets, quotable lines, and writing conventions that would not only become trademarks of the Bond franchise, but also set the standard for an entire genre of spy films.

That being said, this is the only spy film out there that implemented them without it being corny and unoriginal. The story might seem a bit preposterous for some viewers, but for this kind of film where this sort of thing actually works, and the pacing runs very smoothly.

The performances, in my opinion, are the best in the whole franchise, with extremely well-rounded characters, whether they're the major or the minor characters, and for once, Bond and his enemy perform on equally fantastic levels.

The film itself looks highly polished, and is one of the few films out there that has a timeless quality to it, which is bolstered by the film's soundtrack. Everything about this film was done right, and although this formula was imitated several times (especially by later films in the same franchise), there's only one film that could implement its particular approach with style, dignity, and confidence that make this film the finest Bond film ever made.