Review of The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) by Ben B — 23 Oct 2012

So much about TMWTGG works well that it's a shame it has to be so far down on the list. Unfortunately, although it's bookended by some great scenes featuring Christopher Lee as the villain, there is a lot of lame filler.

This includes bringing back JW Pepper, one of the absolute worst characters from any Bond film. His presence makes all around him seem that much worse. Also, a special shout out to the absolutely dreadful decision to put a comical sound effect to a "Dukes of Hazzard"-esque car stunt.

Points must be added back for the innovative "fun house" of a villain's lair, unlike anything in other Bond pictures that provides some bizarre entertainment. Despite having one of the strongest villains in the series, the film is hurt considerably by the middle section.

There's random ninjas, some nonsensical plot turns, and to put it bluntly, Bond just seems to be more of a dick than usual in this one. TMWTGG is just too inconsistent and at-times annoying to rank any higher.