Review of The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) by Ryan T — 23 Jun 2009

Roger Moore's second time in the role of James Bond is an improvement over Live and Let Die, but still suffers from a lot of the same problems. Like its predecessor, The Man With the Golden Gun is overlong, suffers from a rambling plotline, and chases the cinematic trends of the day in a too-obvious fashion (the kung fu set piece that occurs in the midsection is a now-dated concession to the mid-'70s martial arts film boom).

However, its biggest problem is its overreliance on campy humor. Potentially exciting boat and car chases get weighed down with uninspired slapstick and Bond's relationship with Mary Goodnight plays like a bad subplot from a particularly tired British sex farce.

Despite these key flaws, The Man With the Golden Gun has a few strong elements that make it worthwhile for the Bond aficionado; there is plenty of action, some dazzling sets (especially Scaramanga's funhouse-styled lair), and John Barry's lush musical score is exotic and alluring.

Best of all, Christopher Lee makes an intelligent and genuinely menacing villain as Scaramanga. The scene where he meets James Bond and tells the story of how he became an assassin manages to be darkly witty and unsettling all at once thanks to Lee's subtly intense performance.

In the end, The Man With the Golden Gun is probably a bit too leisurely paced and dated in its style for audiences raised on modern action fare, but it provides enough solid thrills to please the Bond fanatic.