Daniel Shillito’s review published on Letterboxd:
Bond-a-thon 2024
Rushed out to capitalise on their new leading man, The Man with the Golden Gun often comes across as an awkward and haphazardly put-together potboiler of a film; yet, I still very much enjoy this oriental 007 adventure. Mixing the Bond formula with the rapidly emerging love for martial arts, the film is too often let down by an increasingly lazy script populated by increasingly irritable double-entendre-laden dialogue, simultaneously capturing the best and worst aspects of Moore's run into one sadly middling film. Despite my criticisms, the film is superbly photographed and Guy Hamilton's direction isn't half bad, far from his worst effort even if the quick turnaround hasn't done him many favours. Roger balances the overplayed humour with a steely performance, and then... there's Christopher Lee oozing with charm and enthusiasm, playing Scaramanga as a cool, deadly and thoroughly enchanting adversary, I'm amazed it took this long to get him into the series. While Hervé Villechaize plays it pretty well as the tiny henchman Nick Nick but in direct contrast the leading ladies are completely uninspired, bordering on braindead at times. At the same time, John Barry offers up another stunning score, although I seriously need to question whoever added that goddamn slide whistle over that bloody bridge jump. Regardless, you can do a lot worse than The Man with the Golden Gun, trust me I know, lacking and laboured but with the occasional memorable moment, it's a fun Bond adventure but one that ultimately fails to live up to its potential.
Next up: The Spy Who Loved Me
Previously: Live and Let Die
