Released in 1974, The Man with the Golden Gun was the last James Bond movie directed by Guy Hamilton. This is the second outing as Bond for Roger Moore and much like how Live and Let Die had a different approach to Bond than the Sean Connery movies did. The Man with the Golden Gun also has a different style, with a lot of kung-fu stuff happening in this movie.
How to Download The Man with the Golden Gun
The Man with the Golden Gun was released on18 December 1974. You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice. If you want to see more Bond movies with Roger Moore, check out our reviews of The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy, and A View to a Kill.
The Movie Review
This was actually seen as a disappointment when it was released. It is one of the lowest grossing James Bond movies and it did not exactly do all that well critically either. I get that they tried to add even more humor than the kung-fu stuff may have not felt like traditional Bond for those coming straight from the Sean Connery movies. However, I have a real soft spot for this movie and I find it to be a lot of fun.
A Different Kind of Bond Movie
In many ways, I would say that The Man with the Golden Gun is a typical “dumb action movie” more than a James Bond movie, but that is what I like about it. In the UK during this time there was an energy crisis and I remember hearing stories from my mum about how their power would just shut off and they would have no idea when it would be back on.
Anyway, that is kind of the backdrop for The Man with the Golden Gun. There is this thing called the Solex that can solve the energy crisis that the world has and to get it, Bond needs to go through, Francisco Scaramanga who is, “the man with the golden gun”. After watching this again recently, I would put Francisco Scaramanga up there as one of my favorite Bond villains.
Francisco Scaramanga – One of the Best Bond Villains?
He is just so over the top! Scaramanga is the ultimate assassin who uses his really cool and probably super heavy, golden gun to take down his targets. He also has a henchman called Nick Nack who is a little person and he is awesome. The pairing of Scaramanga and Nick Nack just really clicked with me. I am a huge fan of Christopher Lee, but you never really hear people talk about Scaramanga the same way they do the likes of Dracula, Count Dooku, and Saruman.
Action-Packed Sequences and Kung-Fu Fights
As you would expect, there is some great action in The Man with the Golden Gun. While it may have seemed a bit out of place at the time, I loved the kung-fu stuff and it was awesome to see Bond hold his own with these martial artists. Another scene I really like is the end duel between Scaramanga and Bond, the first time I saw this, it was a great fake out when Scaramanga turned chicken and ran away from Bond as I never saw that coming.
The Movie’s Weirder Moments
While there are many things that I do like about this movie, there are some things that I am not a fan of. The whole thing with Scaramanga’s third nipple is just so damn weird, almost to the point where it is like a parody or a joke. We also have Mary Goodnight, who is one of our Bond Girls in the movie and while she may be easy on the eyes, her character is a freaking moron and you wonder how she ever became a spy in the first place.
Final Thoughts – A Mixed Bag with Fun Moments
I guess I would have to say that The Man with the Golden Gun is a bit of a mixed bag. The stuff I like, I really like, but it does have some pretty goofy and just flat out weird moments too. I can see why those who did not like the direction that Live and Let Die took with James Bond were not fans of what this movie did at all. Still, I have fun with it and Christopher Lee is awesome as Francisco Scaramanga and so is his little buddy, Hervé Villechaize as Nick Nack. By the way, I highly recommend you check out the movie, My Dinner with Herve, it is a hidden gem of a movie about the life of, Hervé Villechaize.
© 1974 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved.
