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Goldfinger (1964) director Guy Hamilton returns to the Bond franchise for the 7th instalment, and the much-publicised return of Sean Connery to the role which made him famous worldwide. Unfortunately the same level of flair isn't dedicated to this film which made his first effort glow with so much joy and produced the benchmark for all successful spy yarns to follow. We have a laughable and difficult to understand plot which never really kicks into overdrive and elements which made some of the films of the Roger Moore era appalling are present here. Tom Mankiewicz and Richard Maibaum did explain early on about the hunt for the diamond smugglers and wanting to find where the chain stops, but it's so easy to be distracted by the wonderful, yet underused homosexual henchmen, Mr Kidd and Mr Wint, and Connery's attempts at more humour than he has ever undertaken in a Bond film. Hamilton gives us a glimpse of how Connery would have coped with the over-the-top plots that his successor Roger Moore had to so boldly endure for the majority of his reign, as the quality and seriousness of the original 007's first outings are nowhere to be seen. Nevertheless, the 41 year old does a sterling job with the delicate story and ordinary characters that remain, visiting a picturesque Holland and quite different Las Vegas with moderate success.
The troubles start however with Charles Gray's Blofeld. Bond aficionados state that a mockery of the once so evil villain is ludicrous; with others agreeing that silly touches like Blofeld disguising himself whilst exiting from the floor of a casino are just plain ridiculous. One representative stance of the filmgoing public is that when the Bond villains became more of a laughing stock, the collective thought of the series as a long running joke. The new direction of the Brosnan and Craig pictures are examples of the producers changing back to the seriousness of Connery's first outings, possibly ignited with License to Kill (1989) and the '15' certificate it garnered. Plot and character opinions aside, this is still a recognisable Bond film, enticing you with the familiar Scottish eloquence and charm, the glamour of Plenty O'Toole and Tiffany Case, and the interaction between Bond and M/Moneypenny which is always welcome as long as it oozes the right amount of comic innuendo.
The extras
The commentary on the first disc is admirable, if just a little overcrowded at times, making you forget who is actually talking. The 'BBC Interview with Connery' is quite informative and shows what a comfortable and relaxed man the Scotsman is. He also reveals here that he only read the Live and Let Die, Thunderball and From Russia with Love books before making Diamonds Are Forever. Alternate angles of the Las Vegas car chase and Amsterdam lift fight are nothing special, but the 'Inside Diamonds Are Forever' featurette, even though relatively standard, brings out the issues surrounding the film such as Connery's $1.25 million payday and his return, which are quite engrossing. The Albert R. 'Cubby' Broccoli tribute is the major highlight of the package though. This is a first-rate insight into the life of one of the great producers.
The summary
A typical swansong for probably the best James Bond when you consider his heart was never fully absorbed by the role for the sixth time, and his iconic status and future career were not exactly threatened by its quality.
