The Man with the Golden Gun (4½ Stars)

This is the ninth James Bond film, made in 1974, only a year after "Live and let die". It's the second film starring Roger Moore as James Bond, and it's much better than his first film. It's partly because it's a better written film, but Roger Moore also plays the character differently. He's not quite as whimsical as in his first film. He's adapting to the role as he goes along.

The film's big villain is Francisco Scaramanga, an assassin who charges one million dollars per kill. His speciality is that his bullets are made out of gold, and so is his gun. His gun only holds a single bullet, because he never misses.

It's not just about making money. Scaramanga needs to know he's the best, so he hires assassins to kill him. He knows they're coming, so it's a duel to the death. The greatest killer he knows is James Bond, so he wants to have a duel with him. He could easily eliminate Bond any time as an anonymous sniper hiding in the shadows, but he respects Bond too much to kill him without giving him a fighting chance.

There's an element of double cross in the film. A businessman called Hai Fat pays Scaramanga to kill a scientist who's invented a revolutionary solar energy device which has 90% efficiency. I assume that it means it transfers 90% of the sun's heat which is shone into it, which would mean immense heat. After killing the scientist, Scaramanga hands over the device to Hai Fat, but he realises how valuable it is and shoots Hai Fat to take the device for himself. Scaramanga inherits a huge laboratory, but he doesn't seem to know what to do with it. That's the weakest part of the plot, and the reason for deducting half a star from an otherwise perfect film. A man with Scaramanga's obvious intelligence would have hired a dozen or more scientists and technicians to operate Hai Fat's machines.

The Good Bond Girl is Mary Goodnight, played by Britt Ekland. She's supposedly a junior agent in MI6, but she's so air-headed that it's difficult to take her seriously. Her only interest is in getting into bed with James Bond, but she has to wait until the end of the film before he pays attention to her. I've been told that she appeared in several of the James Bond novels. I'm glad that she only made it into one film. Beauty isn't enough. I like a woman who's intelligent.

The Bad Bond Girl is Andrea Anders, played by Maud Adams. She's a more competent woman. Her only weakness is that she can't resist James Bond's charms. Scaramanga shoots her when she betrays him.

James Bond meets the two nieces of a police lieutenant. They aren't named in the film. They act like giggling schoolgirls, but they sure know how to fight.

Bond doesn't even take part in this fight. He stands back and watches the girls in action.

As always, Bond flirts with Miss Moneypenny, raising her hopes of a romantic encounter, but she never has a chance.

Beauty is only skin deep. If Bond had been less shallow he could have grown to like her. The Bond Girls came and went, but Moneypenny was always in the office waiting for him. She appeared in the first 14 Jams Bond films, from 1962 to 1985. 23 years is a long time to wait for a man who's only interested in other women.

Success Rate:  + 11.9

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