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Goldfinger (1964) IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058150/ Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRmLjheB16Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRmLjheB16Y Bond: Sean Connery The Evil Mastermind: Surprise!...It's Goldfinger. The Henchperson: A Japanese as the Korean "Oddjob" The Bond Girl: Honor Blackman as Pussy Galore Director: Guy Hamilton Scripting: Richard Maibaum Line worth its weight in bullion: "Forgive me, Mr. Bond, but, uh... I must arrange to separate my gold from the late Mr. Solo." From Russia with Love abandoned the formula that was established in Dr. No in order to define Bond as a spy that was closer to reality, and despite the fact that the second movie made twice as much as the first movie, the more down to earth take on 007 was scrubbed to return to the formula of the first Bond movie. This film puts us back on track with all of the elements that we have come to expect, Bond cajoling his enemies, stealing their women, and saving the world (or at least part of it) from imminent disaster. This is the movie that solidifies the formula best, though, because it introduces two elements that has been missing up until now, the henchman that is almost weird than the main antagonist himself, and the bizarre parade of gadgets whose design stretch the imagination to the breaking point, culminating in Die Another Day and its invisible car.  You see Felix, this is why they call it "Goldfinger". To be fair, we start to see these devices appear in From Russia with Love with the suitcase of doom. However, that device is generally practical in nature and isn't nearly as outlandish as central gadget of this movie, which is without a doubt the Aston Martin DB5. This is surely the coolest of Bond's cars that he is likely to ever have, and while equipped to the point of the absurd, it never fails to entertain with its never-ending list of weapons and defenses, right down to a working ejector seat. As for Bond, Connery really plays up the cheekiness level of the character this time, gleefully torturing Goldfinger before he has even met him, and once he starts, he never lets up. After a while you almost start to feel a little bad for Goldfinger, as he really is somewhat defensless compared to Bond and his barbed witticisms. This movie is all about the Bond and his special relationship with Goldfinger, which ends up being not unlike an episode of Tom and Jerry except that although Goldfinger may be German, he's clearly not playing Jerry in this one. In one scene, Goldfinger hopelessly flounders about looking for his ball in a game of golf, Bond confides in his caddy that he has been standing on that very ball all the time. Bond even takes time out to torture a girl on the road by giving her a double flat tire though yet another gadget in his vehicle. In this movie, Bond does his best to put the "rear end" in "class act".  Tokyo apartment, circa 2015 (actual size). The central plot takes its time to be revealed, and when you find what Goldfinger is up to his plan is intriguing, improbable as it may be. It's a high concept plan which essentially comes down to betting on futures, and if thousands of people have to die, then they might as easily died in a natural disaster, in Goldfinger's way of thinking. It's alright in the end though, because you know it's a Bond movie, and in the end, love will conquer all. the one issue with this movie is the somewhat lackluster casting. I was seriously wondering if Gert Fröbe might be on medication, because he seems to unusually lethargic for a man about to commit mass murder. And what the hell is going on with Felix Leiter?? Felix has gone from being an active (albeit effeminate) Jack Lord to some guy they dug up at the Senior Center.  It was not a good day at Ft. Hood. The Good: Worth it just to watch the cat and mouse game. The Bad: May be dated for some. Casting is not terribly inspired. The Ugly:The Bond girl whose name sounds like a respected African American. FINAL SCORE As a Bond Flick:  As a movie in general:  The disturbing trivia: Some of Pussy Galore's "All women circus" were actually men wearing wigs. 
Yabanjin fucked around with this message at 03:35 on Nov 7, 2009 |
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Nov 6, 2009 14:20
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| # ? Apr 26, 2024 08:58 |
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