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Plot
James Bond (Roger Moore) searches for a stolen invention that can turn the sun’s heat into a destructive weapon. He soon crosses paths with the menacing Francisco Scaramanga (Christopher Lee), a hit man so skilled he has a seven-figure working fee. Bond then joins forces with the swimsuit-clad Mary Goodnight (Britt Ekland), and together they track Scaramanga to a tropical isle hideout where the killer-for-hire lures the slick spy into a deadly maze for a final duel.
So the above the plot is provided by a generic Google search of ” Man With A Golden Gun plot”
My take on the plot
The anti-Bond Francisco Scaramanga (Christopher Lee) squares off with Roger Moore’s 007 in a movie where this “Solex” weapon of destruction using the sun is almost an afterthought. The duel between the two assassins is the true build up throughout the movie where Bond thinks in the film’s beginning, he is the next target of Scaramanga.
007 is hoping to track down Scaramanga and get the drop on him before the elusive, “no identifying photo on file and only have a 3rd nipple to identify him” assassin makes 007 the next recipient of his next golden bullet. This uneven film takes us through various locations including; Beirut Libanon, the Macau- Hong Kong- Bangkok, before arriving at “Bond Island” (Thailand) where the non-epic showdown between Scaramanga and Moore takes place.
Place your bets, as Knick Knack (Scaramanga’s henchmen) would do, on who will come out on top: Walther PPK vs. Golden Gun, Roger Moore vs Christopher Lee……two nipples vs 3 nipples…. ok, ok you get the picture.
What I liked (+)
+ Moore is the best know it all Bond in the game
+ 2 Q’s discussing guns and bullets
+ Lazar scene, rougher, edgier Bond from Moore
+ Underrated soundtrack
+ Knick Knack’s ongoing game with Scaramanga for the island and money
What I didn’t like (-)
– Kill Bond after Sumo encounter…. or throw him into the ninja school
– M wishes Bond would have been shot…very unlike “Bernard Lee M”, more like Judi Dench’s M
– Leaving behind Bond, driving away to initiate water boat scene
– Slide whistle ruining cool car stunt jump
– Miss Ander’s sudden reveal that she sent Bond the 007 marked bullet to enlist his help against Scaramanga (all after first encounter where he was rough with her and almost broke her arm for information)
Mixed Bag areas (+/-)
JW Pepper
Underwhelming duel between Scaramanga and 007
Knick Knack as a henchman
Scaramanga’s Playhouse
Overall Review Summary
When I think and look back on this movie, I generally think “Golden Gun”, “Bond Island”, “Christopher Lee”, “Knick Knack” and “Holly Goodknight” as one of my least favorite Bond girls. Goodknight was written to be a ditz, incompetent and just a little too all over the place for me. One-minute Bond seems to want her and the next minute, he seems embarrassed to be around her. JW Pepper was better in this movie, as it was in a much smaller part, but I still think there was too much of him in this movie. He just takes away from the tone this flim needs: turning it into a slapstick parody as opposed to a spy thriller.
I love the idea of the anti-Bond in Christopher Lee and think he is definitely one of the better or at least more compelling villains of the series but I just don’t think they gave him and Moore enough time together on screen (especially for their duel at the end of the movie). Bond Island is a gorgeous location that is one of my favorites in the series.
I love the idea of Knick Knack and Scaramanga having an ongoing wager between Knick Knack’s hired assassin vs. Scaramanga for control of island and Scaramanga’s wealth. It is just too bad that Scaramanga has to use a gimmick with his “playhouse” of distractions and trickery to defeat opponents. It makes him look less powerful on one hand but on the other hand, you can understand it since Knick Knack is trying to stack the deck against him. This is really a neat concept and storyline that I wished would have been more time with to more fully develop.
One of the coolest car stunts in the series and it is ruined by a slide whistle…. that pretty much wraps up this movie in one sentence for me. It could have been a great movie with a little more tweaking, little more commitment to a serious tone in some parts and with the script writing lines that would make Moore the Bond we know and love more in later installments of his Bond tenure. He is the gentlemen’s Bond and I do like him showing some edge at different times, but you can definitely tell in Moore’s second movie, they are ironing out the wrinkles in adapting him as Bond.
Final Rating: Lot of flaws but still some good moments and lines I like
You Had It Coming 