Goldfinger (1964)

Connery-Lazenby James Bond Movie #3

 

Synopsis: Bumbling bureaucrat crashes expensive Astin Martin, gets two young women killed, and spends most of his assignment in captivity.

Blurb From the DVD Jacket: “Special agent 007 (Sean Connery) has just come face to face with one ofthe most notorious villains of all time. And now he’ll have to outwit and outgun this powerful tycoon to prevent him from cashing in on a devious scheme to raid Fort Knox – and obliterate the world economy!”

What Did I Learn?: For future reference: if Q informs James Bond his brand new car includes a whole bunch of nifty doo-dads, there’s an awfully good chance Bond will use each feature at some point later in the movie.

You Might Like This Movie If: You get a kick out of gold-themed villains.

Really?: 1) Why would M send Bond to play golf with Goldfinger when it’s obvious Goldy already knows Bond’s the dude who fucked up his card game? 2) I had a bit of trouble believing Pussy Galore would inform Washington about Goldfinger’s big plot after banging Bond…couldn’t she face conspiracy charges, even if Goldy didn’t kill her? 3) Um… wouldn’t the US government get extremely upset if somebody nuked its gold supply? Wouldn’t it likely hunt Goldfinger down like Osama bin Laden, even if he suddenly became a trillionaire? 4) Come to think of it, why would Goldfinger kill off every mafia boss in the United States, thereby inviting retribution? Wouldn’t it be a lot easier to pay them they money they’re owed, especially considering he’s on the verge of becoming the richest man on the planet? Does this guy ever consider the consequences of his actions? 5) Funny how Bond’s flight to the US is all martinis and comfy chairs, and then he’s assigned to a dungeon cell upon arrival. 6) So wait...Bond ducks his head below the bars of his jail cell and the guard feels the need to investigate? Come on...

Rating: While many consider Goldfinger to be the best of the Bond films, I think it sent the franchise in the wrong direction towards goofy gadgets, implausible storylines, and an over-reliance on evil billionaires. That said, it’s well-paced, Connery is at the top of his game, and he enjoys some great chemistry with Honor Blackman. Goldfinger is a fun movie so long as you don’t take it too seriously. 8/10 stars.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058150/