Over the top fun...watch this when you need to escape
gforest | Los Angeles | 05/19/2010
(3 out of 5 stars)
"There is something very surreal about James Bond circa 1971-1974. More than any period of the series, when watching these films you feel like you are sucked into this imaginary spy fantasy funhouse. The Man With the Golden Gun literally starts off on a far remote island somewhere in Southeast Asia, and brings you into a psychotic funhouse full of mirrors, wax-made gangsters...and a golden gun. I won't go into the plot, because it's more fun just to watch the movie. But if you ever wanted Scooby Doo meets Dukes of Hazard meets Bruce Lee meets James Bond, the producers of this movie finally pulled it off. This movie is such a relic that would be nearly impossible to create today, and that is what I think is so magical about it. A few highlights: Roger Moore as James Bond is at his smoothest and most confident best. The legendary Christopher Lee is just so cool as the assassin villain. The small henchman Nick Nack adds a comic touch. Maud Adams is one of the best actresses of the series and she gives a really convincing performance in this. She rises above all the blank-faced, dim-witted eye candy characters of before and brings a character with some actual feeling. The locations are also really nice. A bit of a warning, this movie goes a bit over the top. Just read some of the negative reviews on this to know what I mean. But if you need a film of pure 1970's campy bliss to break from the gritty, hyper-realistic modern cinema world, this film is a thrill. I recommend it if you have already seen some of the other Bond films (Goldfinger, The Spy Who Love Me and From Russia With Love for starters)"