Director: Guy Hamilton
Year of Release: 1964
Should you watch it? Yes.
Why?
When I think of the Sean Connery era of James Bond, my mind goes straight to Goldfinger. It has one of the best villains. The first real insane name for a woman. An iconic henchman. They manage to continue to solidify the biggest elements of the series while offering enough wrinkles to make the film seem fresh even today. One of the best films in the whole series.
How is the Bond?
There is not much more that needs to be said about Sean Connery as James Bond by film #3. That being said, he does get to play a more passive side of the character here as he spends a not insignificant amount of time playing possum as the captive of Goldfinger. It works surprisingly well,
How is the Bond Woman?
The big thing that stuck out to me about rewatching this film many years later was how late Pussy shows up in the film. She is obviously one of the most memorable Bond Women simply due to her insane name. But that would do Honor Blackman a disservice to simply lay it all on that. She holds her own especially given her late arrival and makes for a nice change of pace given the more passive female leads in the series up until this point.
How is the Bond Villain?
Auric Goldfinger is one of the classic Bond Villains. There are many notable aspects to his characters but one thing that stood out was that his plan felt more practical in terms of motivation and less megalomaniacal – which I enjoyed. Sure, the plan is insane, but, like, he is just trying to make himself richer. He is not trying to take over the world! The other big aspect of Goldfinger is how much he likes to play with his food. It is a concept that can cut the tension in most movies because kills the suspension of disbelief. Goldfinger seems to genuinely get off on it though so it works.
Does the film irresponsibly present the West as the hero of the world and thus promote imperialism and colonialism as inherently positive?
Yes.
The Reel World 