Director: Guy Hamilton
Year of Release: 1974
Should you watch it? Enthusiastic yes!
Why?
This Bond has a big advantage: the villain is not trying to take over the world. Sure, Christopher Lee is certainly trying to get rich and not merely a humble hitman, but at its core, this movie is a feature-length standoff between two world class killers. It makes the film seem more intimate and personal, and that is something that is often missing from James Bond. The end-of-the-world stakes that you would consider a staple of James Bond films is also one of the weakest elements the films have to offer. Thus making, despite the standard amount of racism and sexism that this film had to offer, The Man with the Golden Gun one of the better James Bond films ever made.
How is the Bond?
Roger Moore does a fine job with the majority of the James Bond characterization, and he felt less like a Sean Connery impersonation on his second time out there. That being said, it really stood out here though how much he struggled with the physical aspect of the role. In some ways, it is quite charming to watch a James Bond that seems like a regular guy during the combat scenes though.
How is the Bond Woman?
Mary Goodnight is in some ways the worst of all worlds. There are moments where the character is acknowledging how fucked up it is to be a woman in James Bond’s orbit. But then she still plays damsel in distress and treated like an object instead of a human being. It is frustrating because there was the makings of something promising but it was not to be.
How is the Bond Villain?
Christopher Fucking Lee. It is remarkable how much just having a truly imposing and intimating presence in the role makes for a much better James Bond villain. I also just in general though like the dynamic he brought to the film. He was a cocky sharpshooter who admired James Bond in a way and his personal ambitions were not as dull as the take-over-the-world guys the movies did way too often.
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 