4w ago

007 Goldfinger is very overrated.

As the title says, I do not care much for 007 Goldfinger. It's not awful, better than like Thunderball, but it's a very strange film. It's got this weird car crusher scene, James does like nothing in the third act, and he's a freakin creep. I mean, more than usual. He gets so freaking lucky, again, more than usual. I do like Goldfinger as a villian, and Oddjob is pretty cool. But I just think this movie has a very weird tone and at the same time, is kind of bland.

Bonus opinion: I really like On Her Majesty's Secret Service. The tone and atmosphere are top notch, and I really like George Lazenby as James.

23 comments

I would like to post an actual unpopular opinion: the James Bond franchise died along with the cold war, both because the Enemy (tm) disapeeared and because it got turned into a very loud commercial for whoever had the money (seriously? James Bond drinking fucking Heineken?).
For the time being, I have no opinion on whether I agree with OP.
- I still remember that shaver product placement in 007 Nightfire PS2 and I was always confused as a kid why I had a shaver in my gadgets.
  
  Also crazy how early they started with product placement and this isn't just a modern thing. According to the internet even Goldfinger had a nice long list of product placements: Aston Martin, Aviation Traders Caviar, Bentley, Dunlop, Harris Equipment, KFC, Lotus, Mustang, Rolex, Sunoco, Rolls Royce, Slazenger, Smith & Wesson.
  Edit: And I wonder whether Mercedes pays any money for all villains in old movies always driving German cars...
- Goldeneye proved this. M calling Bond a dinosaur, a relic of the cold war, was so self aware and apt to set the movie off. And I think that was the 'last' Bond that 'worked' for thebreason you described.
  
  Goldeneye is definitely one of the best.
  But I do like casino royale and skyfall a lot. They work, in my opinion, because they tell much more personal stories and have less classic spy-action.
  
  And that setting is also what made The Man From UNCLE work, including the unlikely alliance against the remnants of the Nazis...
  Better times.
- Agree whole-heartedly.
- accurate
James Bond actually sucks as a spy if you think about it. Cause everyone knows Bond, and he spends most of his time being captured, ESPECIALLY in Goldfinger. The only thing he really does is fuck with Goldfinger and Pussy Galore
- The only reason the military is able to swoop in and stop Goldfinger is because he was still able to gather and transmit intel even as a prisoner. Plus, Pussy Galore didn’t release the actual deadly gas because James told her it was fatal and not harmless like Goldfinger had said. Her “switching sides,” of course, paralleling the creepy “fixing her lesbian-ness” overtones.
  It’s not that he’s a bad spy for getting captured, it’s that he’s good enough to save the day even from captivity.
  However, he is a bad spy for getting both of the Masterson sisters killed.
It's got this weird car crusher scene,
The real crime in the film is what they did to that gorgeous Lincoln Continental. Although in fairness, it wasn't a collector at the time. Just a newer model luxury car.
Also, Timothy Dalton was the best iteration of James Bond. I will die on this hill.
Edit: Fun fact, Gert Fröbe, who stars as the titular Goldfinger also played Barron Bomburst in the film adaption of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang which was based on the children's book of the same name, written by none other than Ian Fleming.
- I'm watching them in order, I'm on Live and Let Die currently. I have heard really good things about Timothy Dalton, and I grew up with Goldeneye and Die Another Day (yeah, i know.)
  
  Dalton is my personal favorite. I think he and Daniel Craig were the closest to the character from the novels.
  Brosnan was ...not the best choice.
Classification guide for James Bond movies.
- my husband would agree with you

23 comments