More so than any other entertainment franchise, the James Bond movie series is the most uneven, bouncing from remarkable highs to absurdly embarrassing lows. For every On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, there’s a Moonraker, and for every Casino Royale, there’s a Quantum of Solace. I wouldn’t go as far as to call the 007 series the most inconsistent franchise out there, but it’s undeniable that it’s not exactly trustworthy. Whereas other franchises let you know what you can expect from them — every Transformers is awful, every Mission: Impossible is spectacular, the MCU is, well, the MCU — 007 keeps you on your toes, unsure if you’ll get a banger or a turd.
Generally, we know what those turds are. Bond has produced 25 movies, and about five or six are simply terrible. However, one in particular stands out as the epitome of the elusive so-bad-it’s-good-genre: The Man with the Golden Gun. Released on December 20, 1974, the film is perhaps the single-most bizarre Bond movie ever, a confused mess of ideas, tones, and performances that can’t quite commit to the campy fun of other entries, yet can’t be taken seriously either. The Man with the Golden Gun is a particular kind of bad — it’s truly terrible, but weirdly enjoyable. On its 50th anniversary, it’s a great time to look back on this gem of bad taste and wonder if it really is as middling as we remember (spoiler: yes, it is).
He has a powerful weapon
The Man with the Golden Gun was Roger Moore’s second movie as James Bond, following the equally puzzling, but far more consistent Live and Let Die. The film abandons the more grounded approach of its predecessor — an outright Blaxploitation tale that remains the biggest outlier in the saga’s 25 movies — in favor of a classic spy story that sees Bond back in familiar territory. The plot follows Bond as he aims to retrieve the Solex Agitator, a new technology meant to fix the world’s energy shortages. However, his task is complicated when the infamous and deadly assassin Francisco Scaramanga (Sir Christopher Lee) becomes involved, starting a game of cat and mouse between the rivals.
At first glance, The Man with the Golden Gun offers the standard Bond schtick. There’s a valuable item to recover, a deadly villain in pursuit, and a few beautiful women who cross paths with Bond. However, all these elements are even lazier here — the Solex Agitator hardly works as a MacGuffin; it’s more an idea than an actual item, and Bond is barely interested in it. The Man with the Golden Gun also has the misfortune of having one of the worst Bond Girls ever, Britt Ekland’s Mary Goodnight. Now, the Bond Girl is not exactly a model for three-dimensional depictions, particularly during the early decades of the Bond saga, but Goodnight is a particularly ineffective and embarrassing example. For lack of a better word, Goodnight is quite stupid, a stereotypical dumb blonde whose incompetence increases from scene to scene.
Like most other Bond movies of this time, The Man with the Golden Gun is full of unfunny and sometimes offensive double-entendres — one of the Asian women is called “Chew Mee,” get it? All these details amount to a truly ugly movie that is never as funny or as thrilling as it wants to be. In fact, The Man with the Golden Gun is quite boring at several points, especially whenever Bond is on-screen.
No disrespect to Sir Roger Moore, but it really must be said: he’s among the weakest aspects of this movie, and his bizarre blend of transatlantic accent and Kentucky drawl can get a little grating at times. All this considered, one would think this is the worst Bond movie ever, and it comes close, too! However, it has one saving grace that not only rescues it from mediocrity, but actually elevates it to turn it into something enjoyable against all odds — well, two saving graces, actually.
Pair of aces
As it’s often mentioned, the real star of The Man with the Golden Gun is the titular character. Played to perfection by Sir Christopher Lee, Francisco Scaramanga is in close contention with No, Blofeld, Silva, and Le Chiffre as one of the best villains in the 007 saga. World-renowned for his imposing presence and deep, booming voice, Lee effortlessly dominates every scene he’s in, bringing charm and flair to a film that often goes for both, only to fall flat in its face. The Hammer Horror icon embodies all the debonair sophistication one would expect from Bond, further making poor Moore feel like an outlier in his own movie. It’s hard to stand next to Lee and try to out-suave him; he was one of those men who made all others seem, if not lesser, then certainly more plain.
Joining Lee is Hervé Villechaize as Scaramanga’s henchman, Nick Nack. In the grand tradition of other Bond henchmen, Nick Nack is as scene-stealing as Scaramanga himself, and Villechaize makes the best of every scene. The duo perfectly balances each other; whereas Lee opts for chilling and devastatingly charming restraint, Villechaize is openly chewing scenery left and right. The two inject this lifeless movie with a jolt of electricity that not only revitalizes it, but actually sends it into overdrive, making up for how dull everyone else is.
Contemporary and modern critics often agree that Lee outright stole the film from Moore, and it’s hard to disagree. Whenever they share the screen, Lee is such an overwhelming magnet that it’s nearly impossible for anyone else to compete. Villains outshining the heroes is not uncommon, and the Bond franchise is familiar with the trope — Javier Bardem pretty much chews and spits Craig in Skyfall, for example. But The Man with the Golden Gun is unique in that the plot is just as much about Scaramanga as it is about Bond, to the point where Bond often seems like the antagonist in Scaramanga’s story rather than the other way around. For that novel approach alone, The Man with the Golden Gun deserves some respect.
Another poor victim
Fifty years later, it’s clear that The Man with the Golden Gun suffered from the same growing pains as Live and Let Die. The 007 franchise was going through a crisis of identity, trying to keep up with the new trends of the ’70s while attempting to escape from Sean Connery’s looming shadow. Overall, Moore’s tenure as the spy with a license to kill is quite inconsistent, but his first two efforts are perhaps the most puzzling.
And yet, it’s hard to fault The Man with the Golden Gun, largely because of how great Lee is as the titular character. This film lives and dies with Lee’s now-iconic performance, and whenever he’s on-screen, it roars with style and appeal; even the jokes land! Sure, it’s not great that James Bond is the least interesting aspect of a James Bond movie, but what are you going to do? The Man with the Golden Gun is not a good movie: the plot is weak and repetitive, the heroes are frustrating, and even the song is notoriously terrible and borderline silly. But leave it to Christopher Lee, the real-life James Bond, to save this film and make it sing and, occasionally, soar. What a gift he was to cinema, and what a joy it is to watch him in The Man with the Golden Gun, perhaps the only Bond movie where you’re actively rooting for the villain to win.
The Man with the Golden Gun is available to stream on PlutoTV.
