I know I'm just asking to be hauled over the coals for this, but Goldfinger is surely one of the dullest Bond films. I am not some cheeseburger junkie brought up on Die Another Day and xXx, before you make that assumption. But I found Goldfinger to be tolerable only because it was rather short for a Bond film and had a villain who was somewhat likable instead of a despicable super-arch-nemesis living in a volcano lair.
Despite the fact that this film apparently cost more to make then the first two Bond films combined it is so amazingly cheap you could be fooled into thinking it they filmed it all for free. First of all, Sean Connery is obviously never outside of Pinewood Studios (or the nearby, surrounding countryside) since every time he appears 'on location' it's ridiculously fake-looking rear-projection. My God, if you're going to make a spy movie in a franchise that sells itself on globe-trotting how about actually having your actor BE there!
The locations, as a result, are all low-key and not much to look at. The gold-melting plant in Geneva, for example, is blatantly an anonymous alleyway out the back of Pinewood. I was never really one for the silly gadget's in Bond film's either, so I'm glad that they never played a big part in the story and the stuff that he did use (homing devices) were believable. But don't get me started about the car! Why, why, why do people always cream their panties over these inane Bond cars? Let me tell you something; the Aston Martin is lamest thing I have ever seen, I wouldn't be seen dead in one and it irritates the hell out of me that they keep cropping up in this series. And that's even WITH Q's cunning extras. The Goldfinger Aston Martin spawned a die-cast toy car that's worth zillions on E-Bay these days and is worth even more if you have the box (why would you) with the ejector seat still intact. Wow...the ejector seat. Such a big deal is made out of this but I swear the guy Bond launches out of his car soars a whopping one foot in the air. Adventure doesn't get any bigger than THAT huh?
Despite it's undeserved praise as a classic and a definitive Bond film, Goldfinger is clearly a rush-job with an Oddjob. This was Connery's third Bond film (as well as others) in two years. If they took a little more time and effort and delivered something with more sophisticated framing and effects then Goldfinger could have been worthy of being called a classic. As it is it's merely a fond childhood event for a lot of older adults who are unable to see how naff it is since they can only view it through nostalgic goggles.
Despite the fact that this film apparently cost more to make then the first two Bond films combined it is so amazingly cheap you could be fooled into thinking it they filmed it all for free. First of all, Sean Connery is obviously never outside of Pinewood Studios (or the nearby, surrounding countryside) since every time he appears 'on location' it's ridiculously fake-looking rear-projection. My God, if you're going to make a spy movie in a franchise that sells itself on globe-trotting how about actually having your actor BE there!
The locations, as a result, are all low-key and not much to look at. The gold-melting plant in Geneva, for example, is blatantly an anonymous alleyway out the back of Pinewood. I was never really one for the silly gadget's in Bond film's either, so I'm glad that they never played a big part in the story and the stuff that he did use (homing devices) were believable. But don't get me started about the car! Why, why, why do people always cream their panties over these inane Bond cars? Let me tell you something; the Aston Martin is lamest thing I have ever seen, I wouldn't be seen dead in one and it irritates the hell out of me that they keep cropping up in this series. And that's even WITH Q's cunning extras. The Goldfinger Aston Martin spawned a die-cast toy car that's worth zillions on E-Bay these days and is worth even more if you have the box (why would you) with the ejector seat still intact. Wow...the ejector seat. Such a big deal is made out of this but I swear the guy Bond launches out of his car soars a whopping one foot in the air. Adventure doesn't get any bigger than THAT huh?
Despite it's undeserved praise as a classic and a definitive Bond film, Goldfinger is clearly a rush-job with an Oddjob. This was Connery's third Bond film (as well as others) in two years. If they took a little more time and effort and delivered something with more sophisticated framing and effects then Goldfinger could have been worthy of being called a classic. As it is it's merely a fond childhood event for a lot of older adults who are unable to see how naff it is since they can only view it through nostalgic goggles.