I want to like this one...
...I REALLY do! Honestly!
I liked the book, Roger Moore is my favourite Bond (yes, really), and I think his best movies were from the 70's after he'd just taken over from Connery... but I think this film is utter *beep*
I had so much promise, but it just wound up doing almost nothing positive. I've decided to make a list of things I liked and didn't like, feel free to add your own and / or argue with me (most will probably argue).
And I know people don't like spoilers, even if they're blacked out, so I'll just leave as much information as I can without giving away anything crucial. If I do HAVE to give something away, then it'll be 'spoiler'd
Good points
The angled ship-base
This is not only well done, it's just a cool idea in essence. It'd be hard to screw it up.
Scaramanga
All hail the mighty Christopher Lee. No matter what film he was in, even if it was a 'Dracula' flick and he hated the dialogue so much that he refused to say any of it (no really, that's the story)
The Golden Gun
I had to give this it's own section simply because of how good it is. In the novel, the titular Golden Gun was just a revolver covered in gold. I don't think they even mentioned anything about golden bullets, just a golden gun. To make it even LESS special, the novel version of Scaramanga has multiple golden guns, including a tiny golden Derringer he hides somewhere behind his ear
So when I saw the version they had for the move, with it's angular, blocky look, and that long, sinister barrel, it was genuinely eye-catching. I'll go to my grave singing the praises for that gun's design. It just looked good.
The original plot
One of the biggest draws the novel 'From Russia, With Love' had for me was the implication that, in this story, things were personal. An enemy had targeted James Bond. Not England, not MI5, not Bond's girl of the week, but James Bond '007' himself. Why? To kill him. The film literally begins with MI5 being mailed a golden bullet with '007' written on it, as if it's an omen of what's to come for Bond.
Bad points
SHERRUF JAY DUBYA PEPPAH
NOBODY wanted this guy back, except for the giggling three-year-olds who, frankly, were probably only there since their parents dragged them there anyway.
J W does nothing but spout racism and stupidity, both of which make me want to smack him.
The Solex Agitator sub-plot
Up above I said that I loved the original idea of the plot, a hitman gunning for Bond, but then they introduce this subplot, and talk about a global energy crisis, and solar power, and Scaramanga's laser-weapon, and the reactors on his island, and I don't care anymore.
The Bottoms Up Club
I know this is a Bond flick, and a 70's flick too, but did we really need the gratuitous shots of a girl in her lingerie, posing and rotating like a product in a showroom? I know it's only a few seconds, but with Goodnight traipsing around in her bikini in the finale, and Bond basically assaulting a half-naked woman prior to the club scenes, it was pretty redundant.
Nick Nack
What was honestly the point of having a midget butler, other than for some comedy then, and some representation now?