The third film in the 007 series sees him being put on the trail of notorious gold smuggler Auric Golfinger, and in doing so he uncovers a plot to break into fort knox and put the global economy into meltdown.
This is the first Bond film to feel like what Bond films would become over the next few decades - ie a larger than life antagonist, ridiculous world domination schemes, a dangerous henchman, and gadgets and women galore. And I have to say it is highly entertaining. Oddjob is an incredible foe, with Bond having to use his wits to beat him, Goldfinger is a brilliantly clever yet unhinged main antagonist, and the film is rammed with classic scenes from the laser table, to the gold paint kill to the Aston Martin chase to the battle in fort knox.
Equally fascinating is what went on behind the scenes, from the Oddjob actor being burned so bad he had to go to hospital, them getting into trouble with the US air force for flying too low over fort knox, to not being allowed inside fort knox, so they had to build a set of how they imagined it looked and won an award for it. Oh, and the actor who played Goldfinger couldn't speak English, so ALL of his lines are dubbed! Can you tell? Amazing!
The thing is though, for me it is lacking the espionage that the first 2 films have, and feels a bit more... cheesy, for lack of a better term. It feels more like an action/adventure film than a spy film, and that's fine if that's what you are after, but for me it feels jarring. It's also a film I have seen much more than the previous 2, so as such doesn't quite have the same impact as it might have had if this had been my first watch. All in all its a worthy entry into the Bond universe, but is not quite as good as the previous film imo...
This is the first Bond film to feel like what Bond films would become over the next few decades - ie a larger than life antagonist, ridiculous world domination schemes, a dangerous henchman, and gadgets and women galore. And I have to say it is highly entertaining. Oddjob is an incredible foe, with Bond having to use his wits to beat him, Goldfinger is a brilliantly clever yet unhinged main antagonist, and the film is rammed with classic scenes from the laser table, to the gold paint kill to the Aston Martin chase to the battle in fort knox.
Equally fascinating is what went on behind the scenes, from the Oddjob actor being burned so bad he had to go to hospital, them getting into trouble with the US air force for flying too low over fort knox, to not being allowed inside fort knox, so they had to build a set of how they imagined it looked and won an award for it. Oh, and the actor who played Goldfinger couldn't speak English, so ALL of his lines are dubbed! Can you tell? Amazing!
The thing is though, for me it is lacking the espionage that the first 2 films have, and feels a bit more... cheesy, for lack of a better term. It feels more like an action/adventure film than a spy film, and that's fine if that's what you are after, but for me it feels jarring. It's also a film I have seen much more than the previous 2, so as such doesn't quite have the same impact as it might have had if this had been my first watch. All in all its a worthy entry into the Bond universe, but is not quite as good as the previous film imo...