Goldfinger (1964)

Goldfinger Movie Review

Goldfinger is the third James Bond film directed by Guy Hamilton and starring Sean Connery and Honor Blackman. It is usually cited as the best Bond film whereas I totally disagree personally.

This is a weak film, especially in terms of storytelling. The plot is so typical and just plain boring, not to mention overly simplistic. I thoroughly disliked the story, the beginning was just tedious and it can put you to sleep whereas the later parts are so incredibly silly and filled with silly gadgets and overly unrealistic and campy situations. This is the first Bond to entirely go into that direction and while the previous two were at least somewhat routed in reality, this one just isn’t. And I am not a fan of that and I found it ridiculous to say the least.

But it still has its charms. The ending is incredibly satisfying with a perfect comedic conclusion. And I like some of its parts, the later parts and the fights being the standouts. The characters are also solid. The newly introduced, iconic Pussy Galore is a really memorable and fun character. It is also so refreshing to see a strong female character in this franchise for once as she exhibited both fighting abilities and weaponry. But even she succumbed to the title character in the end, becoming  a typical Bond girl which was unfortunate. Bond was pretty good here and the villains are pretty well realized. Oddjob posed a real threat, albeit being too campy. And Goldfinger is pretty good himself.

The acting is also serviceable. Sean Connery is even better here than in the previous films and Honor Blackman is rather good. Gert Frobe is quite solid as well and the scenes between Goldfinger and Bond are one of the highlights. And the sequence with the gold body is so memorable and iconic.

The directing from Guy Hamilton is quite solid but the editing is very poor with a rather slow pacing. Some of the earlier scenes are too dragged and boring, while the later ones are rushed. The scenery is of course terrific, both the interiors and the exteriors, but even those are fewer here than before which is once again an unfortunate choice as it is usually the series’ highlight. But the cinematography is great and the action sequences are excellently shot with good camera angles. The effects are superb and the score is as good as ever. And the tone is also great with great humor from time to time. But the movie is predictable and too silly for its own sake with the over-reliant use of gadgets and weaponry. And some of the silly situations were just too much in my opinion.

Comparing it to the previous films, it is without a doubt the weakest one and I cannot understand how this is proclaimed as the finest Bond movie when in reality ‘From Russia with Love‘ is infinitely better and even ‘Dr. No‘ is a much better choice. It is an overrated movie and an unfortunately groundbreaking one that set the unfortunate silly tone for the rest of the entries to follow.

Goldfinger is an overrated and an immensely disappointed movie. It has less emphasis on charm, story and locations, instead focusing on stupid and silly situations over-reliant on silly and unrealistic gadgets and weaponry thus unfortunately setting the tone for other Bond films to follow. It has its highlights including the conclusion, acting and fun humor, but the story is boring and bland and it is too silly making it infinitely inferior to the previous two films.

My Rating – 3.5