The Superficial Bond Reviews --- #03: Goldfinger

* Following the excellent policy of subjecting (bad) women to violence in the name of equality, Bond lets some broad take a club to the head. I've hardly settled in the couch with my beers and my whisky, and I'm thrilled already.
Sadly, my mood is spoiled when Bond camouflages himself by wearing a duck on his head. Here starts the nasty trend that Roger Moore will later perfect: Making Bond look silly and ridiculous instead of wry and witty.

* The title sequence is perfect, timeless and elegant. The tune is fitting, too, even though Shirley is screaming like a wounded buffalo. I'm making a mental note that this may be the best title sequence of them all.

* It doesn't take long before i notice that the director actually seems to give a crap about his job as well. That aerial shot of the hotel is great, and there's good craftsmanship all around.

* The gadgets come into full play here, and we get to see Q's gadget lab. It's about time. It's funny and scary at the same time: grown men treating deadly weapons like toys.

* And Jesus F. Christ - the car. They go from no car whatsoever and directly to an Aston Martin DB5 with the optional extras. It's beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, and it makes boys and men alike want to be James Bond.

Dude, I know how you feel.

* Goldfinger is a cool bad guy too, against all odds. I give a truckload of credit to the actor portraying him for this feat - Gert Fröbe. He takes what could have been an underwhelming Bond villain and lends him credibility and humor. That, combined with the character's greed and total disregard for human life, makes him very memorable.
He gets to deliver my favorite piece of dialogue in all the Bond movies, too. I love you, Gert.

* I have mixed feelings about his henchman Oddjob, though. I like that he seems to love to fight, and is even amused at times, by the fact that Bond thinks he might be able to defeat him. I do not, however, like his stupid hat. Why? Because I'm not seven years old, that's why.

* Using Fort Knox is good. Whenever the Bond movies use recognizable landmarks, it seems to anchor the series in reality and add scope. Except when it's done stupidly. That's going to happen a lot from now on.

* So third time's the charm. Goldfinger is the first Bond movie that really delivers, and everybody knows it. Still, people waste time on Dr. No and From the Soviet Union With Camaraderie. Tsk, tsk.

* Spoiler: Goldfinger doesn't actually have a finger made of gold.

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