Goldinger: What does 007 actually DO in this film ?

edited August 2016 in Bond Movies Posts: 19,339
As much as I try to like GF I just don't.
Bond just spends most of the time sitting on his arse doing nothing,and when he does do anything,he cocks it up or gets someone killed.

a) He p****es off GF,which he didn't have to,leading to Jill Masterton being killed.
b) Plays a round of golf (although I do actually like this scene.)
c) Gives Tilly Masterton away to GF's men,knocking her gun barrel onto the alarm wire, and she ends up being killed.
d) Gets caught and destroys the DB5.
e) Remains captured for the entire remainder of the film,and its only by a slight niggling doubt in GF's mind that he doesn't get his gonads sliced off by a laser.
f) Escapes from his cell and gets caught within 5 mins.
g)Didn't do anything to stop the Delta 9 nerve gas being used (although it was swapped,he didn't know that.)
h)Ends up being chained to a nuclear device and was lucky as heck for the key to fall within range.
I)The whole operation being a success was because he 'turned' Pussy Galore..so she saved all the lives,he actually did nothing.


Yes,i know people deem it a classic,and it is,with some great scenes,but to me it's not a patch on FRWL,TB or OHMSS,in the 60's....

Comments,peeps ?

Comments

  • Posts: 52
    I watched the film while studying the book for University and I definitely noticed this. :D It's a classic film with some classic scenes, but a lot of the film does seem like Bond constantly tossing up!
  • edited August 2016 Posts: 19,339
    Glad you noticed it Mikah and not just me !
    I'm sure I will get flak from the die-hard GF supporters on here,but I've got my tin hat on.

    I've just been dying to mention my views on this and thought sod it,post them Bazza ;)
  • Posts: 52
    Bwahaha, I do like the film, don't get me wrong, but you can't deny the facts that Bond doesn't do an awful lot that's effective in it. :P
  • Posts: 4,325
    Goldfinger is good, but overrated.
  • Posts: 615
    What does Bond do?

    - Scubas into an enemy facility, commando-style; blows it up
    - Fights/kills an assassin
    - Seriously messes with Goldfinger's card game (and has fun doing it)
    - "Cheats" the cheating Goldfinger at golf
    - Infiltrates Goldfinger's factory in Switzerland, commando-style
    - Leads Goldfinger's henchmen on a deadly car chase, deploying Q Branch gadgets
    - Almost loses his nerts to an industrial laser!
    - Escapes from his cell and sneaks around Goldfinger's Kentucky mansion
    - Seduces the "immune" Ms. Galore
    - Battles hulking henchman Oddjob to the death
    - Fights Goldfinger to the death
  • Posts: 4,325
    He also finds time to drink champagne and listen to the radio.
  • royale65royale65 Caustic misanthrope reporting for duty.
    Posts: 4,418
    Bond's penis saved the American economy.
  • Posts: 4,023
    I can accept that many find this a Bond classic, and it certainly has style and many iconic moments, but for me 007 drifting aimlessly really hurts the second half of the film a lot.

    @barryt007 - I think many Bond films have Bond just balls out confront the villain. It isn't a subtle strategy but I'm OK with it. Playing golf is the equivalent of cards or backgammon, so I find that a classic confrontation. But I'm with you on the rest.

    The classic car chase has Bond crash because he is dazzled by lights. Try driving home one evening on the M25 Mr Bond.

    Turning the "immune" Pussy is a bit borderline.

    One thing you didn't mention is that when he has defeated Oddjob his attempts to diffuse the bomb are somewhat ineffective. Moore in his clown outfit can do it, but Connery twiddles a few cables pointlessly until a tech guy flicks the "bomb off" switch.



  • LeonardPineLeonardPine The Bar on the Beach
    Posts: 3,985
    Well if Bond hadn't seduced and 'appealed to Pussy's maternal instincts' then she wouldn't have switched the cannisters and hundreds of people would have been killed and Fort Knox would have been blown up....

    Not too shabby!
  • Posts: 1,314
    One film though that improves upon Flemings idea.
  • Posts: 6,432
    GF drags in Kentucky for me this film has many iconic moments, though as a whole the film is ok not great. When required Sean is on good form, the first act is the best part of the film IMO. I love the Miama opening it is pure class, Barry's score is excellent.
  • I mean he takes down a pretty big seeming heroin smuggling outfit in the first couple of minutes, that's something.

    I don't really mind Bond scraping by and persevering through luck. Makes him seem more human. It doesn't really detract from the film for me, imo, it's not like he's running around falling at every hurdle, the film is still full of badass Bondanian moments.
  • Posts: 2,341
    GF is one of the most famous Bond films and very iconic but as for as Bond's personal performance goes it is fraught with screw up after screw up. It was Pussy who alerted the CIA of Auric's grand scheme. I guess we could give him some credit as it was his mancho lovemaking to her that convinced her to change sides.

    Aside from his seduction of Galore, and his blowing up the drug smuggling scheme I would rate his performance on this mission a D-
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited August 2016 Posts: 17,728
    James Bond becomes a film icon in Goldfinger.
  • Posts: 4,023
    So he gets the job done in DN and FRWL, but to become an icon he has to take his eye off the ball a bit more.
  • Among the massively important things Bond does:
    -blow up a drug lab which is completely irrelevant to the main plot
    -expose Goldfinger's cheating, which results in innocent Jill getting killed
    -play golf
    -discover how Bond smuggles his gold, which quickly becomes irrelevant
    -meet innocent Tilly, then get her killed so that she immediately becomes irrelevant
    -get captured for (almost literally) the entire remainder of the film
    -escape, then get recaptured by Pussy
    -learn about Operation Grand Slam and attempts to have Mr. Solo pass on this information, only for Mr. Solo to get shot by Oddjob

    Among the massively important things Bond does NOT do:
    -save Jill or Tilly
    -defuse the bomb (that was the technician, if not for him Goldfinger would have succeeded)
    -kill Goldfinger (Goldfinger killed himself by shooting the gun, Bond wouldn't have done that, knowing how dangerous it is)

    Let's face it, I love the film but all he really does is make love to Pussy and convince her to call CIA (which is offscreen). Really Pussy's the one who saved the day.
  • edited August 2016 Posts: 19,339
    I'm amazed at the amount of members agreeing with my balzy thread,taking on an iconic film (which it is ,lets be honest..without it we wouldnt be typing this now,i do realise that)...it was the right film at the right time...just like GE and CR...(both better Bond films IMO)..
  • Oh I love GF but credit AND criticism given where it's due...
  • Posts: 7,653
    Still happy to find out that Goldfinger is a baddie and not his stepbrother.
  • Posts: 19,339
    Oh I love GF but credit AND criticism given where it's due...
    Thank you good Sir....it was a gamble posting it,but i have been a member for 9 years on here and the old site,so luckily im respected enough to do it haha.
  • Posts: 19,339
    SaintMark wrote: »
    Still happy to find out that Goldfinger is a baddie and not his stepbrother.
    That ST,would have been a bloody disaster...

  • edited August 2016 Posts: 3,564
    Well, Bond DOES manage to give me a handle to use on this site in GF. Got to give him credit for that, eh?

    Seriously though -- aside from killing Oddjob in an awesome battle inside the vault at Fort Knox, Bond's main accomplishment in GF is persuading Pussy Galore to switch sides. I doubt that he was unaware the Delta 9 gas had been swapped -- the thing is, some important stuff was left out of the film to increase the audience's suspense. Said important stuff being: how exactly did he convince Pussy to alter her allegiance? It don't think it was his magic penis. It was probably a post-coital conversation along the lines of the following:

    Bond: "He's not going to rob Fort Knox, you know. He's already admitted it to me."
    Pussy: "Whaaat?"
    Bond: "Those Chinese gents you've been seeing all over the place? They've given him an atomic bomb. He's going to set it off inside the Fort, making the US gold supply radioactive and plunging the west into economic chaos. It'll increase the value of his own gold many times. Won't do anything to make you any richer, of course, but then he doesn't really care about anyone but himself, does he? You and your girls are just going to be another small batch of casualties by this time tomorrow."
    Pussy: "Why, that BASTARD! I'm not going to let him get away with this!! What can we do to stop him?
    Bond: "Well, I've got this friend named Felix...."

    So you see, Bond learning the various things that he learned about Operation Grand Slam, plus the conversation he had with Goldfinger over mint juleps in Pussy's absence, all had a bearing on his ability to turn Pussy's loyalties. While I'll admit he does make a few mistakes here & there...throughout the film...in the end, Bond does deserve just a tiny bit of the credit for keeping the US economy safe as of 1964. We sure could have used his likes (or maybe just a little more Pussy) where it could have done the most good circa 2008...
  • Posts: 19,339
    The thing is ,over mint juleps he even mentions to GF (Gert Frobe btw is perfect casting) about the Delta 9 gas being fatal ,he overheard it in GF's meeting.
  • barryt007 wrote: »
    The thing is ,over mint juleps he even mentions to GF (Gert Frobe btw is perfect casting) about the Delta 9 gas being fatal ,he overheard it in GF's meeting.

    Exactly. Many downplay the effects of Bond's efforts at spying throughout this film. Granted, he gets stymied over & over again throughout the movie, but he's still finding out stuff that pays off in the end.
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