Goldfinger (1964) Film Review

James Bond returns in the classic Goldfinger, cue Shirley Bassey, cue Pussy Galore, cue Gadgets. GOLDFINGER!!!!

Sean Connery returns as the suave 007 agent James Bond and is on a mission to stop Gold fanatic, Auric Goldfinger, who plans to infiltrate Fort Knox. The plot is that simple but it is it’s simplicity it is one of many reasons why this film is regarded one of the greatest installments in the 50 year franchise.

In hindsight, you can see where Austin Powers took a majority of it’s comedy from. Yes, Austin Powers uses Blofeld as inspiration for Dr Evil but the majority of the wackiness of Austin Powers could be brought back to Goldfinger. This film has everything that we now know what to expect from a Bond film. This had the crazy evil genius in the guise of Auric Goldfinger, hilariously named. The odd right hand man of the villain, Oddjob, the hat throwing henchman. We also get the tongue in cheek Bond girl, Pussy Galore. It is wacky and diverts from the normalcy of the previous installments but that is why people love Bond, it’s fun.

The gadgets also gets injected with steroids, long gone are the days of a secret knife in a suitcase. Goldfinger introduces the car that has oil slick, interchangeable number plates, rockets on the front of the car and ejecting seat. It has all the crazy fun that we have come to expect of a Bond film. There would be no exploding pen, laser pen or submarine car without Goldfinger introducing the fun Q scene where we get to see what Mi6 is really spending our hard earned taxes on.

Goldfinger starts off with has one of the most memorable songs in the franchise, Bassey’s commanding vocals at the start of the film gives an incredible weight to the villain of Goldfinger. This film also has the memorable scene of Bond being strapped to a table with a laser slowing raising up to his groin. The amount of times scenes in this film has been parodied exemplifies how much of a  impact Goldfinger has had on pop culture. This film also created one of the most overpowered characters in video games, in that Oddjob’s hat is by far one of the cheapest ways to kill a friend in Goldeneye on the N64.

 Goldfinger did everything right, it jumped the shark and was proud to do so. It had a crazy plan, with a crazy villain, stopped by crazy gadgets. Goldfinger is a load of fun and enjoyable throughout. The action has improved and more fast paced. This was the film that finally figured out what Bond is. It had the formula correct and has been copied ever since. It had the theme, the villain, the henchman, the crazy plot, the crazy gadgets and best of all, Bond, James Bond.

Rewatching this film, it is easy to see why this is regarded by some as the greatest Bond film of all time. It is loads of fun that balances the line of lunacy and action packed spy film. It almost becomes a parody in itself from the complete chaos and difference in tone from Russia With Love. Goldfinger is a true classic that creates the perfect Bond formula that still to this day is being copied.

 

 Rating – ★★★★★