James Bond review - Diamonds are shiny

There might be a few spoilers in this review... you have been warned.

After the disappointment of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and finding out that Diamonds are Forever marks the return of Sean Connery, I had high expectations for this film.

Unfortunately I was left disappointed.

The 70’s had started to hit Sean Connery in this film. With his longer hair, bushy eyebrows and more relaxed dress sense, Sean had definitely lost his sparkle. Even when he seduces a woman, it still feels like he is not really there. Maybe he should have finished off his run with You Only Live Twice.

Even the Bond girl didn’t save this film. I can’t even remember her name so I’m not even going to mention her. On the other hand, Miss Moneypenny was back on form and who could forget the name of “Plenty O’Toole” the saucy mare.

The only saving grace for this film were the villains. Even though Blofeld has been used alot in the last few Bonds, each actor has played the roll slightly differently. Charles Gray has to be my favourite Blofeld. He is interesting and a little bit crazy, but not too weird, even when he is dressed as a women.

I would have loved to see more of Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd. Their double act saves the film in so many ways and I was more interested to see how they were involved in the story. Unfortunately you never really find out.

As you can tell, I really didn’t enjoy this Bond. It was great to see Sean Connery back, but I think it’s time for next chapter.

I give this film 3/10

What did you think? Let me know in the comments below.

Steve

James Bond review - On Her Majesty’s Secret...what

First off, let me say, poor George Lazenby.

It’s very hard to take over the very iconic role of James Bond following the brilliant acting of Sean Connery. George lacked a lot of the charm and the sparkle that Sean brought to the role. His love scenes seemed very flat and he looked a bit dead behind the eyes. His fight scenes were quite impressive, and this was one of things that got him the role.

For me, this film was trying so hard to be the new Bond, to move it on from where previous films had left the character. Showing Bond fall in love and then to see his new wife die before his eyes was a hard thing to watch and very different to how we have seen Bond before.

I might be quite biased as I have just watched Diana Rigg in The Avengers as the amazing Mrs Emma Peel, in Doctor Who as the evil Victorian villain and Game of Thrones as the forthright grandmother. I would say that she was a brilliant Bond girl. She was action packed, intelligent and beautiful. She gives Honor Blackman in Goldfinger a run for her money, in my honest opinion.

Another big difference in this film is the portrayal of Blofeld. In You Only Live Twice, he comes across as the crazy, evil villain. In this film, he seems a lot more sophisticated and clever. His new lair in the Alpes is very special, but not as spectacular as his previous places.

To be honest, I wasn’t really impressed by this Bond and am not surprised that George didn’t come back for a second. He actually quit the role just before this film premiered. The overall film feels very slow to me and not one that I will be revisiting again soon. The story is ok, and the honey trap scenes in Blofeld's Alipine HQ are fun. The action sequences are very well done, and the ski chase is impressive, but not enough to save the film.

I’m going to give it 5/10.

What did you think? Is this actually your favourite Bond? Let me know if the comments below.