Goldfinger Review

Goldfinger is widely considered to be the best that the James Bond series has to offer. It’s certainly the most iconic Bond film and it set the standard that all subsequent entries in the series would attempt to reach. Homage has been paid to this films many memorable scenes and characters in Hollywood, in movies, television, comic books, music and many other mediums. It was the first Bond film to receive an Academy Award (sound editing) and one of the most financially successful Bond films of all time.

The Plot

The movie opens with James Bond 007 relaxing at a luxurious hotel in Miami, where he just happens to run across the wealthy, gold obsessed, Auric Goldfinger. Bond and his partner Felix Leiter soon receive word from M, the leader of MI6 British Intelligence that they are to monitor Goldfinger and try to gain some information about his means of international gold smuggling. Bond conducts surveillance on Goldfinger eventually learning of his plan to rob the United States Gold Repository of Fort Knox.

Out of all the movies so far, and perhaps all in general, Goldfinger has the most exciting, creative and unique plot, settings and characters. Some of the greatest scenes take place in a beach resort in Miami, an exciting midnight car chase in a munitions factory, Goldfingers Kentucky ranch and Fort Knox, including some fantastic scenes in an airplane, the shootout in the gold vault and the entire Operation Grand Slam master scheme to rob the biggest bank in the world. This is the point in the series where the action and espionage aspects are starting to hit their full stride and really set the gold standard for the genre.

The Villain

Goldfinger is one of the most recognizable Bond villains of all time, and it’s no secret as to why. He’s smart and witty, cocky and yet modest at the same time, and most of all for a villain, he’s actually very likable. Goldfinger isn’t a madman bent on destroying the world, or ruling it, or killing people in any way. Goldfinger loves gold, and his sole plan in the movie is to acquire gold and make it more valuable. Like Bond quips in one of their meetings “You’re nothing but a common bank robber”. In fact, if Goldfingers plan to break into Fort Knox had gone off without a hitch; nobody would have died at all. The United States economy would have tanked, sure, but there would have been no bloodshed. Goldfinger has a simple, endearing charm and even though he straps 007 to a table and attempts to separate his left half from his right, in a way you want him to succeed with his plan, because after all, who doesn’t love a good heist.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why Goldfinger is such a good villain, all I can say is that everything about him works. He’s just as funny, sinister and clever enough to be a criminal mastermind without turning into a caricature. He’s just innately entertaining to watch.

The Girl

Honor Blackman plays Pussy Galore, an ace pilot and flight instructor, and personal employee of Goldfinger. She is quite possibly the strongest female character in the Bond series, and to this day remains one of the only women able to resist 007’s manly charms, well, for the most part. In the end she plays a key role in the foiling of Operation Grand Slam and even more so than Tatiana Romanova in From Russia With Love assures James Bond’s victory over his nemesis. Throughout the movie there isn’t even much of a romance built up between Bond and Pussy, she’s strictly business and in the end her good heart triumphs over her allegiance to evil. She is one of the best Bond girls in the franchise and is also one of the most memorable.

My Thoughts

Goldfinger is quite simply one of my favorite Bond films. If I were to rank all of them it would definitely be in the top 3. I gladly watched Dr. No and From Russia With Love for these reviews, but I was actually looking forward to watching Goldfinger again for what would probably be the tenth time. There are some interesting faults with the plot that I want to mention though, they don’t take away from the quality of the movie, but they always stick out in my mind. Goldfinger uses the help of about 20 or so businessmen in order to get the resources he needs for his heist and in the middle of the film he invites them all to his ranch and gives a long elaborate presentation on his plan and how it could benefit them. He explains that they can all take the money he owes them and leave or stay and increase the amount ten times. One man decides to cash out and leave, and Goldfinger sends him on his way in an expensive car. When the man is leaving, Goldfinger then locks the room and pumps in poison gas, killing all of his investors, then drives the other man in the car to an impound lot, has him shot and has the car crushed. What’s the point? What’s the point in explaining his whole plan to a room full of men he’s just going to kill anyway, and what’s the point of ruining his Rolls Royce killing the one man who disagreed with the group he’s just going to kill anyway?

What’s worse is how Goldfinger treats Bond. Bond sleeps with Goldfinger’s woman and causes him to lose a large amount of money during the beginning of the movie, so he sends Oddjob (former wrestler Harold Sakata) to kill the girl, but doesn’t kill Bond. Then, later when Bond and Goldfinger are playing golf, Bond cheats in order to make Goldfinger lose even more money in the wager they made, again Goldfinger lets him go. Then, after Bond follows him to the factory, he is captures and about to be killed by Goldfiner, finally. So, Bond very easily tricks Goldfinger into letting him live, but keeping him imprisoned. Of course, Bond escapes and learns more about the heist, then is captured again. Does Goldfinger kill him now? Now that he knows every detail of his plan? Nope. He brings him with him to Fort Knox to be handcuffed to the bomb (which literally has an on/off switch inside of it that James pretty easily gets to). Goldfinger may be one of the best villains in a Bond movie, but he is nothing if not a bit bumbling.