Diamonds Are Forever
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Movie Reviews of Diamonds Are Forever
Movie Review: Sean Connery as Bond ,like diamonds.....are forever!
Summary: 4 Stars
It is now 1971 and we have Sean Connery appearing in his last official James Bond offering from the duo of Harry Saltzman and Albert Broccoli.It has been four years from the last appearance of Mr.Connery in a Bond picture.In the interim when Connery couldn't reach a suitable agreement in time with his producers they went on without him.They picked George Lazenby for "On her Majestys' Secret Service" in 1969.Though truer in form to the Bond character of Flemings' books,George was not a hit with the public at all,so ingrained had Connerys' portrayal become in the psyche of the movie going public.
So shortly after its' debut,and sunsequent flop,negotiations were hastily started to somehow lure back the star who had made the franchise up to that point the success it had been.It was touch and go but in the end Connery would come back but just for one last kick at the Bond can and that was to be that;finished.We all know now he did come back in "Never say,Never again" but any reference to Bond in any way had to be and was explicitily removed,due to copyright/ownership restrictions.But we all knew who his character really was.
The prologue to "Diamonds" opens with Bond down in a cavern area.It seems Blofeld,his arch rival,is cloning himself in some sort of mud bath like substance.James interrupts the proceedings and kills Blofeld....or does he?
The music begins and Shirley Bassey once again regales us with her vocal talents.As in all Bond films the music was always top hat,another endearing part of the whole Connery Bond picture.And it is also fitting that Sean should go out with Shirleys' voice as it was hers' that was lent to one of the best known ever of Bond pictures "Goldfinger".
The movie begins as we learn that the worlds' diamonds supply is being drained off and removed to a place,and by person(s),unknown.It is James' job to get to the bottom of it.Off he goes to Amsterdam where he poses as a diamond merchant of repute by the name of Peter Franks.His contact there is one Tiffany Case(curvy Jill St.John),his femme fatale for this movie,who he eventually woos to his side.James has a close call while there when the real Franks shows up at Tiffanys' place.Bond is there to great him in the elevator and a bloody fight ensues in the small and confined spaces of the elevator.Bond just makes it through killing his namesake,thereby keeping his cover.
The diamond trail leads him to Las vegas and the hotel owned by the rich Willard Whyte(Jimmy Dean-singer of "Big Bad John" fame and his food line of sausages!).All the way he is dogged by two of the most unlikliest of killers in any movie.They are two homsexuals by the name of Mr.Wint and Mr.Kidd.They execute some pretty nasty and cold killings but thankfully never quite seem to get Bond where they want him.But they do get theirs....in the end.
After a time Bond learns Willard Whyte seems to be pulling all the strings to this whole diamond smuggling operation.But no one has actually seen Whyte for some time...it is usually a faceless voice over a telecom or telephone.James sniffs around and uncovers the real Mr.Whyte,who has been put on ice.All return to the hotel so Whyte can reclaim his position and regain some control.It seems Blofeld( now played by Charles Gray-who played Bonds' Japanese contact in "You only live Twice") took over operations in his absence disgusing his voice as Whyte and has gathered together millions of dollars of diamonds to create a special antenna array for a satellite.Put into orbit it will commence to annihilate any target(s) he choses.The finale takes place aboard an oil rig Blofeld has commandeered for his own.It is a race against time for Bond and the world.Will he be able to stop Blofelds' floating ball of death? Will Tiffany betray him? Will the two dogging killers finally get Bond or their just desserts?
It's another nail bitter of a climax but it is resolved happily for all in the end.
It was and still is a bittersweet moment to see the final fade out to this movie knowing that would be the last in line of a six movie excursion by the slickest,classiest and best James Bond that,in my oppinion,has ever been seen on the screen.Nobody has or will ever replace Sean Connery,they have only succeeded him and sometimes extremely poorly at that.This series did not hurt Mr.Connery in the least.As we all know his star rose from then on slowly but very surely.He is now a superstar in the film business and for the most part somewhat shy of the press.He lives a very comfortable life and recently came close to getting knighted.I hope he succeeds,he certainly deserves it.
This film like all the others proceeding it was big on characters,big on stunts,big on action,had fabulous music and the cinematography was top notch in each and every one.There have been alot of pretenders to the throne but none of them will ever top these original six.As a side note you probably know by now that these are the films that Mike Myers for the most part combed through to get his inspiration for his Austin Powers series of spoofs.He even included an upside down and totally reversed tip of the hat to Sean when he created Fat Bastard(both Scottish).
Well,this is my final review of the original six series of Sean Connery/James Bond films.It was a hoot and brought back ALOT of great memories such as recalling the very theatres I stood in front of with the huge art work outside telling all and sundry what the exciting new entry of the James Bond series had in store.
Most of the movies in this series could have used some tweaking in the editing/script departments(some more ,some less) but taken overall they were a blast to watch(the and now!) with still some unmatched high adrenaline kicks.Its' star still to this day remains its' centrepiece.No question.And with the new DVD remastering this and all the Connery/Bonds are more "alive" than ever.
Movie Review: Entertaining, but lacking depth
Summary: 4 Stars
Sean Connery made a return to the franchise in Diamonds Are Forever, after his absence in the prior Bond film "On Her Majesty's Secret Service". In this 7th Bond film, budgets have been cut back and it certainly shows with a lack of exotic locations and very economic effects. The majority of the film is set in Vegas, and it actually works and seems fitting for James Bond - seeing that he is a man that loves to gamble. Though very little of the strip is actually shown in the film, there is a great car chase in downtown that is one-of-a kind.
The story feels unoriginal this time around, and somewhat a re-hash of prior Bond films. Blofeld returns again, in what feels like a villain that needs to retire from the franchise at this point. Again, Blofeld is in a position where he demands a ransome or a major U.S. city will be destroyed. Another actor plays Blofeld this time around, and gone is the slim and bald Blofeld. The super-villain has gone through plastic surgery to altar his appearance, followed by creating doubles of himself to confuse Bond (which is successful for about half the movie). I felt that the powers behind Blofeld were weaker this time around, and there wasn't any henchmen to give Bond a good fight.
Despite a lacking story, it is still fun to follow. In addition to the Vegas sights and lights, there is plenty of typical Bond action that keeps things eventful. The climactic action scene on the Pacific oil rig was actually below par as far as final action scenes go. While the rig is pretty much destroyed, Blofeld's death or escape is never actually confirmed. It would appear that the creator's weren't sure if he should make a return or not in future Bond films.
The charcaters were about average overall. While it was welcoming to see Sean Connery again, he definetly wasn't as sharp as his earliest adventures. The women, Tiffany Case, Plenty, Bambi and Thumper were either too silly, cheesy, or couldn't act for squat. Blofeld's henchmen were amusing, but tiresome after awhile, and provided little challenge for Bond.
Perhaps the biggest dissapointment in the film was continuity. More specificaly, the prior Bond film ended with the death of Bond's wife by Blofeld. There wasn't a single mention of his wife, nor a slip of emotion out of Bond throughout the entire film. While Bond is still obsessed on defeating Blofeld, it seemed like it was for reasons prior to his wife's murder.
Overall, Diamonds is a fun adventure that feels like more of a no-brainer Bond entertainment than a thoughtful masterpiece. Sometimes, its just fun in a movie that is important, and Diamonds certainly does the job.
Acting - 3.5
Action - 4
Characters - 3.5
Story - 3.5
Overall - 4
Movie Review: Campy and dumb, but incredibly fun
Summary: 4 Stars
The Seventh entry in the Bond franchise, Diamonds Are Forever follows up On Her Majesty's Secret Service with Sean Connery being pushed back into the role as Agent 007. This would be the last official James Bond film to star Sean Connery, and would be the sixth time the film featured Connery as the title character. It is somewhat a bittersweet ending to Connery's legacy since the film's campy elements seem like they would be more at home in Roger Moore's series of Bond films and not the semi-serious realm of the Connery film. I wouldn't have suspected the director of the classic Goldfinger to come back with such a campy entry in the series.
The film is very fun to watch and probably has some of Connery's best comic one-liners ("It seems you've caught me with more than my hands up") and is amusing to watch, but it suffers in so many other aspects. It really does usher in the 70s Bond before Moore even enters the picture and whether that's good or bad is up to the viewer to decide. If you are a fan of the Roger Moore Bond films you will probably like Diamonds Are Forever, but if you're expecting a more serious, Connery Bond film on the level of Thunderball or Goldfinger you'll most certainly be disappointed. Even though Connery stars this really is essentially the first "Moore" Bond film.
That being said I found this movie very entertaining, if not up to the standards of Connery's other five films. Diamonds Are Forever may be a dopey film in premise, but it's an incredibly amusing film that you should just go along with.
If you don't want campy Bond just avoid this movie, but if you're like me and enjoy most of the Bond films you will probably enjoy the lunacy that is Diamonds Are Forever.
Movie Review: Sean Connery Returns....
Summary: 4 Stars
Sean Connery put on his tuxedo again as James Bond, after a one film hiatus, in 1971's "Diamonds Are Forever", which confirmed the long term trend of the franchise toward tougue-in-check humor and over-the-top action sequences.
The movie opens with a nice action sequence in which Bond ruthlessly hunts down and seemingly kills his old SPECTRE nemesis Blofeld. The movie proper concerns a plot by SPECTRE to steal diamonds for an unknown but diabolical purpose. Bond's efforts to insinuate himself inside the plot require the cooperation of beautiful smuggler Tiffany Case (a fine performance by Jill St. John). The action shifts from Europe to Las Vegas and finally to an offshore oil rig for a spectacular climax as Bond races to save the world from a high capacity laser built by Blofeld (in a nicely urbane performance by Charles Gray). In an final sequence, Bond confronts Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd, two pesky and offbeat assassins who have trailed him throughout the movie.
"Diamonds Are Forever" moves briskly enough to create a suspensful storyline punctuated with witty one-liners delivered with deadpan timing by Bond. Connery retired from the role after this movie, turning it over to Roger Moore, who tended to emphasize humor over menace in his subsequent characterizations of Bond.
Movie Review: Connery and Hamilton return with one of the better Bond movies.
Summary: 4 Stars
When George Lazenby turned down the offer to continue as James Bond, Sean Connery was brought back for one last movie before Roger Moore took over. They also brought back "Goldfinger" director Guy Hamilton. "Diamonds Are Forever" is set mostly in Las Vegas and Bond once again fights Blofeld (this time played by Charles Gray). The running time is back at an even two hours, and it doesn't suffer from an uneven pace as "Thunderball" and "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" did. The story is good and the movie has two of the Bond series' best henchmen, Mr Kidd and Mr Wint. In my opinion, this is one of the best Bond movies after "Goldfinger" and before "The Spy Who Loved Me".