The Man with the Golden Gun

     This is the ninth James Bond film.  Francisco Scaramanga grew up in a circus but now he is a hit man with a million dollar fee per job.  He uses a golden gun and gold bullets.  A golden bullet with the inscription 007 is sent to the headquarters of MI6 and it is believed Bond is the next target of Scaramanga.  Bond travels Macau and he sees Scaramanga kill a scientist to obtain the Solex Agitator.  This is a small device able to harness the power of the sun for energy.  Scaramanga has been paid to kill by Hai Fat, a wealthy entrepreneur living in Bangkok.

     There is a lot of action including another chase on water.  Includes a lot of beautiful scenery in different exotic locations.  There is a corkscrew jump during a car chase that is the first stunt calculated on a computer.  I liked Roger Moore in this film, it seems more comical and lightweight calling for supposed ‘seriousness’ in facial expressions.  There is also more of a requirment for suaveness and Moore has a LOT of that!!  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

125 min, Action directed by Guy Hamilton with Roger Moore, Christopher Lee, Britt Ekland, Maud Adams, Herve Villechaize, Clifton James, Richard Loo, Soon-Tek Oh, Marc Lawrence, Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell, Marne Maitland.

Note:  Imdb 6.8 out of 10, 45% critic 57% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 3.9* out of 5* with 311 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Thailand, China and England.  This is the last Bond film to be directed by Guy Hamilton.  The theme song is sung by Lulu, a Scottish singer.  Solar power was featured in this film because there was a worldwide energy crisis in 1993 that had not abated by 1974.  Martial art films were also very popular at this time.  Golden Gun is the fourth lowest grossing Bond film and the last with the partnership of Broccoli and Saltzman.  Saltzman sold his 50% stake in Danjaq LLC, the parent company of Eon Productions.