As the title says, I do not care much for 007 Goldfinger. It’s not awful, better than like Thunderball, but it’s a very strange film. It’s got this weird car crusher scene, James does like nothing in the third act, and he’s a freakin creep. I mean, more than usual. He gets so freaking lucky, again, more than usual. I do like Goldfinger as a villian, and Oddjob is pretty cool. But I just think this movie has a very weird tone and at the same time, is kind of bland.
Bonus opinion: I really like On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. The tone and atmosphere are top notch, and I really like George Lazenby as James.
Well, I guess to be fair to James Bond, the films were kind of about how cool James is, and all the cool, fancy stuff that he gets as a secret agent. I tended to like the more grounded movies, at least so far, with OHMSS and FRWL as my two favorites so far.
Yes, those are very good ones. For example OHMSS checks all the boxes. THE villain everyone remembers with a nice cat. A pursuit on Ski in the Alps. Lots of James Bond moments, tragedy…
I’m not really sure whether I have any clear favorites. Most of them have nice and memorable moments. Fascinating (real-world) locations or good subplots even if the main plot isn’t packed with suspense.
Idk, I think I share your perspective on Goldfinger. Though Oddball is awesome and Gert Fröbe’s acting is outstanding. Or maybe that’s just me because he’s kind of German culture an appeared in a lot of iconic villain roles in old movies like Edgar Wallace, The Robber Hotzenplotz and whatever.
One does not watch Bond to be “grounded”.
If you want “grounded” spying, read “Iron Spy” by Ethan Quinn, or John Fahey’s autobiographical books “Kremlin Capers” and “Passage Prohibited:Behind the Iron Curtain”. Real spies don’t announce it to the world.
Fahey was a real Cold-War spy. Brilliant man, with a calm demeanor while under pressure. He just passed away in 2024, I think.