DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER (1971)
Article 3760 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 11-18-2011
Posting Date: 11-30-2011
Directed by Guy Hamilton
Featuring Sean Connery, Jill St. John, Charles Gray
Country: UK
What it is: James Bond movie

James Bond is sent out to follow a diamond smuggling trail in which all of the connections end up dead.

I like the casting of Charles Gray as Blofeld; he’s always been one of my favorite villainous actors. I also like the pairs of assassins; the one that looks like a pairing of Oliver Reed and David Crosby, and the others named for characters in a Disney movie. But overall, I found this one rather disappointing. The science fiction content is the usual assortment of gimmicks, but the source that claims that part of the action takes place on the moon is incorrect; there’s a sequence on a moon set, and part of the plot involves an outer space satellite, but we never actually reach the moon. The movie seems a little dull and short of action; this was apparently due to the fact that Sean Connery was paid so much to return in the role after George Lazenby chose not to continue in it that the budget for the rest of the movie suffered accordingly. The humor seems weaker as well; I was really disappointed that the movie relies on stupid cops for laughs at one point. Connery would return to the role some ten years later (though not as part of the series), but after this movie Roger Moore would take over.