Bond from the Beginning #9: The Man With the Golden Gun

I really like The Man With the Golden Gun. There seems to be a consensus (especially among those who only accept For Your Eyes Only, or perhaps The Spy Who Loved Me, as decent efforts from the Moore era) that it's a relatively weak entry, but I think it has more than enough going for it.

Put simply, it's entertaining. Christopher Lee is a great villain, Moore isn't yet too old for the role, the plot's decent enough, the action is exciting, the humour amusing, the one-liners memorable... I even like Lulu's title song. There are numerous other moments that could be expanded on -- most of M's dialogue, the amazingly designed half-sunken ship HQ...

Of course it has its weak points (a few plot holes, J.W. Pepper, and especially the 'woo-oop'ing car stunt), but they don't detract from how flat-out enjoyable it all is. More often than not, that's exactly what a Bond film should be.