A Few Good Men Review (Revisited Part 2!) "I want the TRUTH!!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

OK, time for a revisited post once again and yes it is a bit lazy (sorry!) but I quite liked the idea of having another look at a classic legal thriller, A Few Good Men starring Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson and expanding on albeit already very expanded review! However, there are a few things I'd like to add in all the same.

So, with that said, let's take yet another look at this classic after 34 years on from its release... 

And the usual warning is coming up....

PLOT SPOILERS AHEAD!!! 

STORY  

So the film begins at Guantanamo bay naval base in Cuba, with two young marines, Lance Corporal Dawson (Wolfgang Bodison) and Private Downey (James Marshall) entering the room of Private Santiago (Michael DeLarenzo) where they proceed to tie him up and stuff a rag down his throat as a hazing attack, however as a result of the attack, Santiago dies and Dawson and Downey are arrested.

Shortly after Dawson and Downey's arrest, naval investigator and lawyer, Lieutenant Commander Jo Galloway (Demi Moore) believes the two marines did not murder Santiago and they were in fact acting on order known as a "code red" which is a form of disciplinary military punishment.  Galloway requests that she defend the two marines however her request is denied and instead the case is assigned to Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee, an inexperienced, cocky lawyer in the US Navy but who has a strong track record for plea bargaining.  Kaffee and Galloway at first however don't get along as Galloway resents Kaffee's carefree attitude as he clearly doesn't want to take on the demands of the case whereas Kaffee resents Galloway's overzealous attitude.

However despite their differences, they travel to Cuba along with Kaffee's fellow lawyer, Lt Sam Weinberg (Kevin Pollak) where they meet with the commanding officer, Colonel Nathan Jessep (Jack Nicholson) who neither confirms or denies the practice of code reds on the base, and after a brief investigation of the base, the three of them fly back to the States. 

However on their return to the States, Jessep's executive officer, Lt Colonel Markinson (J.T. Walsh) goes AWOL, and Galloway grows more convinced that the order was a code red.  Kaffee and Galloway go and question Dawson and Downey who tell him that they were given an order to perform a code red on Santiago by their commanding officer, Lieutenant Kendrick (Kiefer Sutherland).

Kaffee then approaches the prosecution lawyer Captain Jack Ross (Kevin Bacon) and tells him the marines were given an order and he works out a plea bargain with him, where he will offer the marines involuntary manslaughter for which they would receive a reduced sentence of six months.  Kaffee takes the offer to Dawson who turns it down as he refuses to admit he did anything wrong other than follow his duty and will not dishonour himself or his corps.

As a result of this, Kaffee verges on quitting the case after having a row with Galloway, who insists they go to court and put the marines on trial, but Kaffee soon decides to take on the case.  And from here this is where Kaffe, Galloway and Weinberg plan their case to try and save their two clients from serving a life long prison sentence.....

THOUGHTS 

As far as courtroom dramas go, "A Few Good Men" definitely is one of the most entertaining and gripping ones of its time and it has aged very well 34 years on from its release.  The story itself was actually based on a phone call the writer Aaron Sorkin had with his sister, who worked as a lawyer in the US Navy Corps for three years, where she defended marines who were accused of murder after a direct order from their commanding officer to carry out a hazing disciplinary action on a fellow marine.  Sorkin would then go on to write his script for the stage where it was a success on Broadway on its initial run in 1989.

And it has to be said that Sorkin's screenplay is wonderfully written and richly worded and the characters are all really well drawn out, and it also lead toward a fruitful career as a screenwriter for TV and film, as Sorkin went on to write "The West Wing" for TV, as well as films such as "The American President", "The Social Network" and "Steve Jobs".

PERFORMANCES (Warning: this section may contain spoilers and strong language!)   

As for the performances well they are excellent as the film features a great cast.

Starting with Tom Cruise, who despite his tendency to play annoyingly cocky characters (and yep Daniel Kaffee here is no exception here!) still provides a really good performance as Daniel Kaffee, the inexperienced and yes, cocky naval lawyer, who would rather take the easy way out of the case rather than go to trial.  However as the film progresses, Kaffee's character begins mature and grow and he takes on his responsibilities rather than run away from them.

And Cruise certainly has plenty of good scenes in the film such as the one where he is met by an angry naval officer, Spradling, as the two of them argue over a pending case of a young naval employee who supposedly smoked marijuana but it turned our to be oregano.  So, in the scene Spradling angrily says to Kaffee "We were supposed to meet 15 minutes ago. You're stalling on the McDermott case. We either get it done now, or I'll hang him from a f****** yardarm!".  And Kaffee, surprised asks the person he is practising soft ball with, Sherby "Do we still hang people from yardarms" and Sherby replies "Don't think so" and Kaffee says to Spradling "Sherby doesn't think we still hang people from yardarms anymore".

So, Kaffee tells Spradling "I'll file a motion seeking to obtain an evidentiary ruling in advance... ...then I'll file against pre-trial confinement. You'll get three months' paperwork... ...because a signalman bought and smoked a dime bag of oregano!".  And as the two of them continue to haggle over a resolution to the case and Spradling eventually gives and says "I don't why I'm agreeing to this!" and Kaffee grins and says "Because you have wisdom beyond your years!".

Then there is the scene where Kaffee confronts Dawson and Downey, who are being detained while Kaffee and Galloway do their investigation and in the scene Kaffee asks Dawson if their superior officer, Lt Kendrick ordered them to give Santiago a code red.  So, Kaffee walks in angrily and asks Dawson "Did Kendrick order the code red?" and Dawson asks "Sir?" and Kaffee about to lose his temper says "Don't say sir like I just asked you if you cleaned the latrine. You heard what I said. Did Lt. Kendrick order you guys to give Santiago a code red?!".  And Dawson says "Yes, sir" and Kaffee asks Downey, who also says "Yes, sir".

So, Kaffee, exasperated asks "You mind telling my why the hell you never mentioned this before?!" and Dawson says "You didn't ask us, sir" which pisses off Kaffee more who says "Answering my questions, isn't going to win you a place in my heart.  I get paid no matter how much time you spend in jail!".  And Dawson angrily says "Yes, sir, I know you do, sir!" which prompts Kaffee to yell "F*** YOU, HAROLD!!".

Then there is the scene where Kaffee offers Dawson and Downey, Ross's plea bargain deal to serve a 6 month sentence for involuntary manslaughter, however Dawson refuses to go for it.  So in the scene Kaffee tells them "All right, here's the story. The government's offering involuntary manslaughter. Two years. You'll be home in six months".  This prompts a look of surprise from Dawson and Downey but little more than that and Kaffee says "Wow! You're the greatest lawyer in the world! How can we thank you? Fellas, you hear what I just said?! You'll be home in six months!!".  However, Dawson says to Kaffee "I'm afraid we can't do that, sir" and Kaffee asks "Do what?" and Dawson says "Make a deal, sir."  And Kaffee bemused asks "What are you talking about?" "We did nothing wrong. We did our job. If that has consequences, I'll accept them. But I won't say that I'm guilty, sir".

So, Kaffee becomes angry and points accusingly at Jo and says to Dawson "Did she put you up to this???!" and Jo says "No".  And Dawson says "We have a code, sir!" which angers Kaffee "You and your code plead not guilty. You'll be in jail for life. Do what I say, and you'll be home in six months. Do it, Harold. Six months, it's nothing. It's a hockey season!".  But then Dawson lays it on the line as he tells Kaffee that he believes he was right and will not dishonour himself or the corps, so he can go home in just six months.  So, Kaffee requests to talk to Dawson alone, so the others leave and Kaffee says to Dawson "You know, Downey worships you. He's gonna do whatever you do. Are you really gonna let this happen to him because of a code, Harold?".  And Dawson looks at Kaffee and asks "Do you think we were right?" and Kaffee says "It doesn't matter..." but Dawson angrily asks again "DO YOU THINK WE WERE RIGHT??!" and Kaffee says "I think you'd lose!".  And Dawson looks at him in disgust and says "You are such a coward!  I can't believe they let you wear a uniform!".

Then there is the scene right after where Kaffee argues with Galloway as he is ready to walk away from the case.  And Kaffee says in disbelief "I don't believe it!  Dawson wants to go to jail, just to spite me! If he wants to jump off a cliff...fine!  I'm not gonna hold his hand on the way down!".  Then Galloway argues with Kaffee and tells him "I want them to be judged, I want you to stand up and make an argument!" and "Why are you so afraid to be a lawyer?!  Were Daddy's expectations that high?!".  And Kaffee sighs and says "Oh, spare me the psychobabble father bullshit!  Dawson and Downey will have their day in court but they'll just have it with another lawyer!".  And as Galloway insists that they need him as he know how to win and if he walks away he will seal their fate, Kaffee tells Galloway "Their fate was sealed the moment Santiago died!".  And as Galloway asks "Do you believe they have a case?" and Kaffee angrily says "You and Dawson, you both live in the same dream world. It doesn't matter what I believe, it only matters what I can prove. So don't tell me what I know and don't know. I KNOW THE LAW!!". 

And to save a lot of time in typing more paragraphs for Cruise, I will just skip to the scene where Kaffee questions Colonel Jessep in court and he finally get's to the point where he asks him if he ordered the code red.  But before that there is the funny moment where Kaffee asks Jessep a number of questions about his personal items and telephone calls he made as he made his trip to Washington.  And Jessep tells Kaffee "I wore utilities on the plane" rather than his uniform and Kaffee asks "Toothbrush, shaving kit, underwear?".  And this provokes Ross to shout "Object!" and Kaffee asks "Is the general's underwear a matter of national security?!".  

So, in the scene Kaffee says to Jessep "If Lt. Kendrick gave an order that Santiago wasn't to be touched... why did he have to be transferred? Colonel? Kendrick ordered a Code Red because THAT'S what you told him to do!".  And then Kaffee begins to bellow at Jessep and shouts "AND WHEN IT WENT BAD, YOU CUT THESE GUYS LOOSE!! You signed a phony transfer order!  You doctored the logbook!  You coerced the Doctor!  Now I'm asking you!  COLONEL Jessep DID YOU ORDER THE CODE RED???!!".

And as the Judge says "Colonel, you have to answer that question!" Jessep refuses to back down and says angrily "I'LL answer the question!" and he looks at Kaffee and says "You want answers?!" and Kaffe says "I think I'm entitled!".  And Jessep again asks "You want ANSWERS?!!" and Kaffee yells back "I WANT THE TRUTH!!!" and Jessep shouts that great line "YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!".

And Jessep (SPOILER!!!) finally admits that he ordered the code red as Kaffee yells at him "DID YOU ORDERED THE CODE RED???!" and Jessep yells back "YOU'RE GODDAM RIGHT I DID!!".  Then Kaffee recommends they go to "an immediate 39a article session" as the court members and the jury leave the room, Jessep is placed under arrest and he lunges at Kaffee but is restrained.  And Jessep then says to him "All you did was weaken a country today, Kaffee! That's all you did. You put peoples' lives in danger. Sweet dreams, son!" and Kaffee says "Don't call me, son.  I'm a lawyer and an officer in the United States Navy.  And you're under arrest, you son of a bitch!".

And lastly there is the scene at the end where Ross, the prosecution for the case, asks Kaffee "Airmen O'Malley and Rodriguez.  What exactly were they going to testify to?" and Kaffee tells him "They were going to testify that they had no recollection of absolutely anything".  And Ross responds sarcastically "Strong witnesses" and Kaffee says "And handsome too, don't you think?" and they both laugh.

Demi Moore who it has to be said was a rather unlikely choice for such a role here, is actually pretty good as Lt Commander Joanne Galloway, the overzealous naval investigator who works on the case with Kaffee.

And Moore has quite a few good scenes of her own also such as the one where she talks to Captain West (John M. Jackson) in his office at JAG (Judge Advocate General) corps about the Dawson and Downey case.

And in the scene Jo tries her best to make a strong impression and also put herself forward to defend Dawson and Downey however when she makes the recommendation she bungles it nervously.  And Jo says to Captain West "Sir, I'd like to have them moved up to Washington and assigned counsel. Someone who can really look into this. Someone who possesses not only the legal skill...but a familiarity with the workings of the military.  In short, I'd like to suggest that I be the one who that-- That it be me who is assigned to represent them, myself!".  And Captain West says to her "Commander, why don't you go and get yourself a cup of coffee" and Galloway politely says "No, thank sir, I'm fine" and West says to her bluntly "Commander, I'd like you to leave the room so we can talk about you behind your back!" and Galloway smiles awkwardly saying "Certainly sir!".

Then there is of course Moore's most notable scene where confronts Kaffee for his lack of commitment over the case and tells Kaffee that she knows exactly who he is and his background.  So, she says to Kaffee "Daniel Alistair Kaffee, born June 8th, 1964...at Boston Mercy Hospital. Your father's Lionel Kaffee, former Attorney General of the U.S...died 1985. You went to Harvard Law, then joined the Navy...probably because that's what your father wanted. Now you're just treading water for the three years in the JAG corps...just laying low till you can get out and get a real job. If that's the situation, that's fine, I won't tell anyone".  However Jo then get's angry and warns him "But if this case is handled in the same Persian fast-food, slick-assed manner...with which you handle everything else...then something's gonna get missed! And I wouldn't be doing my job if I let Dawson and Downey to sit in prison, because their attorney predetermined the path of least resistance!".  And Kaffee simply stares at her and says "Wow!  I'm sexually aroused commander!".

Another good scene from Moore is when Galloway confronts Kaffee over his decision to quit the case and get another lawyer for Dawson and Downey.  And as Kaffee is about to leave, Galloway says to him "One thing, though. When you ask the judge, be sure and ask nicely" and Kaffee turns around and says "What do you want from me??" and she says "I want you to let them be judged. I want you to stand up and make an argument!".  And Sam sarcastically says to her "An argument that didn't help Calley at My Lai, an argument that didn't work for the Nazis at Nuremberg!".  However then Kaffee turns around and gives an angry response "For Christ's sake, Sam!  Do you think that's the same as two teenage marines executing an order they didn't think would result in harm? These guys aren't Nazis!" and Galloway says "Don't look now, Danny, but you're making an argument".

However as Kaffee is about to leave again and says that Dawson and Downey will have their day in court with another lawyer, Galloway says "Another lawyer isn't good enough! They need you! You know how to win!  You know they have a case, and if you walk away from them now you've sealed their fate!".  And as Kaffee angrily tells her not to tell him what he knows or not because "I KNOW THE LAW!" Galloway says to him "You know nothing about the law! You're a used-car salesman! An ambulance-chaser with a rank! You're nothing. Live with that" and she leaves instead.

And last of all is the scene where after their case hits a bad setback later on the film, Kaffee returns home drunk as he tells them about (SPOILER!!) Markinson (Jessep's executive officer at Gunatanamo bay, who was set to testify) having shot himself.  So, in the scene Galloway tells Kaffee that they still have a chance to win the case if they subpoena Jessep much to Kaffee's annoyance.

So, Jo (I'll call her Jo from now on!) in the scene says to Kaffee "In the morning we'll ask Randolph for a continuance for 24 hours" and Kaffee asks "Why would we do that?" and Jo says "To subpoena Colonel Jessep".  And Kaffee refuses to listen to Jo's reasoning and he says "No, I won't listen, Jo.  Your passion is compelling but useless.  Lowden Downey needed a TRIAL lawyer today!" (meaning she messed up being Downey's attorney) and she says to him "You chickenshit!  You're gonna use this as an excuse to give up?" and Kaffee says to her with a sense of finality "Its over!".

However Jo refuses to give in and she asks Kaffee "Why did you ask Jessep for the transfer order in Cuba?" and Kaffee annoyed answers "I wanted the damn transfer order!".  Jo, however spits back at him "Bullshit!  You could have gotten it by calling any one of a dozen departments. You didn't want the order. You wanted to see Jessep's reaction when you asked for the transfer order! You had an instinct and it was confirmed by Markinson! Now, damn it, let's put Jessep on the stand and end this thing!".  But as Kaffee goes into a big long rant and ends it like a game show host yelling at Jo "SHOULD OR SHOULD WE NOT FOLLOW THE ADVICE OF THE GALACTICALLY STUPID????!!" he then angrily knocks some papers and books off a table.  And Jo, shocked, takes a moment and then puts her coat and as she is about leave she says to Kaffee "I'm sorry I lost you your set of steak knives!" and she leaves (referring to a scene earlier where Kaffee said he will get a set of steak knives if he wins one more case). 
 
Jack Nicholson next up is terrific in his role as Colonel Nathan Jessep, the intimidating Guantanamo bay Naval base officer, who is the superior officer at the base where Santiago died. Nicholson's screen time was only 15 minutes or so here and he is only in four scenes but his presence is unquestionably here and he chews whatever scenes he is given impeccably. 

Nicholson also has his share of great moments in the film such as the scene where we first see Jessep, reading Santiago's letter and he puts it down and introduces himself saying "Who the f*** is PFC William T. Santiago?!".  And then after Lt Kendrick tells Jessep who Santiago is, Jessep says "Well, apparently he's not very happy down here at Shangri-la because he's written everybody but Santa Claus, asking for a transfer. Now he's telling tales about a fenceline shooting!".  And Jessep looks to Markinson and says "Matthew?" and Markinson offers "I'm appalled, sir" and Jessep now annoyed says "You're appalled!  This kid broke the chain of command and ratted on a member of his unit to say nothing of the fact that he's a U.S. Marine and it would appear he can't run from here to there without collapsing from heat exhaustion!".

And towards the end of the scene, Jessep decides to have a quiet word with Markinson when Markinson disagrees with Jessep's decision to keep Santiago on the base and be trained rather than transferred.  So, in the scene Jessep bluntly tells Markinson "We go back a while. We went to the Academy together...were commissioned together, did our tours in Vietnam together. But I've been promoted with greater speed and success than you. Now, if that's a source of tension or embarrassment for you...I don't give a shit. We're in the business of saving lives, Lieutenant Colonel Markinson. Don't ever question my orders in front of another officer!" and he walks out leaving a frustrated Markinson alone.

Then of course there is the great scene where Kaffe, Jo and Sam go to Cuba and meet with Jessep at the base and they have lunch together where Jo asks Jessep a sensitive about code reds and whether they still happen on the base.  And in the scene Jessep says to Kaffee "You know, it just hit me.  She outranks you, Danny. I want to tell you something. And listen up, because I mean this. You're the luckiest man in the world. There is nothing on this earth sexier--believe me, gentlemen, than a woman you have to salute in the morning. Promote them all, I say, because this is true. If you haven't gotten any from a superior officer, well...you're just letting the best in life pass you by!".

And just before they go, Kaffee asks Jessep for a copy of Santiago's transfer order for his paperwork in a rather abrupt manner and Jessep somewhat takes offence.  But in the scene just as Kaffee is about to leave, Jessep says "But you have to ask me nicely!" and Kaffee is somewhat taken aback and asks "I beg your pardon?".  So, Jessep says firmly "You have to ask me nicely!  See, Danny, I can deal with the bullets, the bombs and the blood. I don't want money and I don't want medals. What I DO want is for you to stand there...in that faggoty white uniform... ...and with your Harvard mouth, extend me some f***ing courtesy!! You got to ask me nicely!".  And as Kaffee takes a moment and asks in more polite tone "Colonel Jessep, if its not too much trouble I'd like a copy of the transfer order, sir" and Jessep takes a moment and then says "No problem".

And last of all is the lengthy courtroom scene where Kaffee questions Jessep about the circumstances surrounding Santiago's death and it leads into him asking Jessep if he was the one that ordered the code red on Santiago.

So, in the scene Kaffee builds up to the moment and he yells at Jessep "DID YOU ORDER THE CODE RED?!" and as the Judge tells him he doesn't need to answer that, Jessep furiously says "I'll answer the question!".  So, Jessep glares angrily at Kaffee and asks "You want answers?!" and Kaffee says "I think I'm entitled!" and Jessep again asks "YOU WANT ANSWERS??!" and Kaffee yells "I WANT THE TRUTH!" and Jessep yells back "YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!".

So, Jessep launches into his lengthy vitriolic speech which he spits at Kaffee "Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded. Who's gonna do it?! You?! You, Lieutenant Weinberg?!! I have a greater responsibility than you can possible fathom. You weep for Santiago and you curse the Marines. You have that luxury. The luxury of not knowing what I know: That Santiago's death, while tragic,  probably saved lives. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives!".

And Jessep continues "I have neither the time nor inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the freedom I provide then questions the manner in which I provide it! I would rather you just said thank you and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon and stand a post. Either way, I don't give a DAMN what you think you are entitled to!".  And Kaffee continues to pressure Jessep "Did you order the code red?" and Jessep says "I did the job..." and Kaffee goes in for the kill "DID YOU ORDER THE CODE RED???!!" and Jessep not holding back, yells "YOU'RE GODDAMN RIGHT I DID!!!".

And as Jessep tries to leave, he is arrested by MP's and as Ross reads Jessep his rights, Jessep angrily says "What the hell is this?!  I'm being charged with a crime?!  IS THAT WHAT THIS IS?!  I'm being charged with a CRIME?!  That's funny, that's what this is!".  And Jessep suddenly lunges at Kaffee but he is restrained by the MP's and he yells at Kaffee "I'M GONNA KILL YOU!! YOU MESSED WITH THE WRONG MARINE!!".  Jessep soon calms himself down a little and he looks around the room in disgust and says "You f****** people!  You have no idea how to defend a nation!" and he glares at Kaffee and says "All you did was weaken a country today, Kaffee, that's all you did!  You put peoples lives in danger. Sweet dreams, son!".  

Kevin Bacon next is excellent as Captain Jack Ross, the prosecution lawyer for Dawson and Downey's trial and Kev has some great moments himself in the part as he was just starting to establish himself as a more serious actor at this stage in his career after appearing earlier films such as "Footloose". He also sports an notable flat top hairdo, which is supposed to be a bit inconsistent to how marines actually have their hair done. 

And some of Bacon's best scenes include the one where Ross addresses the jury for the first time as he makes his opening statement.  And Ross in the scene tells the jury members of Kaffee "Now, Lieutenant Kaffee is gonna try and pull off a little magic act here. He'll try a little misdirection. He'll astonish you with stories of rituals. Dazzle you with official-sounding terms like Code Red. He might even try to cut into a few officers for you. He'll have no evidence, none, but it'll be entertaining. But in the end... ...all the magic in the world will not divert your attention from the fact... ...that Willy Santiago is dead, and Dawson and Downey killed him.  These are the facts of the case and they are undisputed".

Then there is the scene where Kaffee meets with Ross and tells him that he has Markinson and he will testify against Jessep and Kendrick but Ross warns him of the dangers of making unwarranted accusations against both men.

So, Ross says to Kaffee "If you accuse Kendrick or Jessep of any crime without evidence, you'll be court-martialled for misconduct and that's gonna be stapled to every job application you ever fill out!".  And Kaffee says to Ross "I think the whole f***ing bunch of you are certifiably insane and this code of honour makes me wanna beat the shit out of somone!".  And Ross fires back "Don't you dare lump me in with Kendrick and Jessep just because I wear the same unifrom. I'm your friend. I don't think your clients don't belong in jail, but I don't get to make that decision! I represent the U.S. government without passion or prejudice and my client has a case!".

So, Ross stands up to leave the bar and before he does he says to Kaffee "You got bullied into that courtroom. By everyone. By Dawson. By Galloway. Shit, I practically dared you. You got bullied into that courtroom by the memory of a dead lawyer".  And just before Ross leaves, a furious Kaffee stands up and yells at Ross "YOU'RE A LOUSY F****** SOFTBALL PLAYER, JACK!!" and Ross turns to him and says "Your boys are going down, Danny.  I can't stop it anymore".

Kevin Pollak is also great in his role as Lt Sam Weinberg, Danny's fellow lawyer and good friend, who enjoys a bit of banter with Danny while he also plays his part in preparing their case.

And Pollak's good scenes include the one where Sam is out pushing his baby's pram as he walks with Kaffee.  And Sam says to Kaffee of his baby daughter "You heard her.  She said her first word.  Pa" while pointing and Kaffee says "She was pointing at a mailbox, Sam!" and Sam replies "That's right, as if to say "Pa, lookl!  A mailbox!".  And just before they part company, Sam refers to their trip to Cuba and that they should wear white uniforms because its very warm down there.  Sam then asks Kaffee "You got dramamine?" and Kaffee asks "Does Dramamine keep you cool?" and Sam says "No, it keeps you from throwing up, you get sick when you fly" and Kaffee tells him "I get sick when I fly because I'm afraid of crashing into a big mountain!".  And Sam then offers "I got some oregano.  I hear that works pretty good" and this refers to Kaffee's prior case regarding an Navy employee smoking a dimebag of oregano, so Kaffee laughs.

Another good scene from Pollak comes just after Kaffee questions the Guantanamo bay naval base doctor (Christopher Guest) in court and Jo embarrasses herself in front of the judge as she asks that the doctor's testimony be stricken from the record and "strenuously objects" to her comments being overruled.  So, after the court clears, Sam, clearly annoyed with Jo says "I strenuously object? Is that how it works? Objection. Overruled! No, I strenuously object! -Oh, then I'll take some time to reconsider!".  And Jo says "I got it on the record" and Sam angrily says "You got the court thinking we're afraid of the doctor. You object once, so we can say he's not a criminologist. You keep after it, our cross looks like a bunch of fancy lawyer tricks. It's the difference between paper law and TRIAL law!  Christ, even the judge said he was an expert!".

And just before Sam leaves the courtroom, Jo asks him re: Dawson and Downey "Why do you hate them so much?".  Sam then turns around and angrily says to her "They beat up on a weakling. The rest is this just smoke-filled-coffeehouse crap. They tortured and tormented a weaker kid! They didn't like him, so they killed him. Why? Because he couldn't run very fast!".  And then Sam asks Jo just before she goes "Why do you like them so much?" and Jo turns to him and says "Cos they stand on a wall and they say "Nothing's gonna hurt you tonight.  Not on my watch!" and Sam says to her "Forget about the Doctor, this trial starts Monday".

They beat up on a weakling.
The rest is this just
smoke-filled-coffeehouse crap.
They tortured and tormented
a weaker kid!
They didn't like him, so they killed him.
Why?
Because he couldn't run very fast!

Then there is the scene where Kaffee has his big row with Jo after Markinson had shot himself, with their case seemingly in tatters, Jo suggests they put Jessep on the stand, which Kaffee rejects and then ridicules her for before she leaves.  So, Sam says to Kaffee afterward "Did I ever tell you I wrote a paper about your father in college?" and Kaffee says "Yeah?" and Sam says "One of the best trial lawyers ever" and Kaffee says "Yes, he was".  And Sam goes on to say "But if I were Dawson and Downey, and had to choose you or him...I'd choose you any day of the week, and twice on Sunday. You should have seen yourself thunder away at Kendrick".  Kaffee then asks "Would you put Jessep on the stand?" and Sam says "No" and Kaffee asks "Do you think my father would have?" and Sam says "With the evidence we got, not in a million years".  But Sam then says "But here's the thing, and we can't get around this: Neither Lionel Kaffee nor Sam Weinberg are lead counsel for the defense in U.S. v. Dawson and Downey. So there's really only one question: What would you do?".

And lastly is the scene where the next morning, Kaffee decides to put Jessep on the stand and they start to go about their tactics for the case.  And Sam asks "What do we do?" and Jo says "I think we should hit Jessep with the phony transfer order" and Sam says "Without a witness" and Jo says "We have a witness" and Sam says "A dead witness".  And Kaffee, shooting hoops with his basketball says "In the hands of a lesser attorney that would be a problem!" and Sam smiles and says to Jo "Look at this.  Last night he was swimming in Jack Daniels and this morning he can leap tall buildings with a single bound!".  And as Kaffee confidently makes his case for how he will get Jessep to admit he ordered the code red and then asks where his baseball bat and that he thinks better with it.  So, after Kaffee get's his bat, he quickly looks at his closet that contains his lawyer clothes and he then races out saying "Stay here, I'm going to the office for a while!" and Sam says to Jo "He DOES think better with that bat!".

J.T. Walsh is also very good in his role as Lt Colonel Markinson, Jessep's executive officer, who feels guilty about Santiago's death and decides to later help Kaffee.

And I will mention for the sake of time only one of J.T.'s scenes and its the one where Markinson sneaks into Kaffee's car while he is out getting himself a magazine.  And as Kaffee get's in and drives away, he suddenly sees Markinson in the back seat and he exclaims in surprise "Jesus Christ!!" and Markinson says "You left the door unlocked".  And Kaffee asks him "Are you aware you are under subpeona?" and Markinson says "Yes. I'm also aware the lives of two Marines are in your hands. If I could do something about that, I would. Since I can't, all I can do is help you, Lieutenant".

So, Kaffee asks him "What do you know?" and Markinson says "I know everything" and Kaffee asks "Was it a code red?" and Marikin says "Yes" and Kaffee asks "Did Kendrick give the order?" and Markinson says "Yes".  And Kaffee then asks "Did you witness it?" and Markinson says "No" and Kaffee asks "Then how do you know?" and Markinson says "I know" and Kaffee says "Yeah, you know shit!" but Markinson then says "He was never going to be transferred off that base" which prompts Kaffee to pull over his car and look back at Markinson.  And Markinson continues "Jessep was gonna keep him on the base and wanted him trained".  Kaffee then says "You signed the transfer order" and Markinson tells him "I know.  I signed it the morning you arrived in Cuba.  Five days after Santiago died".  Kaffee then starts his car again and says to Markinson that he will work out a deal with prosecutor to offer him immunity and that he will check him into a motel.  Markinson then says "I don't want a deal, and I don't want immunity. I want you to know that I'm not proud of what I have done, nor of what I am doing".

Kiefer Sutherland next is excellent as Lt Kendrick, the Guantanamo bay officer, who is alleged to have given the code red order on Santiago.

Kiefer also his his moments in the film such as the one where Kendrick shows Kaffee, Jo and Sam around Santiago's quarters, which were sealed off.  And Kaffee asks Kendrick "Lt Kendrick, may I call you John?" and Kendrick formally says "No, you may not" and Kaffee asks him "Have I done something to offend you" and Kendrick replies "No, I like all you Navy boys.  Anytime we have to go some place to fight, you fellas always give us a ride".  Jo then asks Kendrick "Lieutenant, do you think Santiago was murdered?" and Kendrick tells her "Commander, I believe in God and his son Jesus Christ.  Because I do, I can say this: Private Santiago is dead and that is a tragedy.  But he is dead because he had no code, he is dead because he had no honour and God was watching!".

And lastly there is Kiefer's big courtroom scene where Kaffee questions Kendrick on the stand over Santiago's death.

And in the scene, Kaffee asks Kendrick "Lt Kendrick, would you say Santiago was a good marine?" and Kendrick says "I'd say he was about average".  Kaffee however then produces some conduct reports and hands them over to Kendrick who looks at them and says "Yes, Private Santiago was below average.  I do not see the need to trample on the man's grave".

Kaffee then questions Kendrick about another marine, Private Bell, who was caught sneaking liquor out of the officer's club.  So, Kaffee asks Kendrick "Did you report Private Bell to the proper authorities?" and Kendrick smiles and says "I have two books at my bedside, Lieutenant: the Marine Code of conduct and the King James Bible. The only proper authorities I'm aware of are Colonel Jessep and the Lord our God!".

Then Kaffee questions Kendrick about Dawson receiving a below average report rating on one occassion "Was Dawson given a below average rating because he was caught sneaking food to Private Bell?".  And Kendrick replies "Lance Coporal Dawson was given a below average rating because he committed a crime?" and Kaffee asks "What crime did he committ?" and Kendrick says "He disobeyed an order".  And Kaffee says "And because he made a decision about the welfare of a Marine that conflicted with your order, he was punished, right?" and Kendrick again firmly says "Lance Corporal Dawson disobeyed an order!".

And Kaffee finishes by saying to Kendrick "Lieutenant Kendrick, one final question. If you HAD ordered Dawson to GIVE Santiago a Code Red...!" and this rattles Kendrick who shouts "I told those men specifically not to touch Santiago!!".  And Kaffee finishes "...wouldn't it be reasonable to think he disobeyed you again???!" and Ross shouts out "Lt, don't answer that!" and Kaffee says "You don't have to, I'm through!".  So, Ross asks Kendrick one last time "Did you order Dawson and Downey to give Santiago a code red?" and Kendrick, still rattled says "No, I did not!". 

Wolfgang Bodison next up is very good in his debut role as Lance Corporal Dawson and Bodison himself never had any prior acting experience and was actually the personal assistant to the director, Rob Reiner, who thought Bodison fit the bill physically for the role, so he had him audition. Bodison himself would carry on as a professional actor and appeared in various film and TV roles. 

And Bodison has some good moments aswell but I will mention just a couple of his scenes and the first being the one where Kaffee offers Dawson and Downey a deal so that they can serve just a six month prison sentence.

However in the scene Dawson refuses the deal and says to Kaffee "I'm afraid we can't do that, sir" and Kaffee asks "Do what?" and Dawson says "Make a deal, sir.".  Kaffee, bemused says "What are you talking about?!" and Dawson says "We did nothing wrong. We did our job. If that has consequences, I'll accept them. But I won't say that I'm guilty, sir".  And Kaffee tries to make another attempt at convincing Dawson to go for the deal "Six months!  Do it, Harold!  Six months, its nothing.  Its a hockey season!".  Dawson then takes a moment and says "Permission to...." and Kaffee exasperated by Dawson's formality shouts "SPEAK!!! JESUS!!".

So, Dawson asks "What do we do then, sir?" and Kaffee asks "When?" and Dawson says "After six months, we'll be dishonourably discharged, right, sir?" and Kaffee says "Probably" and Dawson asks again "What do we do then, sir?" and Kaffee has no answer.  So, Dawson get's up and explains "We joined the Marines because we wanted to live by a certain code. You're asking us to say we have no honor, that we're not Marines! If a court decides what we did was wrong, I'll accept whatever punishment they give."  And then he walks toward to Kaffee and says firmly "But I believe I was right, sir. I believe I did my job and I will not dishonor myself, my unit ...or the Corps, so that I can go home in SIX MONTHS! Sir!".

And Kaffee tells the others he wants a moment alone with Dawson, so the others leave and Kaffee says to Dawson "You know, Downey worships you.  He's gonna do whatever you do.  Are you really gonna let this happen to him because of a code, Harold?".  And Dawson asks "Do you think we were right?" and Kaffee says "It doesn't matter what I think..." but Dawson snaps "Do you think we were right???!!!" and Kaffee says "I think you'd lose".  Dawson then looks at Kaffee with disgust and says "You're such a coward!  I can't believe they let you wear a uniform!".  And Kaffee tells him "I'm not going to feel responsible for this, Harold.  You're going to Leavenworth for the better part of your life and you know what?!  I don't give a shit!".  Kaffee opens the door to leave and asks Dawson "What happened to saluting an officer when he leaves the room?" and Dawson stands up and defiantly shoves his hands in his pockets instead.

And lastly (SPOILER!!!!!!!!!) there is the scene where Dawson and Downey's trial is over and they are found not guilty of the murder but are guilty of conduct unbecoming a US marine, so they are to be discharged form the marine corps.  And Downey, confused asks Dawson "What did that mean?" and he approaches Jo and says "Colonel Jessep said he ordered the code red!  What did we do wrong?!  We did nothing wrong!!".  And Dawson, looking ashamed says "Yeah we did.  We were supposed to fight for people who couldn't fight for themselves.  We were supposed to fight for Willy".  And as Dawson and Downey are about to leave the courtroom, Kaffee says to Dawson "Harold...you don't need to wear a patch on your arm to have honour" and Dawson, suddenly filled with respect for Kaffee says to him "Ten-hut!  There's an officer on deck!" and he salutes Kaffee, who salutes back and Dawson leaves.

James Marshall is also pretty good as the naive Private Downey facing trial for carrying out a code red on a fellow marine, Private Santiago, who died as a result.

And Marshall's best main scene is where Downey is questioned by Ross in court over the day on which the code red took place.  And in the scene Ross asks Downey "Private, the week of 2 September, the switch log has you down at post 39 until 16:00, is that right?" and Downey replies "I'm sure it is, sir, they keep that log pretty good".  Ross then asks "How far is it from Post 39 to the barracks?" and Downey says "Oh, its a ways, sir.  Its a hike" and Ross asks "Have you ever had to walk it?" and Downey says "Yes, sir, that day. Friday. The pickup private-- That's what we call the guy that drops us off. Also because he can get the girls in New York City....he got a flat tire at Post 39, so we had to double time it back to the barracks".  Ross then says to Downey "And if its 15 minutes by jeep, I'm guessing its an hour by foot, right?" and Downey with a sense of pride says "Pick-up private and me did it in 45 flat, sir" and Ross smiles and says "Not bad".

So, Ross then says to Downey "You've said your assault on Santiago was ordered by Lieutenant Kendrick...in your barracks room at 16:20, am I right?" and Downey says "Yes, sir".  However Ross throws Downey a curve ball "But you just said you didn't get back to the barracks until 16:45" and Downey looks nervous "Sir?" and Ross says "If you weren't back till 16:45, how could you be in your room at 16:20?".  Downey now flustered says "Well, you see, sir, there was a blowout..." but Ross interrupts him and asks "Private, did you ever actually hear Lt Kendrick order a code red?" and Downey nervously says "Well, Hal said..." and Ross firmly asks again "Private, did you ever actually hear Lt Kendrick order a code red?!" and Downey, caving under pressure says "No, sir".

So, Ross grills Downey further and asks "Why did you go to Santiago's room?  Did Dawson tell you to?" and Downey panics and looks at Dawson and says "Hal...!" and Ross shouts "Don't look at him!!".  And Downey shouts again "Hal?!" and Dawson shouts out "Private, answer the Captain's question!" and Downey, beaten says "Yes. I was given an order by Lance Corporal Harold W. Dawson United States Marine Corps and I followed it!".

And second to last is Noah Wyle does well in his brief role as Corporal Barnes, who also testifies at Dawson and Downey's trial.

And Wyle's main scene is his testimony trial scene where he recalls that he once received a code red himself.  So, Kaffee asks Barnes "Did you ever receive a code red" and Barnes says "Yes, sir. We were doing seven minute assault drills and I dropped my weapon. It was over 100 degrees and my palms were sweaty and I hadn't used the resin like we were tought".  So, Kaffee asks "What happened?" and Barnes tells him "A few guys in my squad threw a blanket over me. Took turns punching me on the arms for five minutes and they poured glue on my hands. And it worked cos I ain't never dropped my weapon since!".

So, Kaffee asks Barnes if Santiago never received a code red prior to the one he got the night he died who says he never did.  So, Kaffee says "You got a code red because your palms were sweaty.  Why didn't Santiago and his burden to his unit, never get one?" and Barnes takes a moment and says "Dawson wouldn't allow it, sir.  The guys would talk tough about Santiago but they would never go near him.  They were too afraid of Dawson, sir".  Ross at this point says "Object!  The witness is speculating!" so Kaffee says "Alright, I'll rephrase...Jeffrey did you want to give Santiago a code red?" and Barnes says "Yes, sir" and Kaffee asks "Why didn't you?" and Barnes smiles and yes "Cos, Dawson would kick my butt, sir!" and Kaffee says "Fair enough".

And last of all is Cuba Gooding Jr, who makes an appearance in his small role as Corporal Hammaker and he does well enough in the brief role that he has but he only has a small amount of dialogue.

So, I will quote a part of his scene where the prosecutor, Captain Ross questions Hammaker about Kendrick's order to not touch Santiago. So, Ross asks Hammaker about Santiago's letter "Did it make you, Corporal?" and the Corporal doesn't respond, so Ross asks "Its OK, Corporal, did it make you mad?" and Hammaker says "Yes, sir" and Ross asks "How did it make you mad?" and Hammaker says "Private Santiago betrayed a code we believe in very deeply, sir". 

End of Performances section!  Sheesh that was a BIG one! 

DIRECTOR AND MUSIC

So, FINALLY moving onto the director and music stuff, starting with the director, Rob Reiner does an excellent job here with the film and its surprising to see him direct a drama for a change here as he was previously associated with comedies (the most notable of which were "This is Spinal Tap" and "When Harry met Sally...").  Yet, Reiner makes the change to drama very confidently and he paces the film well, even if its running time of 2 hours and 18 minutes might appear a little lengthy its doesn't really feel that long.

And despite an emphasis on drama, Reiner still injects plenty of humour into the film as the cast and characters all deliver some wonderfully witty dialogue written by Sorkin.  This allows for Kaffee, Sam and Jo to develop a rapport with one another and work well together as a team as things progress and overall Reiner does an expert job at putting this together in the film. Reiner tragically however later in life was murdered along with his wife as the result of stabbing in December last year, for which Reiner's son, Nick Reiner was charged with the crime although he pleaded not guilty. Reiner's death was a great loss to Hollywood as he directed several classic films throughout his career.   

Music wise, Marc Shaiman provides the score and its a pretty good one overall even though its use of synthesizers does date it a little to the early 90's period the film was made in (1992) but Shaiman's score is still very well suited to the tone of the film.  Shaiman also scores a version of John Phillip Sousa's "The Washington Post March" which given that its a film about the US Navy and Marines its very suitable and is used for both intro and end credits.

FLAWS

As for flaws....yeah OK "A few good men" isn't quite that perfect.

For starters one of the problems I had with the film was to do with Sorkin's screenplay, while it is excellent and very well written, there are times where it is just a bit too excessive in its verboseness and Sorking could finish off his character's sentences a lot quicker than he does!  So instead of e.g. Jessep saying to Markinson "Maybe transferring Santiago isn't the American way, Matthew" he has to say "And now I'm thinking, Lt Colonel Matthew Markinson, that your suggestion of transferring Santiago, while expeditious, and certainly painless, might not be in a manner of speaking, the American way!".  I mean surely he could just cut down their sentences just a bit as it makes the writing feel really bloated at times.  Sorkin's script is high quality but it is also a bit too high on words as well. 

Plus, is it really necessary to use the characters full names?? In terms of legal investigations, its apparently not common practice to say the full name of the person they enquire about, so instead of Lt Colonel Matthew Markinson, they would really just says Lt Colonel Markinson. So, again Sorkin is guilty of bloating the dialogue more than is needed.  

Another issue I had was to do with Kaffee's character as he is the typical cocky callow youth, who is actually a very inexperienced lawyer and given that, why in the hell would he be the best man for the job of defending two marines charged with murder????  Surely they really should have given the case to someone who has a bit more experience on their side when its comes to trial law, but nope let's just give it to the cocky young lawyer who's making a start in life! Of course Tom Cruise had made a career out of playing cocky young guys up to this point, so this was no real departure for him.

Further to this point, Kaffee throughout shows he is not the most adept lawyer either, as he says at one point he needs Sam to help him prepare their witnesses for trial and is not the best at research. I mean Kaffee IS a lawyer, isn't that meant to be HIS job?!! But nope instead they go for showing Kaffee to be both lazy as well as inexperienced in his role as a lawyer.  

Then there is the whole thing about Jessep's blatant deviousness, which Jo uncovers on their trip to Cuba as she presses him on whether code reds still go on at his base despite receiving cautionary memos against such actions. So, Jessep indirectly but still rather blatantly admits that code reds DO appear to go on at the base and he is also in favour of them as an "invaluable part of close infantry training".  So, even though Jessep doesn't admit it outright, its clear that he was in favour of the code red against Santiago.

Then there are some daft choices of dialogue in the film here and there such as the scene where Sam criticises Jo for her failed objection against the Doctor. So, in the scene asks her why she likes the marines so much and her response "Because they stand on a wall and say nothing is gonna hurt you tonight, not on my watch!" is pretty cringe inducing!

Another is when Kaffee questions Jessep on the stand and he asks why Santiago was transferred and Jessep says "I thought his life might be in danger once word of the letter got out" and Kaffee asks "Grave danger, sir?" and Jessep sharply replies "Is there another kind?!". Now, there is of course more than just one kind of danger from mild to extreme levels of danger, so to say grave danger is the one and only type of danger is pretty silly. 

Last of all is of course the final scene with Dawson and Kaffee where after Dawson is cleared from the trial but to be discharged from the marine corp, Kaffee tells him he doesn't need to wear a patch to have honour. So, Dawson proudly shouts "Ten hut! There is an office on deck!" and they both salute, which is again very cringe inducing! So, these lines remain a blot on an otherwise brilliantly written film. 

Another thing that bugged me was why did they choose Downey as the witness to take the stand over Dawson???  Dawson is the far more capable, decisive and articulate of the two, so surely he should have testified instead of Downey because they both recieved the order from Kendrick, its not like Dawson did it himself.  Or rather, perhaps Downey was picked for the sake of a plot device, so that the code red order could be pinned on Dawson instead, but I still think its daft regardless.

UPDATE: However on doing a bit of digging on this (or rather using Google AI!) it appears a good reason why Downey was picked instead of Dawson is because Dawson was far more hardened and disciplined than Downey, so it might have been tougher for him to crack under the prosecution's questions. Further to this, Downey was the weaker of the two and his vulnerability might have made him more sympathetic to a jury than Dawson's hard ass persona would have. I guess this is backed up by Dawson earlier in the film saying to Kaffee "I believe I was right, sir and I did my job and I will not dishonour myself, my unit or the core!".  

Anyway that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So, to sum up, A Few Good Men is still an excellent legal drama three decades on and it features some great performances particularly from Cruise, Nicholson and Bacon but Demi Moore, Kevin Pollak and Kiefer Sutherland also provide very solid support. The script from Aaron Sorkin is also high quality, despite the odd cheesy bit of dialogue here and there and Rob Reiner's direction is very solid throughout. There are of course some minor plot niggles and as already mentioned some cringy dialogue but that aside, A Few Good Men is a highly entertaining and gripping drama, which is well worth a look or revisit. 

So, I will rate A Few Good Men:

9 out of 10

Right, that's all for now and I'll be back sometime next month with another post.

So, until then its bye for now! 

For Your Eyes Only Review (Revisit 2) "He had no head for heights!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, since its September, I thought I would do another post and this one is on another Bond film and the film in question is one of Roger Moore's era, which is For Your Eyes Only, which will be a revisit of an older post from 2021. 

So, with that said let's take another look at this Bond classic some 45 years on from its release.

And the usual warning is coming up.

SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!! 

STORY 

So, the film begins with a British spy boat being sunk after its strikes a mine, the boat itself contained a specialised communications system used by the ministry of defence to communicate with its fleet of Polaris submarines, named ATAC.  So, 007 or James Bond (Moore) as a result of the incident is ordered by his superiors to retrieve the ATAC before the Soviets can as they could use it for their own means.

Meanwhile a British marine archaeologist who was hired by the British to locate the sunk spy boat is murdered by a hitman named Hector Gonzalez (Stefan Kalipha).  Bond follows up the lead and travels to Spain where he sneaks around Gonzalez's villa but he is captured, however Gonzalez himself is killed by an arrow, which allows Bond to escape.  Bond soon finds out Gonzalez's assassin is the daughter of the murdered archaeologist, Melina Havelock (Carole Bouquet) and the two of them escape together.

Bond later on with the help of Q (Desmond Llewellyn) discovers the identity of one of the men that was present at Gonzalez's villa was Emile Leopold Locque (Michael Gothard) another hired killer.  Bond then travels to Cortina in Italy to track Locque and he meets with his Italian contact, Luigi Ferrara (John Moreno) and a Greek businessman and informant named, Aris Kristatos (Julian Glover) who tells Bond that Locque is employed by a smuggler named Milos Columbo (Topol) who was one time a former business partner of his.

Bond later meets up with Kristatos's protege figure skater, Bibi Dahl (Lynn Holly Johnson) and while they ski together, Bibi points out to Bond an East German biathlete, Eric Kriegler (John Wyman) who later tries to kill Bond, who manages to escape.  Later on Bond fends off another attempt on his life at an ice rink and soon finds his contact, Luigi dead, with the symbol of a "dove" in his hands, the nickname for Locque.

Bond then travels to Corfu to follow Columbo and he meets with Columbo's mistress, Countess Lisl van Schaff (Cassandra Harris) and they spend the night together.  The next morning while walking a beach, Bond and Lisl are attacked by Locque who kills Lisl but Locque flees just as Columbo's men show up and capture Bond and take him to Columbo.

Columbo later explains to Bond that Kristatos is the man Bond should be after as he was the one who hired Locque and Kristatos is working with the KGB to retrieve the ATAC and he persuades Bond to go along on a raid of Kristato's opium processing warehouse in Albania.  During the raid, Bond discovers naval mines similar to the one that sunk the British spy boat, later Bond chases after Locque, shooting him in the shoulder, causes Locque's car to crash on the edge of a cliff and Bond kicks the car over, which sees Locque plummet to his death.

So after this Bond then teams up with Columbo and reunites with Melina to take down Kristatos and end his schemes....

THOUGHTS 

After the somewhat over the top and completely fantastical Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only saw the Bond series come back down to Earth (literally!) and with the change of director, John Glen, the film has a more gritty feel to it than Moore's previous films did, which is certainly not a bad thing in itself.

The film also saw a change in the cast as sadly Bernard Lee, who played M, died shortly just after filming had begun in 1981, so instead of replacing the actor, they re-wrote his character to include a new one, Bill Tanner, to take over as the chief of staff at MI6 and Bond's superior.  Roger Moore also apparently was set to make this his last Bond film but later of course did come back to play the part in two more films, Octopussy and View to a Kill. 

The film also notably starts with reference to Bond's late wife, Tracy, who visits her grave before he is attacked by an unknown bald assaliant, who we see sit in a wheelchair with a cat. This clearly appears to be a reference to the Bond villain, Blofeld (as previously played by Donald Pleasance, Telly Savalas and Charles Gray). However, as the filmmakers didn't own the rights to the character Blofeld, they weren't able to use his name directly. So, instead they resorted to shooting the actor, John Hollis, who played the villain from behind.  

PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section may contain spoilers!)

Performance wise, the film is actually quite good and features a largely fine cast.

And to start off of course we have Roger Moore who provides another solid turn in the part and this time he plays Bond with a bit more sensitivity and with less chauvinism and it actually stands as one of his most likeable performances in the role.  Although it does have to be said that Roger is starting to look a bit old for the part by this time as he already 53 years old by this point at the time of filming.

Moore has some good scenes and naturally some good one-liners and even his opening scene is quite funny where Bond is attacked by a bald headed villain (unidentified but clearly based on Blofeld and played by John Hollis and voiced by Robert Rietty) who remote controls a helicopter that Bond is in.  And in the scene Bond eventually manages to take control of the helicopter and picks up the villains' wheelchair by one of the copter's landing skids and as the villain pleads with him and Bond pats his head and says "Alright keep your hair on!" and the villain continues "Please Mr Bond, put me down!" Bond teases him saying "Oh you want to get off???" and he drops the villain down a large chimney stack and the the villain shouts "MR BONNNNND!!!!" as the credits roll. 

Then there are the scenes where Bond is stuck with taking care of Bibi, the annoying horny teenage skater and one such example is where Bibi lies in bed naked and Bond for once looks uncomfortable given that she is just a teenager. And Bib asks Bond "What is it? Don't you like me? and Bond awkwardly tells her "I think your wonderful, Bibi. I just don't think your Uncle Aris would approve!" and Bibi says "Aris? He still thinks I'm a virgin!". So, Bond again awkward, says "Yes well...you put on your clothes, I'll buy you an ice cream!".  

Then we have the scene at the ski slopes where Bond bids her farewell and says "Well, sorry Bibi but I'm afraid I must be off?" and Bibi says "What?" and Bond tells her "I have an appointment". And Bibi a bit disappointed asks him "Well, will I see you before we leave?" and Bond tells her "Well, I'll try but if I don't see you again, Bibi, I'll just say don't grow up anymore" and Bibi looks at him puzzle and says "Huh?" and Bond says to her "The opposite sex would never survive it!" and he skis off.

Then there is one of the film's best scenes where Bond chases after Locque, who crashes his car up the top of a cliff and Bond goes up to Locque and shows him the killer's pin that he left with Luigi Ferrara's body (Bond's associate) and Bond says to Locque "You left this with Ferrera, I believe".  And as the cars starts to give way to the crumbling rock, Bond kicks Locque's car off the cliff and later he quips "He didn't have a head for heights!".  Moore was reportedly uneasy about the idea of filming the scene but eventually agreed to go ahead with filming it, which is just as well as it remains a standout moment in Moore's era. 

Another really good scene for Roger which is quite suspenseful is when Bond makes his long climb up the mountain to St Cyril's monastery where Kristatos is hiding and waiting to deliver the ATAC machine to the KGB. And in the scene in a mountain-top monastery and one of Kristato's men tries to kick him off the cliff and knock out the climbing bolts he has placed one by one, but Bond manages to pull himself up just in time before the last one is knocked out and he kills the henchman with a throwing knife.

Roger also has one or two good serious moments as well such as in the scene where he warns Melina about taking revenge for the death of her parents and he says "The Chinese have a saying "before setting off on revenge, you first dig twice two graves". And later on as she is about to kill Kristatos he reminds her again as she is ready to kill Kristatos and Bond tells her "No, Melina, we'll leave him for the police" but Melina insists "Out of my way, James!" and James relucantly says "Alright. Just be prepared to dig those two graves" before (PLOT SPOILER!!) Columbo saves her the trouble.  

And in the second last scene of the film Bond throws away the ATAC machine as he approaches General Gogol (Walter Gotell) and the machine itself smashes into pieces on the rocks below. So, Bond then smiles at Gogol and says to him "That's detente, general, you don't have it and I don't have it!" and Gogol himself laughs and bids him farewell and leaves. 

Julian Glover is pretty good in his part as the main villain, Kristatos and he seems to enjoy playing the part of the double dealing businessman and intelligence informant although his villain isn't the most memorable or menacing it has to be said.

But Glover has some good moments that include the one where Kristatos has Bond and Melina tied up on his boat and they have been tied to a speedboat which will drag them through the water to attract the sharks for dinner!  And in the scene just before Bond and Melina are to be dropped into the water, Kristatos says to his men of Bond's wound on his arm "Bind that wound. We don't wany any blood in the water.  Not yet!".  Melina then looks disgusted at Kristatos and she spits at him "Murderer!" and Kristatos says to her, as a way of a pun as she uses her crossbow as a weapon in the film: "You've shot your last bolt, Miss Havelock!".    

Another scene of note is when Kristatos at the monastery near the end tries to appease a tired and bored Bibi, who is working out and he comes in to see her. So, Bibi in the scene asks Kristatos "What are we doing in this creepy place?" and Kristatos says "Our plans have changed. We are going to live in Cuba for the next few months" and Bibi annoyed says "Cuba?!" and Kristatos says to Bibi "You can skate privately there, without distractions and I will be your audience". Bibi, however is not interested "What a drag that will be! I wanna win the gold medal!" and Kristatos reassuringly says "We all want that!" and Bibi says "I know what you want...you're too old for me! I'm splitting!". Kristatos then glares angrily at Brink and says "You have poisoned her against me!" and Bibi says "Leave her alone, Ari!" and Kristatos looks angrily at Brink and says "I will deal with you as I deal with everyone who betrays me!" and he storms out.

Then there is the scene where Kristatos near the end readies his departure with the Atac machine but he is met with by an angry Bibi, who angrily asks him of the whereabouts of her coach "Where's Brink?" and he tells her "Go to your room!" and she angrily says "You can go to hell!" and  Kristatos smacks her roughly and shuts the doors.   

Topol however provides the film's standout role as Milos Columbo who is a really colourful character, who loves eating pistachio nuts and Bond is wary of him at first but he later becomes allies with him.  

And when Columbo meets with Bond he tells him that he has got him all wrong and that Kristatos is the real villain.  So Columbo tells Bond "I'm here, Mr. Bond of the British Secret Service. But I'll tell you... it is Kristatos you want, NOT me. He told you about himself. He's the one with the powerful connections, not me. Locque works for him, not me. He told you that I was a heroin smuggler, yes? That is partly true. I'm a smuggler. I smuggle, yes. I smuggle gold, diamonds, cigarettes, pistachio nuts... but no heroin. Sit down. That I leave to him... when he is not too busy working for Russia against my country and yours". Bond then reminds Columbo that the British government gave Kristatos a king's medal but Columbo tells him that he was a double agent.

Bond then asks Columbo "What does Kristatos gain by setting you up?" and Columbo says "Well, I know too much about him. He wants me out of the way. By using a British agent to do his dirty work for him, your government might give him another medal". Bond, still wary of Columbo asks him "Why should I believe you?" and Columbo says "I'll prove it to you tonight. We'll go to his warehouse in Albania". Bond warns Columbo "If I don't report in by tomorrow morning, not only my people, but the entire Greek police will be down on you like a load of bricks" but Columbo reassures him "Don't worry. By tomorrow, we'll be good friends. Let us drink to that" and Bond carefully says "I'll wait until tomorrow". 

Columbo then goes and takes Bond's Walther PPK and aims it at him and then hands over to him and says "You will need this. I'm a good judge of men. You, Mr Bond, have what the Greeks calls "thrausos" Guts!".

Carole Bouquet is one of the weak links in the cast as she is pretty wooden in her part as Bond's love interest (or one of them!) Melina Havelock.

Regardless of that though, Bouquet does what she can with her role and to the credit of her character, she does have more of a motivation and backstory to deal with than most of the Bond girls we usually see.  Bouquet, a French actress, reportedly had her voice dubbed over by another unknown actress for the film, which given that she can speak English herself seems a bit daft. 

Bouquet still has some good moments here and there and the one that springs to mind is when Melina tells Bond she is out for revenge for the murder of her family.  However Bond warns her with the Chinese saying of being prepared to "dig two graves" if you plan for revenge and Melina says to him "I don't expect you to understand, you're English, but I'm half Greek and Greek women like Elektra always avenge their loved ones!".

Then there is the scene where Bond, Columbo and Melina arrive at the scene of a monastery where Kirstatos is located and Bond starts to make his way up a steep mountain to get to the top where it is.  And during the scene, Columbo looks up concerned saying "We are just five men!" and then Melina produces her crossbow and says "And a woman!".  

Bouquet also gets the dubious pleasure of delivering the film's title line, which is one of the naffest as well "For your eyes only, darling!" just as Bond and Melina strip off and go for a swim.  This is of course then following by the annoying parrot who speaks to Margaret Thatcher (played by June Brown) on the phone and keeps saying "Give us a kiss!" although the parrot is kind of funny. 

As for the other cast members, Lynn-Holly Johnson is quite annoying as the horny teenage ice skater, Bibi Dahl who has a thing for Bond even though he is three times her age!

However it is worth mentioning Johnson's most notable scene where she attempts to try and seduce Bond as get's into bed naked but Bond is reluctant to oblige her.  And in the scene Bibi asks Bond "Don't you like me?" and Bond wearily says to her "Why, I think you're wonderful, Bibi... But I don't think your uncle Aris would approve" and Bibi says to Bond "Him? He thinks I'm still a virgin!". Bond then awkwardly says "Yes, well, if you put your clothes and I'll buy you an ice cream!".     

And lastly I will mention her scene where Bibi who has been taken to St Cyril's with Kristatos and her coach, Brink but she hates the place and is bored of working out and Kristatos comes in to see her. So, Bibi in the scene asks Kristatos "What are we doing in this creepy place?" and Kristatos says "Our plans have changed. We are going to live in Cuba for the next few months" and Bibi annoyed says "Cuba?!" and Kristatos says to Bibi "You can skate privately there, without distractions and I will be your audience". Bibi, however is not interested "What a drag that will be! I wanna win the gold medal!" and Kristatos reassuringly says "We all want that!" and Bibi says "I know what you want...you're too old for me! I'm splitting!". Kristatos then glares angrily at Brink and says "You have poisoned her against me!" and Bibi says "Leave her alone, Ari!" and Kristatos looks angrily at Brink and says "I will deal with you as I deal with everyone who betrays me!" and he storms out.

Michael Gothard is quite effective in his role as the creepy silent assassin, Locque aka "The Dove" who Bond kicks Locque's car off a cliff with him in it.  Gothard himself has no dialogue at all in the film, which would suggest that his character was a mute.  Sadly Gothard later took his own life in 1992 after years of struggling with depression. 

Desmond Lewellyn also nicely reprises his role as Q and has a good scene where Q and Bond try to identify Locque by using specialised facial ID tracking equipment.

So, in the scene, Q sets up the machine to use it with Bond's help and tells Bond "This  -D Visual ldentigraph is still in the experimental stage. Now, once we get a composite of the man...we can find a match by patching into the photographic files...of the Surety, lnterpol, CIA, the Mossad..." and Bond finishes Q's list and says "Yes and the West German police. You've told me so already five times!". 

And later there is the amusing scene where Bond goes into a church in St Cyrils and goes into a confession booth and he says to the priest on the other side "Forgive me father, I have sinned" and the priest turns out to be non other than Q who says to him "That's putting it mildly, 007!" who peels off a fake beard. Q then says to Bond "Your signal sent Whitehall into shock. So far we have managed to locate...St. Cyril's in Greece. Heaven only knows to which one Kristatos took the ATAC!" and Bond says "Well, I know a well informed man who I contact about that, Q".

Cassandra Harris also adds a bit of sexy charm to the film aswell in her role as the Countess, Columbo's mistress, whom Bond spends the night with just before she meets her fate the next day.

And I will mention one of Harris's scenes which is the one where Bond spends the night with the Countess but her Greek accent starts to slip a little revealing her to be English. So, as the Countess lies next to Bond she says in an English accent "My nightie's slipping!" and Bond says "So's your accent, Countess. Manchester?" and she corrects him "Close. Liverpool!. Bond asks her of her fake storm out to Columbo earlier "That was quite a performance earlier with Columbo. What exactly did Columbo whisper to you?" and she says "That you're a spy and to find out more about you" and Bond asks "And have you?" and she says "Have I ever?" and they kiss and you know the rest!   

John Wyman does OK in his role as Eric Kriegler, Kristatos's henchman, who has an amusing scene after chasing Bond in the mountains and Bond escapes, Kriegler out of rage angrily lifts his bike above his head and throws toward Bond's general direction!  In fact it has to be said that this film seems to have a thing for not so very talkative henchmen! 

And last of all is of course June Brown, who provides an amusing cameo performance as Margaret Thatcher, who calls to congratulate Bond on his mission's succcess, however instead she talks to Melina's parrot, Max, while Bond and Melina both go off for a night swim. 

So, in the scene, Maggie Thatcher unwittingly talking to Max says "Ah, Mr. Bond. I wanted to call you personnally and to say how pleased we all are that your mission was a success. Thank you" and Max says "Thank you! Thank you!". So, Maggie continues "Don't thank me, Mr. Bond. Your courage and resourcefulness are a credit to the nation. Denis and I look forward to meeting you. Meanwhile, if there is anything I can do for you..." and Max tells her "Give us a kiss!" and Maggie bashfully says "Oh, Mr Bond!".

DIRECTOR AND MUSIC 

Moving onto the director, John Glen does a fine job here in his directorial debut and he confidently handles the action of the film very well as he would continue to in his next four Bond films that he directed.  Glen also contributed well towards changing the tone and style of Bond quite a bit and he radically changed it when Timothy Dalton came onboard as Bond and its funny to think he was the only active Bond director in the entire decade of the 1980's! However, Irvin Kershner did direct the Thunderball remake, Never Say Never Again with Sean Connery in 1983 but that's not part of the official Bond series as it was not by the Eon production studio.

Music wise the film also has a fairly good score by Bill Conti, however at the same time his musical style isn't quite well suited to the Bond films as you just keep hearing echoes of his Rocky scores here. Regardless his score is still a decent one and it has some good sections to it that include the one where Bond makes his mountain climb up to the top of St Cyril's monastery near the end. 

The film's theme song however sung by Sheena Easton was never really a favourite of mine, so its a pretty average theme for me but there are worse ones for sure out there. Interestingly enough though, Sheena Easton herself was the first singer to feature in the title theme credits as the title designer, Maurice Binder liked her appearance (or basically fancied her!) and wanted to include her in them. 

FLAWS (Warning: this section may contain spoilers!)

As for flaws...... well For Your Eyes Only isn't perfect and it has to be said that again the film lacks a strong central villain as Kristatos isn't very menacing even though Julian Glover's performance is pretty good his character is not an effective villain, certainly not in comparison to the likes of Goldfinger, Scaramanga or Kananga and next to them he is quite forgettable.

The same can also be said to an extent for its leading lady and Bond girl character, Melina Havelock, as her character doesn't really come across as well as she could have, given that Melina's character had the potential to be really good as she had a motivation for revenge in the story.  This however could also even have come down to the possibility of Boquet's voice being dubbed over and if it was then it would certainly attribute to her performance being not as strong as it might have been, which if it is the case then that's probably more to do with the director's decisions than the actress. 

Then there is that stupid albeit entertaining opening scene where a bald-headed man, who is presumably Blofeld, takes remote control of a helicopter that Bond is flying in, however Bond manages to severe the cable that was remotely controlling it.  So then Bond turns the table and he scoops up the bald-headed villain's wheelchair, which leaves the villain pleasing "Mr Bond, I'll give you anything!  A delicatessen in stainless steel!!".  A WHAT???!!  A delicastessen in stainless steel???!! Now that is a bizzare one even by any Bond villain's standards!  Its just an example of very cheesy, lazy writing if you ask me and it mars the opening scene.

Another silly scene is the facial ID equipment Q uses with Bond to identify Loque and while Bond's description is hardly pin accurate, the tech of the time is pretty crude, so its amazing they were able to come up with Loque almost straight away! So, yep about 10 seconds later, we get an old dot matrix printer print a copy of Loque's face and full bio on the man. Not too bad for the early 80's! ;-)

I also felt that the film's underwater scenes were a bit tedious where Bond and Melina locate the ATAC and get attacked by a man in a metallic suit with pincers (yep really daft!).  Then there is the scene where Bond and Melina are tied to the back of Kristatos's speedboat and he has them dragged through the water in an effort to attracts nearby sharks in the water.  Its a pretty laboured drawn out sequence which ultimately of course results in Bond and Melina escaping anyway.

And then we have Bibi...ohh God! Yeah, Bibi. Bibi must be one of the most annoying Bond characters to have appeared in the series, who is of course a horny teenage ice-skater with a promising career ahead of her, who has her eyes on Bond despite the fact that he must be about 40 years older than her! And there is one point where Bibi is even arrogant enough to think that Kristatos wants her and she says to him that he is too old for her yet Julian Glover is actually 8 years younger than Roger Moore!  But yeah, Bibi is pretty annoying and she has plenty of naff dialogue and one of her worst lines which I didn't mention is when she hugs Bond and says "I could just eat you alive!". Jesus wept! 

And lastly Bernard Lee's presence is somewhat missed from the film as his character M was written out to allow for the new character Bill Tanner to be written in who makes a rather bland replacement.  But then Lee's contribution to the series was very memorable so his successor would have had some tough shoes to fill and unfortunately Tanner just doesn't cut it. 

Anyway that's it for the flaws.   

SUM UP 

So to sum up, For Your Eyes Only remains one of Moore's stronger Bond films and definitely one of the more underrated Bond films of the era as it has plenty of good solid action, a likeable performance from Moore himself and a good supporting cast particularly from Topol and Glover.

And yes it does have a few problems and its not one of the most memorable Bond films but its still got a lot going for it and it saw the series come down to Earth after the outlandish (literally) Moonraker.  Although the following film, Octopussy, would see the series become perhaps the most ridiculous its ever been up to this point, so we go from one extreme to the other...again! ;-) 

Anyway, I will give For Your Eyes Only a rating of:

8 out of 10. 

So, that's it for this one and I'll be back with another post or other hopefully before the end of the month as I know the blog has been a bit empty post wise lately. 

Until then its bye for now! 

 

The Man With The Golden Gun Review (Revisited) "He must have found me quite tittilating!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, I've been looking at posts to do to start off August (despite being in the middle of it!) on the blog, so I thought I would revisit an old Bond film and have opted for the 1974 classic, The Man with the Golden Gun, starring Roger Moore in the titular role of 007. 

So, after 52 years, let's take a look at how this classic Bond flick fairs... 

PLOT SPOILERS AHEAD!!! 

STORY

So, the story begins with a golden bullet received by MI6 which has "007" etched on it and it was believed to be sent by a famous and mysterious assassin named Francisco Scaramanga (Christopher Lee) as a taunt to James Bond (Roger Moore).  

Bond then decides to go off and locate Scaramanga, without the permission of his superiors and he starts his travels and in a nightclub he spots a dancer, Saida (Carmen du Sautoy) with a golden bullet in her belly button.  Bond goes backstage afterward and allows himself to be seduced by the dancer but is suddenly attacked by thugs just as he kisses the dancer's stomach he swallows the bullet.  Bond then fights off the men and leaves and afterward tracks the manufacturer of the bullet with the help of Q (Desmond Llewellyn) and he goes to Macau.  

Bond then follows Sacaramanga's mistress, Andrea Anders (Maude Adams) who is seen collecting bullets from a casino.  Bond then follows Andrea to Hong Kong and to her hotel where he forces her to tell him about Scaramanga's plans and what he looks like (as he has never been seen) and Andrea tells Bond that his next hit will be at the Bottoms-up club.  

At the club Bond discovers that Scaramanga's next hit is Gibson, a scientist who holds valuable piece of technology called the "solar agitator".  Scaramanga kills Gibson with one shot from his golden gun and his dwarf henchman, Nick Nack (Herve Villechaize) steal the solar agitator.  Bond arrives on the scene but is suddenly arrested by Lt Hip (Soon-Tek Oh) who takes him to meet up with M (Bernard Lee) and Q onboard the wreck of the RMS Queen Elizabeth, where they have a secret office.  At their meeting M orders Bond to retrieve the solex device and assassinate Scaramanga and from here Bond starts his dangerous journey to stop megalomaniacal Scaramanga...

THOUGHTS 

Whilst its not the strongest Bond films in the franchise, The Man with the Golden Gun is still a very entertaining, albeit cheesy Bond film which features plenty of action, cheap laughs, adventure and fun to keep the viewer interested.  Based on the original novel by Ian Fleming it was originally set to be filmed after You Only Live Twice and to use Cambodia as the location for filming, however it was cancelled due to an uprising at that time over there.  

Interestingly enough, this was Ian Fleming's final novel before his death in 1964, which was later published in 1965. The film's script also mirrored the real life energy oil crisis of 1973 which greatly affected the UK and also the USA, which was covered with the theme of the Solex agitator and how Scaramanga wished to steal the device so he could capture  the power of solar energy for his own uses.  The film also poked fun at martial arts films, especially given the success of Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon, which we see during the scene where Bond has to fight within a karate dojo.

PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section may contain spoilers!)

Performance wise TMWTGG (quite an abbreviation!) is largely pretty good even if the cast aren't all quite perfect. 

Starting with Roger Moore who does a find job as James Bond and this was only his second film but even by then he had already eased into the part of playing the suave, smooth yet deadly secret agent.  Moore however felt at the time he wasn't entirely happy with the direction of where the character was going as in the film Moore is directed to play Bond a bit more like Sean Connery, as rough and tumble 007 who will slap women around if necessary to get information.  And we see Moore do this in the scene where 007 pressues Andrea to tell him information about Scaramanga, which Moore was not comfortable filming.

Moore however does have quite a few highlights in the film and he get's plenty of a glib one-liners and double entendres.  Some examples include the scene where Bond seduces (or allows himself to be seduced) by the belly dancer, Saida, and he ends up accidentally swallowing her golden bullet just as the thugs attack him.  And after the fight the dancer looks down at her belly button and screams "I've lost my charm!" and Bond says "Not from where I'm standing!" before he leaves and hails a taxi outside and says to the driver "Take me to the nearest pharmacy!".  

Then there is the scene where Bond threatens the bullet manufacturer, Lazar by aiming a rifle at his groin. And in the scene, Lazar tells Bond how he just makes bullets but doesn't kill anyone much to the protest of Bond who accuses him of supplying bullets to killers such as Scaramanga. So, Lazar says to him "Mr Bond, bullets do not kill. Its the trigger that pulls them" and Bond says "Exactly" and he trains the rifle he stands behind at Lazar and says coldly "I am now aiming precisely at your groin. So speak now or forever hold your piece!". Moore was reportedly uncomfortable shooting this scene as well.

Another is the scene where Bond pressures Andrea to tell him where Scaramanga is and what he looks like he asks her "How can I recognise him?" and she says "Tall, slim and dark" and Bond quips "So is my aunt! Anything disctinctive about him?". So, Andrea tells him "He's not like other men he has three..." pointing to the area of the chest to indicate three nipples and Bond says "Funny anatomical titbit, but perhaps the most useless piece of information I've ever heard unless the Bottoms-up is a strip club and Scaramanga is performing there!".  

Another scene is where Bond meets with Hai Fat (Richard Loo) a wealthy Thai entrepreneur who is in cahoots with Scaramanga and he takes off his shirt as he prepares to go in for a dip with some girls in a pool within Fat's estate and he sees that Bond has a fake third nipple.  And Bond after the meeting with Fat, leaves and say to Hip "He invited me to dinner.  He must have found me quite titillating!" and he removes the fake nipple and throws it away.  

Then there is the scene where Bond is taken to a dojo in Fat's estate and he is forced to fight some of the dojo's students the first he knocks unconscious with a single kick before fighting the dojo's top student, Chula. And after a tough fight, Bond manages to escape by diving out the dojo and before leaving he bows his head!

This is then followed by the moment where Bond tries to escape Fat's men in a small motored boat but it runs out of steam and stutters, so Bond tries to look for a way to fit and a young boy selling a statue jumps onboard to pitch to him. So, the boy says to him "You are very handsome, Mister. 30 baht. For your 20 baht!" and Bond looks at him and says "Tell you what, sonny, I'll give you 20,000 baht if you can make this thing go any faster!". And the boy suddenly turns a small switch, which powers the boat and it speeds up and the boy grins and says "20,000 baht!" but Bond sees the Fat men coming on the canal, so he pushes the boy into the water and says "I'm afraid I'll have to owe you!" and the young boy shouts "Bloody tourists!".    

And there is of course the car chase scene between Bond and Scaramanga where Bond just so happens to steal a car from a dealership, which Pepper is sitting in is testing out. So, as Bond get's in the car, Pepper without looking at him and asks "How about a demonstration, boy?" and Bond says to him "Certainly, sir!" and starts up the engine and drives it out through the dealership window. However, as Pepper looks at Bond he says "Now, I KNOW you!" and Bond recognises him and says "Oh, no!" and Pepper says "You're the secret agent! That English secret agent from England!". 

And later on as Bond loses sight of Scaramanga, he soon finds him again but across a river and he eyes an incomplete spiral shaped wooden bridge that would lead other side and Bond suddenly turns the car around levels it up to make the jump. So, in the scene Pepper nervously says "You're not gonna..." and Bond says to him "I sure am, boy!" and he revs up the car and drives toward the incomplete bridge and says "You ever heard of Evel Knievel?!" and the car makes the looped jump over to the other side. Pepper then shouts in celebration as they make and in amazement he says "I ain't never done THAT before!" and Bond says calmly "No, neither have I actually".  

Then there is the scene where Bond travels to Scaramanga's remote island and has dinner with him and he listens to Scaramanga's waffle. So, Scaramanga concludes by saying to Bond that they are no different from each other and that surely he must enjoy killing as much as he does but Bond says to him "There is an interesting four letter word, and you're full of it! When I kill its on orders of her majesty's government and those I kill are themselves killers!" but Scaramanga says to him "Oh, come come, Mr Bond. You get as much fulfilment out of killing as I do, so why don't you admit it?" and Bond says "I admit killing you would be a pleasure". Scaramanga then tries to taunt Bond by saying "Then you should have done that when you first saw me but the English don't consider it sporting to kill in cold blood, do they?" and Bond irritated says "Don't count on it!" and tries to pull his gun but Scaramanga pulls his first. 

WARNING: BIG SPOILER AHEAD! 

And last of all is the scene where just after Bond kills Scaramanga having disguised himself as S's waxwork of Bond, he finds Goodnight and they make their exit from the island. 

So, in the scene, Goodnight asks Bond "Where is Scaramanga?" and Bond tells her "Flat on his coup de grace! I'll have to take care of the maintenance man" and Goodnight tells him "I already did. I laid him out cold" and Bond looks surprised and says "There's more to you than meets the eye, Goodnight". However, as they enter the plantworks area, Bond notices the warning signs and the helium containers are starting to bubble up violently. So, Bond asks her "Goodnight, I hate to ask a stupid question but where exactly did you knock him out cold?" and Goodnight points and says "He fell into that one other there". So, Bond annoyed says to her "Don't you believe in signs?! We've got 5 minutes before his body temperature raises that helium and then this place will go sky high!". 

And then there is Christopher Lee who steals the film as Scaramanga, the ruthless assassin, who apparently is paid a million dollars a hit as he considered to be that good.  

Lee has some good fun with his character and he has several highlights in the film, such as the opening scene where a man comes to his island, where he challenges him and ends up killing the man and he says to Nick Nack "You'll be the death of me yet, Nick Nack!" and he then turns to a dummy of Bond and shoots its fingers off!  

Then there is the scene where Scaramanga kills Hai-Fat and just before he does, Hai-Fat tells him that he most take the Solex and return to the power plant and Scaramanga secretly assembles his gun for the kill.

So, in the scene, Scaramanga teases Hai-Fat about his karate dojo student failing to capture Bond "What do they teach at that school? Ballet dancing?!" and Hai-Fat says to him "I find nothing amusing in Mr. Bond's escape. May I remind you that you work for me. I took you on to be an occasional consultant, nothing more. I now regret having even considered employing your services, but that is beside the point. Bond doesn't know you; he's never seen you. But he knows me. That's the problem". Scaramanga by now having fully assembled his gun says to Hai-Fat "That's no problem" and he aims his gun and shoots Hai-Fat, who collapses. So, one of Hai-Fat's aides runs in and asks what happened and Scaramanga tells him "Mr Fat has just resigned. I'm the new chairman of the board" and he leaves and says on his way out "He always did like that mausoleum. Put him in it!". 

And one of Lee's best and most cheesy moments is the scene where Scaramanga finally meets with Bond during a Thai kick-boxing match, as Bond sits next to Andrea (who is now dead at this point).  And in the scene Scaramanga tells Bond a little backstory about himself "When I was a boy I was brought up in a circus.  My only real friend was a huge, magnificent African bull." and he continues to say "You see, Mr Bond, I always thought I loved animals.  Then I discovered that I enjoy killing people even more". Scaramanga then says to Bond before he goes "I will bid you farewell now, Mr Bond. Please don't try to follow us" and Bond says of Nick-Nack who sits behind Bond with a gun "Your peanut gun-toting friend back there wouldn't like it" and Scaramanga smiles and says "No, he wouldn't" and leaves. 

Then there is the scene Scaramanga and Bond taunt each other while Bond is at Scaramanga's island and Scaramanga pulls out his gun and says "I could have shot you down when you arrived, but that would have been ridiculously easy!  You see, Mr Bond, like every great artist I would like to create an indisputable masterpiece once in my lifetime.  The death of 007 mano en meno, will be mine!".

Maude Adams as Scaramanga's mistress, Andrea Anders is also very good and Adams herself would later return in another Bond film, Octopussy as a different girl.

And I will mention just one of Adams's scenes, which is the one where Bond interrogates Andrea at her hotel room. So, In the scene Bond asks her "Do you work for him?" and Andrea awkwardly says to Bond "I don't work for him. I'm his... eh...his..." and Bond susses it out "So, he's a lover too" and Andrea says "Only before he kills" and Bond says "Bullfighters do the same thing. They claim it improves the eye. His eyes are on me. Where can I find him?". Andrea then says "I don't know" and Bond grabs her roughly and slaps her and shouts "I said where?!" and Andrea says "I know he has a date at the Bottoms' up club tonight!". 

Bond then asks her "How will I recognise him?" and Andrea says "Tall, slim and dark" and Bond quips "So is my aunt. Anything distinctive about him?" and Andrea says "He's not like other men he has three..." and indicates the nipple area and Bond says "Fascinating anatomical titbid but probably the most useless piece of information I've ever heard unless Bottom's up is a strip and Scaramanga is performing there!". So, Bond threatens Andrea and says "You'll have to do better!" and Andrea says "He usually wears a white linen suit, black tie, and jewellery all gold" and Bond says "You're improving" and Andrea rolls her wrist and says "I don't want you to twist my arm again!" and Bond says "I don't want to either".

Then there is Britt Eckland as Bond's later love interest, Goodnight, whom is somewhat clumsy and hapless in the film but ends up helping Bond at the end (and yes she does look good in a bikini!).  

And Britt has one of the film's cheesiest but still fun lines, where Bond first meets up with her and he says to her that he has official business (i.e. Andrea, Scaramanga's mistress) and Goodnight having spotted Andrea earlier says "Yes I saw your official business" and Bond says "Goodnight after two years would I do that to you?" and she shouts "Yes you bloody well would!".  

Another good scene from Britt is when Bond and Goodnight share a late night drink together outside and she is wearing a fetching blue dress, which Bond compliments her on as he drinks some sub-par wine. So, Bond drinks the wine and says "I approve" and Goodnight asks "You do?" and Bond says "Oh, not the wine, of your frock. Tight in all the right places, not too many buttons" and Goodnight smiles and says "Its South East Asia standard, the buttons are down the back". So, Bond then flirts with Goodnight a bit more heavily and says "If Hip doesn't come up with a lead, there really isn't much for us to do tonight". However, for once, Bond is given the cold shoulder and Goodnight says well goodnight to him! So, Goodnight says "Oh, darling, I'm tempted. But, killing a few hours as one of your passing fancies, isn't quite my scene" and she walks off. 

And lastly there is the scene near the end where Goodnight knocks out Scaramanga's plant worker and he lands in a container of liquid helium (I think!) and his body temperature raises the plant's temps to an unstable rate much to Bond's horror. So, Bond says to Goodnight "We'll need to take care of the maintenance man" and Goodnight says to him "I already did. I laid him out cold " and Bond looks at her surprised and says "There's more to you than meets the eye, Goodnight!". So, as they enter the plant area, Bond asks her "Goodnight, I hate to ask a stupid question but where did you knock him out cold?" and Goodnight says "I knocked him out in that one over there" and we see the man's body lie in the container. Bond however says to her "Don't you believe in signs?! We've five minutes before his body temperature raises that helium and this whole place will go sky high!" and Goodnight says "I'm sorry, I didn't know!".   

And last of all is Britt's last scene where Bond and Goodnight make out onboard Scaramanga's private junk but unbeknownst to them, Nick-Nack has also smuggled himself onboard. So, just as Bond and Goodnight embrace, Goodnight smiles and says to Bond "I always wanted to take a slow boat from China!" and they kiss but its not long before Nick-Nack appears from above with a knive and Goodnight looks up and screams just before Nick-Nack drops down and he and Bond fight.

Clifton James also reprises his role from Live and Let Die as Sherrif J.W. Pepper who turns up in the film and just happens to be on holiday in Bangkok (with his wife) and testing out a car in a showroom when Bond suddenly races into the car and takes off with Pepper.  Pepper it has to be said is actually one of the more annoying characters in the Bond series and these days its probably harder to find him amusing given his rather blinkered and racist outlook but nevertheless he still provides some amusing moments.  

And in the scene Pepper suddenly realises who Bond is and says "Now I know you!" and Bond looks at him and realises how he is and wearily says "Oh, no!". And Pepper says excitedly to Bond "You're that secret agent, ain't you?!  That English secret agent from England!". Pepper then grins and sees that Bond is chasing after someone and says "You're chasin someone, aren't you?! Who are you after, boy?! Commies?! I'm with you all the way!". 

Then there is of course the scene where Bond is about to make the film's spectacular looped car jump over an incomplete bridge and just before Bond does it, Pepper looks at Bond and says "You're not gonna..." and Bond says in a feeble American accent "I sure am, boy!". So, after Bond makes the jump, Pepper excitedly yells "WAHHHOOOO!" and he gathers himself and sits up and says "I ain't never done that before!" and Bond confesses "No, neither have I actually".

And later on when Bond chases Scaramanga to a hanger and then Pepper is hand-cuffed by one of the local police officers and he protests loudly as you would expect! However, as Pepper protests, the local police officers are too busy looking up at the skies as Scaramanga's car with added wings, flies off. So, Pepper yells at the office who has cuffed him "You can't do this to me! And I want my wallet back. Take these god damn bracelets off! I'm gonna sue you for false arrest. Police brutality! I've got connections, you brown pony heads! I'm gonna get the FBI on you! And the CIA! God Damn it! I'm gonna get Henry Kissenger! Now, look at me when I'm talkin' to you, boy!". And Pepper finally looks up but thinks its just a plane and asks the officer "What's the matter?! Ain't any of you pointy-heads seen a plane before?!".

And last of all is Herve Villechaize as Nick Nack, Scaramanga's dwarf henchman, who has a fine line in some cheeky one liners and generally being more mischievous than anything else. Villechaize would later achieve greater fame in the TV series, Fantasy Island with Ricardo Montalban but tragically ended up taking his own life in 1993 aged only 50.  

Herve has some amusing moments in the film such as the scene at the start where Scaramanga faces a challenger at his island and he manages to kill him. So, Nick Nack, monitors the challenge until Scaramanga has succeeded and after, Nick Nack appears and says "This was the best one yet, n'est-ce pas?" and Scaramanga says "Not bad. But you're going to have to do better if you want to come into my money" and Nick Nack grins and says "I'll get you yet. And I'll enjoy everything you leave me!" and Scaramanga smiles and says "You'll be the death of me yet, Nick Nack!".

Then there is of course the scene where Bond and Scaramanga face off one another on the island and Nick-Nack counts to twenty as they walk 20 paces apart before they are to turn and fire at each other but Scaramanga disappears when Bond turns around and fires. So, as Bond searches the island for Scaramanga he stumbles on Nick Nack who says to him quietly "If you kill him, all this becomes mine!" and Bond threatens him and says "I've never killed a midget before but there's always a first time" and Nick Nack says "Oh, Monsieur!". 

And lastly there is the scene at the end of the film where Nick Nack confronts Bond onboard Scaramanga's junket and angrily shouts at him "I'll kill you!" and Bond looks at him and says "Why, you...". And as they play a game of cat and mouse (guess which is which?!) Bond captures Nick Nack by putting him in a suitcase and tying him to the boat's mast and Nick Nack is heard yelling "Oww! Let me out, you big bully! I maybe small but I never forget!" and Bond yells "Shut up!". 

DIRECTOR 

As for the director, Guy Hamilton, who was a real veteran of the Bond film's by then, does a very good job here with the film and he knows how to handle the action scenes very well and keeps the film's pace fairly taut and allows for some typical moments of cheesy Bond-esque humour. This in fact would be Hamilton's final film that he worked on in the Bond series and would later go on to direct films such as Force 10 From Navarone and Evil Under the Sun before his retirement. Hamilton later died in 2016.  

The film also features a fine music score by John Barry, which stands out as one of the film's better aspects and there are plenty of good tracks in the film, particularly during the sequence where Bond tries to track Scaramanga's whereabouts on the island during their duel. Unfortunately the film's theme song sung by Lulu is not as good and stands as one of the weakest Bond themes in the series.

FLAWS (Warning: this section may also contain spoilers!)

So, flaws??? Yes, The Man With The Golden Gun has some worth of note.  

For starters the film is naturally quite dated looking given its 70s setting and it also has some rather uncomfortable sexist attitudes in it.  Bond is naturally a typical male chauvinist and in the film but he also is portrayed a bit more roughly as seen in the scene where Bond forces Andrea to tell him about Scaramanga and in the scene he slaps her and twists her arm behind her back, which was the sort of thing we saw Sean Connery do in Diamonds are forever when he takes off a girl's bra and nearly strangles her with it. Already as mentioned, Moore himself was uncomfortable shooting the scene with Maude Adams.

The film also displays a rather sexist attitude by showing inept and clumsy female characters such as Goodnight, who get's herself too easily into trouble and in the scene near the end she activates the solar powered dish control button by leaning back on it with her bum and activating it!  And I guess this is something they wanted to try and remedy in The Spy who Loved Me, where Major Amasova is a far more capable, disciplined and well trained agent than Goodnight ever was.  

The film's dialogue whilst has some good lines it also is pretty cliched and features some ridiculous lines such as the scene where Bond meets with the bullet manufacturer, Lazar who as soon as he meets Bond says "Ah Mr Bond, your reputation proceeds you!" which again re-iterates that James Bond is supposed to be a secret spy but he is hardly secret if everyone knows who he is!  This is also noted in the scene at the start where Scaramanga shoots the fingers off the waxwork dummy of Bond and in that moment its more like Bond is a celebrity figure than a secret agent and unlike Scaramanga everyone knows what he looks like and its a pretty daft moment in the film anyway!  

The film is also guilty of having some rather boring chase scenes in it, which often are the dullest moments of any Bond film although the chase scene with Sheriff J.W. Pepper next to Bond blaring in his ear does add something a bit different! However, if there is one thing I hate about that car chase scene is the annoying slide whistle that is played when Bond makes the car jump. Its just cheesy as hell and not necessary. 

Also further to this point, just how did Pepper happened to be on holiday in the exact same spot as Bond was at in the film in the first place??! The notion of Pepper being on holiday is fair enough but to be in the same place as James Bond is just a bit too far fetched as they end up going for a "test drive" as Bond chases after Scaramanga.  

As for the plot niggle, just how was Andrea planted next to Bond at the kickboxing fight when she was dead? I mean did Scaramanga shoot her before Bond arrived and propped her up in the seat or maybe Nick-Nack shot her??? Who knows? I just could never figure out how she just happened to be sitting there as a corpse at that moment as I can hardly imagine them being able to discreetly drag her corpse into the arena, so I can only guess that Scaramanga might have shot her at point blank range in the seat but again that's just a guess. Bottom line is though, if Andrea was dead before then, it would have been impossible for them to carry her in without someone noticing surely?! Ahh well, its just a film after all.  

Last of all, I have to ask just how the hell did Bond manage to climb down the scaffolding just in time before Scaramanga would find him and get dressed in the Bond waxwork suit??? Not only that but with Nick-Nack keeping an eye on the camera monitors for Bond, surely there would have been one nearby the waxwork area that could have shown Bond changing clothes maybe??? Yeah, its another convenient plot moment that doesn't quite add up.

So, that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So, to sum up, The Man With The Golden Gun, while its not one of the best Bond films by any stretch, it is still quite an enjoyable one and has enough action set pieces, amusing one-liners and decent performances from its main cast to make it very watchable. In fact, its safe to say that Scaramanga definitely remains as one of the most memorable villains in the series and Christopher Lee definitely steals the show here with his performance. 

However, the film of course isn't perfect and has its share of problems that prevent it from being a classic with some daft plot issues, some blatant sexism and Moore to a certain extent here even being forced to imitate Connery's Bond when it comes to roughing up women, which doesn't feel right for Moore's interpretation of the role. That aside, The Man with the Golden is a fun film and worth a look even if its not one of the strongest Bond films of its era or the franchise.

So, I will rate it: 

7 out of 10 

So, that's it for now and I will be back with another post soon.

Till the next one, bye for now!