The Man with the Golden Gun

Name: The Man with the Golden Gun
Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller
Released: December 20, 1974
Duration: 125 min
Rating: 43
Cast: Christopher Lee, Roger Moore

1974

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 11 Critic Reviews

See All

USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 44 Ratings

See All

6.1

VOTE NOW

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

6.1	Your Score
6.1	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 44 Ratings

Would you like to write a review?

There is a 75 character minimum for reviews. If your review contains spoilers, please check the Spoiler box. Please do not use ALL CAPS. There is no linking or other HTML allowed. Your review may be edited for content. 0/5000

Check box if your review contains spoilers

Play Sound

Please enter your birth date to watch this video:

You are not allowed to view this material at this time.

The Man With The Golden Gun

Now Playing: The Man With The Golden Gun

Movie Details & Credits

United Artists | Release Date: December 20, 1974 | PG

Starring: Christopher Lee, Roger Moore

Summary: James Bond is led to believe that he is targeted by the world's most expensive assassin while he attempts to recover sensitive solar cell technology that is being sold to the highest bidder.

Director: Guy Hamilton

Genre(s): Action, Adventure, Thriller

Rating: PG

Runtime: 125 min

See All Details and Credits

Watch Now

Buy On

Metascore

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

The Guardian Michael Hann

Live and Let Die borrowed from blaxploitation; The Man with the Golden Gun took a couple of kicks at kung fu, though in a distinctly half-hearted fashion. Read full review

James Berardinelli

Rarely does The Man with the Golden Gun take anything seriously. Mary Goodnight is as clumsy as they come. Pepper and Nick Nack are cartoonish. There are more jokes-per-minute than in any other Bond film. Even John Barry's score is less earnest than usual, and the opening song is ridiculous. Read full review

Ian Freer

Whilst this takes itself a little too lightly it has a lot going for it. Read full review

Dave Kehr

Roger Moore is a pastry chef's idea of James Bond; but Christopher Lee as the archetype of the evil antagonist makes this 007 outing just about bearable. Read full review

Nora Sayre

Mr. Moore functions like a vast garden ornament. Pedantic, sluggish on the uptake, incapable of even swaggering, he's also clumsy at innuendo. If you enjoyed the early Bond films as much as I did, you'd better skip this one. Read full review

Time Out London Staff (Not Credited)

Roger Moore's interpretation of Bond is blandness personified. It is left to Christopher Lee, playing a kind of Westernised, Dracula-esque Fu Manchu, to lend some semblance of style and suavity as Scaramanga, the man with a hideout in Red China and a hankering after the status of gentleman. Read full review

Phil Perello

Roger Moore's second outing as 007 does not do the subject matter justice. Or the character. Or any paying member of the audience. Read full review

SEE ALL 11 REVIEWS

Write a Review

User Reviews

Kai82

Dec 20, 2020

A divisive James Bond movie. For some it is one of the weakest and for others it is an excellent one. This is because of Christopher Lee as Francisco Scaramanga / The man with the golden gun and his right hand man Herve Villechaize as Nick Nack (he is introduced as his servant but I will sayA divisive James Bond movie. For some it is one of the weakest and for others it is an excellent one. This is because of Christopher Lee as Francisco Scaramanga / The man with the golden gun and his right hand man Herve Villechaize as Nick Nack (he is introduced as his servant but I will say he is his close friend, right hand and a really dangerous). He also got really famous later on in the TV series Fantasy Island. Back to the movie: It is the ninth movie and is staring Roger Moore but you can also say that Scaramanga is also a main character as you learn a lot about him. After the amazing intro which gives you a great insight into Scaramanga and Nick Nacks relationship and abilities the story starts when a golden bullet engraved with 007 is received by the MI6. They believed it was send by Francisco Scaramanga who is a legendary assassin and a myth as nobody knows much about him. He is possibly the most dangerous assassin on the planet and his skill might even be a deadly challenge for James Bond. Because of this James Bond is relived of his current mission to find a scientist who has the knowledge to solve the energy crisis. So starts the story. The story itself would be pretty weak but Roger Moore and Christopher Lee made it excellent. You always know it will end with a final duel of these two as they play a cat and mouse game. It is so enjoyable too watch how the characters enfold in the story. It is driven by the actors and this made me ignore all the other problems. For the cast we have Roger Moore in his second movie as James Bond. He improved and has become the James Bond we know and love (I wont bring up the Sean Connery or Roger Moore topic). As I already said Christopher Lee is also the main actor here or close to it. He gets a lot of attention and you learn a lot about him. An enjoyable and unforgettable performance and he reached the heights of the best James Bond Villains (best in the Roger Moore era with Jaws for me). Remark: Do you know that he was the step cousin of the James Bond author Ian Fleming? Herve Villechaize as Nick Nack delivers also a great performance. He is often forgotten in the list of best henchman / lieutenants. He is clever, dangerous and I do not want to have him as enemy. Richard Loo is the second antagonist of the movie and made a good performance. Clifton James returns as Sheriff Pepper. I so much enjoyed his stereotype parody performance. They also established the humor to the James Bond movies the Roger Moore era is famous for. Here are so many good jokes I wont spoil. Also the locations were amazing. This time we got Hong Kong, Macau and Thailand. Visually impressive and worth to visit in real life. Bonus for the MI6 headquarter in Hong Kong;-). This movie is full of interesting gadget and devices and I think I will not give you a spoiler free description here. Overall this is an excellent James Bond movie that I recommend. Be however warned as it is divisive. Like I said before for some it is a low point but I had no one ever see or heard criticizing Christopher Lees performance.… Expand