Bond:
Sean Connery is James Bond again? A record 1.25 million brought him back to the role for 1 movie. Diamonds Are Forever is it. Bond only sleeps with 1 woman, has 1 Martini and climbs on the outside of a huge Vegas skyscraper, and plays Craps not Baccarat. He seems to stroll along and fall into things, instead of figuring things out and make things go his way. It feels more like he happened upon finding out what was going on by accident. It never feels like he is in control for most of the movie, being a pawn moved around the board. It was a bit of a let down, Sean Connery's return as Bond wasn't his best.
Bond Girls:
Bond only sleeps with 1 girl, her name is Tiffany Case, she has huge red hair and doesn't have the looks I would regard as Bond girl level. She looked more like a TV mom on a family sitcom than a Bond Girl. Although she is in some sort of swim suit for most of the movie, I am not super impressed with her. There was one other girl I would consider a Bond Girl for Diamonds Are Forever, her name was Plenty O'Toole and up until this point in watching the Bond movies she is my favorite. She is a beautiful gold digger, who chases Bond after her drops a ton of cash at a Craps table. Her role is small, but this is the first girl who I think looks like a modern Bond Girl. It is obvious hairstyle and clothing is important for my Bond Girl choices.
Villian/Threat:
Well there is a surprise villain so I am not going to say who it is. Ernst Blofeld makes an appearance in the beginning of the movie but Bond handles him quickly in the beginning of the movie and he isn't actually a threat. The actual device is a diamond encrusted laser beam that can destroy the worlds nuclear missiles from space. This is so that the Villain can achieve "World Peace." It seems like a weird threat, idea, and reason. It all seems like an odd choice. Along with Bond moving along through this movie, the threat feels equally tame and just like something that was presented as a solution to the problem of we don't have a crazy device to make the world scared, that wasn't well thought out.
Gadgets:
Here we see some good Gadgets, things we even see used in movies today. The first is the fake fingerprint, where Bond wears a fingerprint on his finger that leaves a different print on items, to trick detection. Then a voice changing box that changes someones voice on the phone. We still see these technologies used today in movies like Mission Impossible. Also a trap in Bond's jacket for someone trying to take his gun out, like a mousetrap. These gadgets are not super advanced technology but they are practical and we see them being used today. These seem like good gadgets even if they are not the most futuristic ones I have seen.
Overall:
I don't know about Diamonds Are Forever, it took place in Vegas but doesn't have that Vegas feel, Bond feels like he is phoning it in and there is a lack of Bond Girls. The threat, and villain feel like less than threats compared to previous movies, It all just feels like no one's heart was into this movie. I think Bond being bought back, instead of wanting to come back makes everyone involved feel like this was not the best project to work on and it shows. The 70's so far is not looking like a great Bond era.
