Even if you've never treated yourself to the slick, outrageous, testosterone-drenched fantasy that is Ian Fleming's James Bond, the name certainly conjures up images in the mind. Everyone knows what James Bond is all about. Guns. Easy women. Daring escapades. Villains outlining their evil plans in staggering detail, then leaving our hero alone to escape certain death.
If you'd like to know what the James Bond phenomenon is all about, I recommend this film as an introduction. Why this film, out of the score of surprisingly similar films churned out by Albert R. Broccoli over the last few decades?
Any Bond fan will tell you that the one, the only James Bond is Sean Connery, and that all who have come after are merely cheap imitations. Thus, recommending a film starring say, Timothy Dalton or Roger Moore would be ridiculous. So that leaves only half a dozen films to choose from.
I choose Diamonds Are Forever because it is the last of Connery's performances, and has a bit more of a "modern" feel to it, concentrating more on breathtaking stunts and nifty special effects than some of the earlier Bond films. This flashier style might make it an easier transition for people more accustomed to the modern style action flick, which leaves little to the imagination. At the same time, this film still holds on to some of the deliciously creepy quality that is lacking completely in the most recent films starring Pierce Brosnan.
I won't go into much detail about the plot of Diamonds Are Forever, as no one but James Bond himself is likely to care about the theoretical peril the world is in. The attraction of this and any other Bond film is the man's charisma alone. In Diamonds Are Forever Connery's one-liners are laugh-out-loud funny, his sex appeal is increasing rather than decreasing with age, and his leading lady Tiffany Case, played by Jill St. John, is far more alluring than the more well-known Miss *ahem* Galore (who probably earned her notoriety by her name alone, which epinions won't even let me print).
First-time "Bonders" will especially enjoy the dramatic introduction of his character... the camera seems afraid to look him in the face at first, giving him a wonderful air of mystery. Diamonds Are Forever gives a very exciting sense of Bond as a legendary international figure. For those who want a larger-than-life hero, this film will not disappoint.
The villains of this film are equally intriguing. Far from the usual stereotypes, we have a pair of openly gay lovers, creepy little men who delight in death by scorpion, death by premature burial, even death by cake. A weirder duo you'll likely never see. The mastermind, however, is more the typical Evil Guy. Throw in a ridiculous cloning-by-plastic-surgery plot device and a pair of luscious bodyguards named Bambi and Thumper, and you have potential for pure cheese.
Somehow, though, it works. You suspend disbelief because Bond is so darned sexy, and so darned clever, and so darned courageous. It's the classic good-guy-versus-bad-guy thing, and it never gets old.
If you have never seen a Bond film, run out and rent this one today. James Bond is unarguably a part of popular culture, and Diamonds Are Forever is an important part of the Bond legacy.
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