Goldfinger (1964) | The Midas Touch

Perhaps one of the most recognizable and popular of all the Bond films in the franchise, Goldfinger is the third feature film starring Sean Connery as James Bond. While Dr. No and From Russia With Love were setting up the character of Bond and his abilities as a spy in a more subtle and traditional espionage format, Goldfinger charges full speed ahead.

It's here where many of the tropes that would become synonymous with James Bond are established. Say goodbye to subtlety, for now. That isn't to say that Goldfinger isn't a good film. In fact, I think it's one of the better entries. It's fun. The action is better than the previous two movies. The villains are the most over-the-top thus far. The plot is straightforward and engaging. There are just a few issues that stand out when looking at Goldfinger with a more critical eye.

Pros

Fun villain
Good plot surrounding Fort Knox
Car chase sequence is the best thus far
Action sequences are better and more tense; even the lame fight with Oddjob
Establishes the rest of the film franchise tropes, for better or worse
Good one-liners

Cons

Voice editing is off in many spots
Fight with Oddjob, while tense, is also just dumb-looking
Starts getting more absurd with excessive technology and flamboyant showboating
Rape whistle required
Pussy Galore heel-turn is absurd

Plot & Thoughts

Like Dr. No, Goldfinger is the name of the primary antagonist of the movie. Unlike Dr. No, Goldfinger (Gert Fröbe) is so central to the plot that he is frequently on-screen. James Bond (Sean Connery), in his usual convenient fashion, decides to involve himself in some spy work while he's on vacation. His CIA buddy, Felix Lighter (Cec Linder), informs him about their target, Goldfinger, and how he's up to no good. One thing leads to another and—also in his usual convenient fashion—he sleeps with a Bond girl in the first 10 minutes. The rules of the franchise dictate that if he sleeps with someone this early in the film, she must die and she does. This sparks his desire for revenge and he is all too eager for an official mission to shadow Goldfinger to find out what he's up to.

This leads to Bond taking a road trip through beautiful Switzerland with a few fast-paced car sequences until he is inevitably captured and taken hostage to the United States, whereupon he learns the details of the evil plot. The plot itself is straightforward. But, it’s still a good one that is destined to make Goldfinger the richest man on the planet. I won't spoil the details if you haven't seen it, but it involves an unconventional heist, which I rather like.

Goldfinger is one of the most iconic Bond films of the Connery days for a variety of reasons. From Russia with Love had a fancy suitcase with nifty, realistic tools hidden inside, but Goldfinger is the first film to make full use of the Q gadget department, establishing the strained rapport between 007 and Q—played by again Desmond Llewelyn who would retain the role till his death in 1999. It's the first time Bond got to drive an Aston Martin with crazy gizmos, which would give viewers one of the better car chase sequences of the early Bond films. It's the first to have a main theme song in the opening title sequence, which permeates the rest of the film's score.

What makes Goldfinger stand out as one of the better films is not just how it established more tropes of the franchise, however. The car chase, while not the most exciting, is a vast improvement over those in the previous films. The big heist sequence is full of gunfire, chaos, and excitement in a way that is more engaging than it's been done before. The twists and turns of the story are also somewhat less predictable. It's a little less believable in some spots, but as the movie progresses, it does a good job of making no character seem safe, leading the audience along at a steady pace until the plot is fully revealed.

Goldfinger is a vibrant and dynamic villain who is smart, but also flawed in the right ways, making him more interesting than some of the villains that grace the rest of the series. His henchman, Oddjob (Harold Sakata), is also one of the most memorable. Though, everyone agrees the whole thing about throwing your hat to kill is pretty dumb—just use a gun, you doofus.

Speaking of dumb and poor taste, especially by today's standards, Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman). Ignoring the ridiculous and stupid name, her character is perfectly fine as a strong-willed woman working alongside Goldfinger, capable of defending herself. She's capable of defending herself against most things, including James Bond's charm, which is why he turns the r@pe meter up to 11 and stops trying to charm her at some point in favor of a more physically overpowering approach. This sequence, while meant to be romantic from the era's perspective, is anything but. I won't judge it for being just another thing of a time in which this sort of behavior was socially acceptable. I will, however, judge it for being a stupid plot point. Spoiler warning for a 50+ year-old movie: by forcing himself upon Pussy, and likely doing a lot more than just kissing, the magic power of his genitals is enough to make her forsake the path of evil and help James on his mission. No other reason is given as to why she might suddenly turn to good. In fact, another character asks James why she might have suddenly had a change of heart, and all that's given is a euphemism for what was exchanged between them. Since we can assume nothing was exchanged other than bodily fluids, this is just poor writing and a stupid method of getting Bond out of a jam.

The Pussy Galore plot point is the main issue I have with the film. I will acknowledge, however, that Goldfinger has some other minor issues. In some spots, the sound editing is off with some sound effects of the scene being far louder than everything else, and voices do not align with what the characters are saying on-screen in other spots, especially Goldfinger himself. The fight sequence with Oddjob, while better than some previous brawls that were poorly choreographed, is still a little dull to watch. And while the gadgets and defiance of logic/physics make for a fun time, it is a shame that the grounded nature of the previous movies is abandoned for goofier gadgets and outlandish action sequences.

TL;DR (Conclusion)

Goldfinger was my favorite Bond film for a long time. It had a ton of death-defying action and twists in its pacing to keep you entertained. It may be far from perfect, and a few details surrounding the poorly-aged scene of James Bond's “persuasion” skills are unbelievable and stupid, but the movie is still a fun ride, overall. It's a trendsetter for the rest of the franchise for many reasons and still worth a watch.

Hair of the Dog Bonus Drinking Game Rule

While the previous Bond films had girls with slightly unusual names, Goldfinger is the first of the franchise to be so on-the-nose with the names of its female characters with Pussy Galore. It is an absurd and incredibly dumb name. I'm sure that if you're playing along with the other James Bond Drinking Game rules, along with our universal rules, this bonus rule won't be necessary considering that Goldfinger is the titular line of the film and the primary antagonist, whose name is mentioned frequently. Nonetheless, here is the rule specific to Goldfinger.