DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER
(1971)With Sean Connery, Jill St. John, Charles Gray, Lana Wood, Jimmy Dean, Bernard Lee, Desmond Llewelyn, Lois Maxwell
Directed by Guy Hamilton
Reviewed by JL
After sitting out ON
HER MAJESTY'S SECRET
SERVICE two years previously, Sean Connery was lured back (mainly by a
hefty paycheck) for one more go-round as James Bond. In his
return to the role, he invests Bond with more fun and energy than in
any film since GOLDFINGER, but the surrounding production can't match
the quality of Connery's performance. DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER
also
proves that the corny, pun-laden humor that marked (or marred) the
Roger Moore era arrived one film before Roger Moore. The film
has
a few memorable scenes, including an above-average car chase, but it's
the cheapest-looking of the Bond films with the most ho-hum
storyline. Although Connery would return to the role of Bond
once
more in 1983, this was his last time in an "official" Bond film made by
EON Productions, and it's too bad the greatest of all Bonds wasn't
given a more worthy send-off. 
- JL
After the near-perfection of
ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET
SERVICE, it is a shame the series didn't followup with an equally good
Bond film in which Bond exacts revenge on Ernst Stavro Blofeld for what
he did in the closing moments of the previous film. There was
an
opportunity to make one of the most intense and meaningful Bond films,
and they chucked it all away. I suppose the disappointment
all
around with ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE at the time precluded the
producers from making another more-adult followup, but time has proven
OHMSS to be the much more appealing film than this cartoonish mess.
Connery is still the best
Bond and Charles Gray is excellent as a rather dapper Blofeld, but as
hard as they try, they cannot save DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER from being a
big, silly self-parody of the whole Bond franchise. Entertaining, yes,
but far from essential. - JB
HOW TO TALK LIKE A BOND VILLAIN
"Such a pity. All that time and energy wasted, simply to
provide you with one mock, heroic moment."
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Copyright © 2008 John V. Brennan, John Larrabee