The Man with the Golden Gun
United Artists | Release Date: December 20, 1974 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
43
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 11 Critic Reviews
Positive:
2
Mixed:
8
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
70
The GuardianMichael 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
63
ReelViewsJames 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
60
EmpireIan Freer
Whilst this takes itself a little too lightly it has a lot going for it. Read full review
60
VarietyPeter Debruge
Enjoyment requires denying the increasingly problematic truth about Bond: As heroes go, 007 represents a bygone notion of the privileged white man taking what’s his and leaving destruction in his wake. Read full review
50
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Roger Moore already seems winded in his second outing as Bond. And the film's comedic approach to martial arts justly rankles true 007 afficionados. Compensation comes in the form of Christopher Lee's delicious take on evil as Scaramanga and Herve Villechaize's verve as Nick Nack, Scaramanga's dwarf manservant. Read full review
40
The New York TimesNora 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
40
Time Out LondonStaff (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
40
Chicago ReaderDave 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
40
TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not Credited)
Screenwriters Maibaum and Mankiewicz attempted to downplay the gadgetry this time around, but their attempts at adding more humor hinder plot development. The film's pace lags until the climactic finale. Read full review
40
The New YorkerPauline Kael
Script lacks satiric insolence, and the picture grinds on humorlessly. The villain Christopher Lee's fanged smile is the only attraction.
30
IGNPhil 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
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