The ever-entertaining Sean Connery took some time off from his much-lauded performance as the original James Bond following 1967's You Only Live Twice. George Lazenby was hired to take over the role for the next film, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, but some controversy ended up snuffing out his tenure and turning it into a single-film run.
The producers of Diamonds Are Forever managed to get Connery back for one final (at the time) outing as Bond, with some fans split down the middle as to whether the campier tone worked in comparison to previous films. Nevertheless, Diamonds Are Forever is still a solid Bond film with a long list of great moments.
10 Bond Kills Blofeld ... Kind Of
The opening act of Diamonds Are Forever is quite different from the novel source material, and finds Sean Connery getting back into form as James Bond. And he doesn't seem fazed by his hiatus. The scene shifts to different locales where Bond ruthlessly roughs up and interrogates several associates of his arch-nemesis, Blofeld, the head of the infamous criminal syndicate, SPECTRE.
Eventually, Bond comes face to face with his old adversary, overcoming his armed guards long enough to strap him to a gurney and send him straight into a pool of superheated mud. Unfortunately, Bond got the wrong guy, with the real Blofeld left to work his sinister plot into the film.
9 Bond Kills Bond In An Elevator
It's hard work to get ingratiated into the good graces of a clever diamond smuggler, which meant Bond would have to pull out all the stops. He starts out by impersonating an assassin named Peter Franks in order to get close to diamond smuggler Tiffany Chase, but in order to sell it, he needs to put on a good show.
Bond attacks the real Franks in an elevator, triggering one of the best fight scenes of the entire film. It ends with Bond knocking Franks over a railing, where he falls to his death. He then switches IDs to make it seem like he just killed James Bond, giving him greater credibility with Chase.
8 Bond On The Moon
Bond infiltrates a research station in an effort to find out where a cache of diamonds is going, and what their true purpose is. He manages to dodge the local staff by playing the part as sincerely as possible, which is enough to throw them off. It's there that he discovers the building of a satellite, the first piece of his puzzle.
He eventually makes his way onto a sound stage, where the staff is creating what appears to be a simulation of a moon landing. When his cover is blown, he hops into a moon buggy and drives straight through the facility wall before the station's security goes after him in one of the most bizarre chase sequences of any 007 film.
7 The Vegas Chase
After escaping the station security personnel, Bond hightails it out with Tiffany in a red Mustang Mach 1, which is spotted heading down the highway. They put a word out to the Las Vegas Sheriff's office in an effort to get the local police to keep an eye out for him, and that's precisely what happens the following night.
Bond is pulled over, but soon realizes what's happening, and decides to flee. This triggers a car chase sequence through the streets of Las Vegas where Bond drives along sidewalks, flies through busy intersections, and tears through a crowded parking lot before making a spectacular getaway jump off the back of a trailer. The scene ends with Bond putting the Mustang on two wheels to skate through a narrow alleyway.
6 A Tale Of Two Blofelds
Bond has it in him to pay a visit to Mr. Whyte, a rich entrepreneur who may or may not be involved in the case of the diamonds, and a more sinister plan hovering in the background. He uses one of MI6's ingenious little gadgets to gain access to the higher levels of Whyte's spectacular Las Vegas building.
Inside, he is greeted by none other than his arch-nemesis and spy movie villain extraordinaire, Blofeld -- or rather, two of them. It seems Bond didn't kill the real deal the first time around, and he finally realizes that Blofeld has been creating doppelgangers to act as his decoys. He shoots one dead but is held up at gunpoint by the real Blofeld, who promptly forces him into an elevator full of knockout gas.
5 The Pipe Escape
After being knocked out, Bond is deposited in a piece of giant metal piping at a construction zone outside of Vegas by larger-than-life henchmen, Mr. Kidd and Mr. Wint. He awakens to find himself sealed inside with no visible means out. Things get tense when an automated machine begins chasing him down the length of the pipe, electrifying the metal to clean out any pests.
Realizing he can't outrun it, Bond leaps onto the machine and grabs two of its electrified tendrils, touching them to each other to short it out. It's an interesting way for Bond to dodge a deadly end, especially when two construction workers open up a hatch and find a nonchalant Bond emerging from within.
4 The Tag Team
After escaping certain death by Blofeld's hand, Bond goes after the real Mr. Whyte at a luxurious hilltop mansion with the intention to rescue him. He manages to enter the mansion where he's greeted by two beautiful women, who refer to themselves as Bambi and Thumper, respectively.
While Bond believes it's another sexual escapade waiting to happen, Bambi and Thumper have a different idea in mind. They gang up on Bond and attack him using an array of acrobatics and martial arts moves, before dumping him into the pool. Bond eventually gets the upper hand and subdues the two, who are promptly arrested by Felix and his men.
3 The Laser Attack
Outdated special effects notwithstanding, most fans would agree that one of the best parts of Diamonds Are Forever is the scene where Blofeld gains control of his diamond-powered super-laser satellite and begins striking a number of targets as a demonstration of the power he now wields. It's a doomsday scenario played out in real-time.
First, Blofeld attacks a nuclear missile silo in North Dakota, before switching targets to the Soviet Union and China. With no particular friend in the game, Blofeld makes it clear that he's holding the world hostage in exchange for a nuclear supremacy auction, with the winning side gaining standing to gain a lot.
2 The Assault On Blofeld's Base
Bond uses a process of elimination (with a little help from Mr. Whyte) to determine that Blofeld is hiding out on an oil platform in Baja, California. He decides to do things direct and to the point by dropping in unannounced, in clear view of Blofeld, who promptly takes him into custody.
It's an excuse for Bond to infiltrate the base and learn how Blofeld controls the diamond super-laser satellite, which he tries to foil. The plan fails, forcing him to switch to plan B at the same time that Felix and the CIA launch an assault on the base. It's a spectacular action sequence with helicopters, high-powered machine guns, and Blofeld's getaway submarine.
1 The Cruise Assassination Plot
Having taken out Blofeld and prevented a major worldwide catastrophe, Bond decides to go on a cruise with Tiffany back to Britain. Unbeknownst to him, the two are accosted by Blofeld's assassins, Wint and Kidd, who are out for revenge. They pose as waiters bringing a luxurious dinner and wine to the two, but Bond realizes something is up.
The two attack Bond, but he manages to set one on fire and send him careening off the edge of the cruise liner. Tiffany tosses what appears to be a dessert item at the other, which shatters apart to reveal a bomb meant to kill them both. Bond hurls him overboard with the bomb, which promptly explodes before he hits the water, making it one of the most violent Bond films ever made.
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July 05, 2021 at 12:00AM
