Diamonds are Forever

1971, UK, directed by Guy Hamilton

Though the Roger Moore era is generally regarded as the bottom of the James Bond arc, the later Connery films are just as hit or miss: the star himself is clearly only there for the ample paydays, while the script recycle ideas -- not all of them that good in the first place -- with abandon. Though Diamonds are Forever starts out with a plotline based on a more recognisable reality than some of the preceding films, alluding to Howard Hughes's reclusive years in Las Vegas, the film ultimately chooses to go in a more conventional direction for the finale.

There are, of course, intermittent pleasures to be had, notably some entertaining stunt work, particularly in two extended chase sequences, and a close-up of Vegas in all its circa-1970 glory (in comparison to the in-your-face modern city, it does seem like something of a quaint golden age); the one-liners are also spread around more liberally than usual, with Putter Smith and Bruce Glover, as the stereotypically effete Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd, getting some of the better examples.