Quick LinksGoldfinger Should Have Aged Poorly What Makes Sean Connery's Portrayal of James Bond So Iconic? Why Is Goldfinger the Most Iconic Bond Movie?

Even though audiences will likely continue to debate who the best James Bond actor is, Sean Connery's iconic turn as the martini-drinking spy is Bond at his most recognizable. The suave, charming 007 started with him, and his turn in Goldfinger is still the character at his most archetypal. No matter how many times Daniel Craig's portrayal successfully brought Bond into the 21st century, Goldfinger has remained the quintessential Bond for several reasons. James Bond is known for his smooth-talking, gadget-heavy adventures, and Connery's version has remained the most universal.

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Goldfinger is a fascinating time capsule of spy cinema in the 1960s and what the actors had to fill in place of the lacking visual effects. Casual misogyny and somehow delivering the name Pussy Galore without laughing all add up to a classic adventure that is understandably light on modern filmmaking techniques but makes up for it with its minimal charms. Each Bond is a snapshot of what masculine standards were at the time, and Connery's simplistic take on the character works because he does it so well.

Goldfinger is a classic because of its cultural specificities, not despite them. How does Goldfinger manage to hold up decades later? Why does it avoid the trap of age like lots of other thrillers? How did Connery shape the James Bond franchise? Here's what you need to know.

✕ Remove Ads Goldfinger Should Have Aged Poorly Goldfinger PG Release Date September 20, 1964 Director Guy Hamilton Cast Sean Connery , Honor Blackman , Gert Fröbe , Shirley Eaton , Tania Mallet , Harold Sakata

On the surface, Goldfinger's latent sexism and lazy stereotypes should be offensive by 2024 standards, and they are, but that hasn't made them any less watchable. Connery in Goldfinger defined Bond as who we think of when we think of the character, no matter how many portrayals there are. In this way, Goldfinger established a shorthand for spy movies and simultaneously encased itself in such a distinctly stylistic bubble that nobody has been able to replicate it since. Its 1960s charm is the main thing holding it up all these years later, and it's because of how genre-shifting this movie was that it has remained untouchable despite its outdated attitudes.

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It's campy and self-aware enough to pull it all off. Goldfinger's mix of class and actionable restraint balances it enough to avoid compromising that campy tone. As Roger Ebert said in his perfect four-star review of Goldfinger, it's Bond's durability as an evolving figure that sustains him. Ebert refers to the "formula", and while that might sound restrictive for other franchises, for James Bond, it's the thing that has been drawn on time and time again. Being able to manipulate the formula established in Goldfinger hasn't always led to amazing movies, but it has delivered a franchise continuity that has never had to stray much from the path because Goldfinger built that path. Ebert said:

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"Of all the Bonds, "Goldfinger" (1964) is the best, and can stand as a surrogate for the others. If it is not a great film, it is a great entertainment, and contains all the elements of the Bond formula that would work again and again. It's also interesting as the link between the more modest first two Bonds and the later big-budget extravaganzas; after this one, producers Albert "Cubby" Broccoli and Harry Saltzman could be certain that 007 was good for the long run."

What Makes Sean Connery's Portrayal of James Bond So Iconic? Close ✕ Remove Ads

Not all spies are built the same, but for Connery's Bond, more or less every spy that wore the tux later did so in the mold he created. It's not easy to analyze Connery's Bond, particularly in a titan like Goldfinger, mainly because he does so much with so little. Leading a movie is one thing, but being skilled enough to carry the unique ecosystem of a film on your shoulders is another. Connery's sly charms and subtle confidence immediately endear an audience to him, and it's not like he's giving an Oscar-worthy performance. If anything, James Bond works so well because he operates by his own rules when he has to. All it takes is a puff of a cigar to change cinematic history.

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Connery took the charisma of the movie heroes of old and did something new with it. There was often a quiet flaw within those heroes of the 1940s and 1950s. They would still win, but it was a time when the vulnerabilities of men were only just starting to bubble to the surface on screen. It may be hidden under smooth talking and suits, but total control for a male character wasn't always assured. Connery's Bond didn't just flip this, but his average frame and hairy chest made the spy feel like nothing more than a man at times. He has control of the situation, but he never feels superhuman.

Why Is Goldfinger the Most Iconic Bond Movie? Close ✕ Remove Ads

Sean Connery can take that sense that he is making it up as he goes along, which makes for a more complicated character than he initially seems. It goes beyond simply coming out at the right time to change the game. Although Goldfinger did capitalize on distinctly 1960s class dynamics, it comes down more to the efficiency at which it is pulled off. It's quite short compared to later entries and isn't as action-packed. Action is replaced with espionage, which makes the movie feel like a contained job rather than him leaping from fight to fight. It's professional, sleek, and to the point.

Goldfinger will remain a movie that exists in the 1960s culture from which it originated and a movie that is constantly being reinvented while never replicated. When a film comes out that becomes known as a classic of its genre, the desire is to replicate it, but it never works. Goldfinger's singular vision of a new-wave action hero with the refined aesthetics of the 1960s has made it the benchmark for Bond that will never be topped. Goldfinger's charm is built on a specific combination of culture and creation that, while using the source material as its guide, defines a cinematic legacy because of how effortlessly it performed its mission. Goldfinger is streaming on Prime Video.

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