The biggest and the best of the Bonds! Unfortunately, coming on the heels of the most excellent "From Russia With Love", Goldfinger heads the series down the path of action and gadgets. Whereas Goldfinger has an excellent plot, followed closely upon Ian Fleming's novel, the Bond "formula" becomes etched in stone and it takes the Timothy Dalton movies of the late '80s to break out and become fresh again.

Bond is asked to keep an eye on Auric Goldfinger for the CIA. Of course, Bond gets personally involved to almost disastrous results. The first time Bond conflicts with his orders, as was usual in the novels.

MI5 is hired to look into Goldfinger's activities on suspicion of gold smuggling. But Bond is not sent out on his mission alone. He is accompanied by Q Branch's ultimate weapon, the Aston Martin DB5, fully equipped with bullet-proof windscreens, machine guns mounted behind the head lamps, revolving licence plates ("valid in all countries"), oil slick, tire shredders, and homing device ("so I can stop off for a quick one"). Bond needs every device in the car to survive. If Q gives it to Bond, he will need it! This sets up a recurring theme/joke through all subsequent Bond films as Bond never returns equipment to Q Branch in pristine condition.

Goldfinger moves along at top-notch speed. There isn't a dull sequence in the film, from the pre-credit sequence, to Miami, a Scottish golf course, to Austria and finally the U.S. The locations are fantastic, a major plus in the Bond series. The movie perfectly blends suspense with copious amounts of tongue-in-cheek humor. The bi play between Bond, M, Q, Goldfinger, Pussy Galore, Oddjob is wonderful.

Sean Connery nails the Bond character here with a perfect blend of suave sophistication. The unfortunate after effect is that Bond becomes the indestructible, super agent here. In the previous films, Dr. No and From Russia With Love, Bond was still human and had find his way out of a tough situation, no matter what it took.

The women are all gorgeous, blonde and very good in their roles, from sisters Jill and Tilly Masterson to Pussy Galore! What a name!

One of the greatest lines in cinema history is here: Bond, "Do you expect me to talk?" Goldfinger, "No, Mister Bond, I expect you to die!"

Credit is due to Guy Hamiltion for crafting the "blue print" that the series will be forever known for: action, gadgets, sex and violence, but not in that order. Bond's quips with Q are another classic.... Bond, "You must be joking!". Q, "I never joke about my work."

The granddaddy of them all, Goldfinger slides between humor and suspense, in the same scene with brilliance. Everything works here, directing, writing, art direction, editing, locales, and especially the music. John Barry rises to the occasion with a great sound track topped off by the theme sound, sung by Shirley Bassey! Too bad the later theme songs, with the exception of "Thunderball" and "Live and Let Die" are ballads instead of the rousing rocking theme of this one.

A classic!