Diamonds Are Forever 4K 1971

After the modest box office performance of On Her Majesty's Secret Service and the failure of George Lazenby as James Bond, the producers decided that only the original Bond could restore the franchise from its precarious state. After paying Sean Connery a hefty sum, the producers also brought back experienced director Guy Hamilton, who had already directed several installments of the famous spy series. All these actions paid off financially—the franchise regained its popularity.

However, in terms of quality, unfortunately, this seventh installment failed to surpass its predecessors. Despite Connery's return, it did not greatly help the image of James Bond. Throughout the film, it is evident that Connery is not putting much effort into his performance, and his physical condition leaves much to be desired. It is clear that he is simply tired of this role and has no desire to revive it.

It is also annoying that the screenwriters themselves have turned the ironic and cunning spy into a soulless terminator, who, moreover, has practically stopped joking, which, in my opinion, is the highest manifestation of disrespect for this franchise. With plots similar to those in the Bond series, the best quality is, above all, irony. Here, there is almost none of it, which makes this film far from the best part of the series.

Diamonds Are Forever is better than the previous film with Lazenby, but alas, we can only nostalgically remember the quality of the early films. Connery is merely present on set, and humor is rare. The only joy comes from the spectacular action scenes (the car chase through the city is superbly shot), but without irony and a charismatic antagonist, the viewing pleasure is noticeably diminished.