Diamonds Are Forever

Connery returns for one more go-around (not counting the black-sheep production Never Say Never Again) as his signature character. Maybe it makes even more sense that he walked away again: this is not Bond’s finest outing. There’s a bit of over-emphasis on Las Vegas (a standard failing), and a lot of Bond’s spyishness seems rather clunky and not entirely competent. Plus Blofeld’s chameleon act--this is at least the third different actor to play him in seven movies--detracts from the sense of personal rivalry. But it’s not really that bad; it was still good enough to encourage the production of at least 17 more franchise entries. Besides, any movie with a girl named Plenty O’Toole in it can’t be all that bad.