Sean Connery reprises his role of James Bond in the film that would also be his swan song (at least for the Eon produced features) with a new energy that was missing in You Only Live Twice. Unfortunately Diamonds Are Forever is much closer in quality to that film rather than the earlier, stronger films in the series. In fact, this is probably the most forgettable film of the series to date.

There really is a lot to not like about Diamonds Are Forever. Despite Connery’s reintroduction to the role, this film features the weakest Bond girl in Tiffany Case (even her name is flat), the weakest Blofeld (cross dressing? really?), and the weakest, most ineffectual villains in Mr. Kidd and Mr. Wint of any of the films in the series thus far. Diamonds Are Forever actually started a motif that would plague the series through the Roger Moore years in that it started to get a little bit silly. Mr. Kidd and Mr. Wint are a good example of how that happened. Here are two guys who are following the diamonds and they kill any person who comes into contact with them. However they were given these bizarre personalities and weird senses of humor that completely blunt their menace. The same thing happens with Blofeld. The previous actors to play the role, especially Telly Savalas in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, played the role with very sinister overtones. That sinister personality was gone in Charles Gray’s portrayal of the role, whether it’s when he escapes wearing a dress and makeup or having the conversation with his double that is filled with forced humor. It’s not funny. It’s just weird. Add to that some truly atrocious acting by the “supporting” characters and you have a recipe for what is one of the worst films in the series.

Now don’t get me wrong. I understand that one of the charms of the entire James Bond franchise is the campiness and the tongue in cheek nature of the story telling. There is certainly a necessity for humor in the films to keep them from getting too heavy and one of the franchise’s best qualities is that it rarely takes itself too seriously. That being said, Diamonds Are Forever just goes too far in that direction.

Is the film all bad? Of course not. The car chase through Las Vegas is terrific, and was a precursor to the great car chases in action films of the 70’s and 80’s. In fact, in my very unscientific opinion, it may be one of the best car chases filmed in the decade. The idea of using diamonds to construct a space-based laser that can destroy and entire city is also a classic Bond motif that works pretty well in this film and keeps the stakes high. There are also some excellent fighting sequences and Bond’s escape through the Nevada desert in the moon buggy is a lot of fun.

The structure of the story as written in to the screenplay is also very strong. Richard Maibaum penned his sixth screenplay of the series, and the structure and pacing of the script match its predecessors. That pacing and structure hold the film together and at least generate some entertainment value. Unfortunately the story just isn’t as strong as the other films in the series to this point.

It’s an unfortunate swan song for Sean Connery in the series. It certainly feels like he came back to the series with a renewed sense of enthusiasm for the role and he does his best to carry this film. I would rate this performance as one of Connery’s best in the series. Unfortunately for Connery, he wasn’t given a lot to work with in this film, and it’s also clear that the inevitable and pending reboot was needed to take the Bond franchise into the new decade.