For Your Eyes Only

The Bond series was moving into the wrong direction in 1979 with Moonraker, John Glen takes over the directing for the next 5 adventures, beginning with 'For Your Eyes Only'.

Bond is back down to Earth with a bang, a very satisfying entry in the Bond series. The film is much more Fleming-like, that is until Dalton comes in.

The story is very interesting because it's more of a spy movie, Moore has some work to do here!!! There's no reliance on the gadgets. The Bond girl played by Carole Bouquet is very good, not just a pretty girl!

The acting is much better than Moonraker, John Glen eases into the directing quite comfortably.

The photography is wonderful, very realistic colour use.

There are some fun stunt sequences, the ski chase is fantastic.

The film score is fun, but a product of its time, unlike Barry, the music doesn't transcend the generations!

Overall, 'For Your Eyes Only' is a satisfying Bond picture. Obviously you'll be viewing it in wide-screen!!! James Bond returns in Octopussy!

Roger Moore returns as Bond and takes down Blofeld once again in the first 10 minutes after visiting his late wife's grave. It's a good start, but it doesn't get any better after that.

A British spy ship is accidentally sunk by a mine. Its valuable communication equipment is a top prize for the Soviets. Meanwhile, a Greek tycoon is killed for unknown reasons, and Bond is assigned to investigate. He tracks down the assassin, but is killed in revenge by the tycoon's daughter Melina (Carole Bouquet).

Bond goes to Cortina in the Italian Alpes. And that's where he battles the bad guys in a Bond Olympics. He skis, he ski jumps, he skis on the bobsled track, and to top it off, he fights a hockey team. It's a bit of fun action. But it makes the mistake of dropping Carole Bouquet for much of the middle. I rather have a pretty face get in on the action. And Greek hilltop villain hideout just doesn't have the explosive action needed for the climax. All in all, it's an acceptable Bond escapist adventure.

'For Your Eyes Only' starts the tenure of John Glen at the helm of the Bond series. He had worked previously on many of the Bond movies but during the eighties he directed all 5 Bond movies, and with the exception of 'A View To A Kill', they are up there with the best of the whole series. Certainly 'For Your Eyes Only' and the follow up, 'Octopussy' are the best of the Moore years, and I don't think it would be overstating it to say that Glen may have single handedly saved the franchise.

By the end of the 1970s Bond had turned from Ian Fleming's masterspy into an entirely comic book creation, culminating in the preposterous shenanigans of 'Moonraker' in 1979. At the start of a new decade a new style is clearly apparent, with a back to basics story that actually involves some spying, and a genuine threat to world peace. It's pushing it to say that the story is believable, but it is realistically told and is certainly a more adult affair than the previous efforts.

The film starts with the final nail in the coffin for Blofeld. After years of legal wrangling over who had the rights to the character the filmmakers decided to show that they didn't need him anyway and unceremoniously dumped him once and for all. We are also immediately put in the mood for a far more serious Bond when he visits his late wife's grave, an unusual moment, not least because the movies rarely referenced previous actors in the role. Here we are reminded that Moore wasn't playing Bond at the time of his marriage. That serious tone pervades throughout the movie, with less wisecracking than usual, and a subdued villain, at odds with the expected megalomaniac we are used to. But the film is all the better for it. There are some fantastic action set-pieces including a chase in a Citroen 2CV, and a ski chase that tops even that of 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service', along with a tense finale that is literally a cliffhanger. Bond is actually forced to use his wits, and much of the action and escapes are less contrived than one would expect. It's also good to see (after 'The Spy Who Loved Me' and 'Moonraker') that the filmmakers have tried to get back to Fleming's Bond, with many ideas lifted from the original stories. The scene with Bond and Melina dragged behind the speedboat, for example, is taken directly from the novel of 'Live And Let Die', and many characters appear in Fleming's short story of the same name.

Add to the mix a fine cast, notably Carole Bouquet as another strong character in the list of 'Bond women', and you have a satisfying and thrilling entry in the series.

For Your Eyes Only is the best Bond film with Roger Moore as agent 007. It had the best story of all the Moore Bond's, as well as the best action sequences. These sequences include a thrilling ski chase, as well as an edge of your seat mountain climb.

Carole Bouquet portrays one of the most serious minded Bond girls in the serious. We also have the late Cassandra Harris as a Bond girl who at the time was married to future Bond Pierce Brosnan.

Even for everyone who didn't like Moore's portrayal of Bond, you still gotta claim this one as his best even though he was in his mid 50's. Sheena Easton sang probably the best theme song of all the Bond films.

This is the very first Bond movie that I can remember enjoying as a kid back when it was HBO a long time ago a year or so after it came out. It helped get me hooked on 007. After James in Space in Moonraker, he is back down to Earth in this very exciting installment of the series. Definitely a step up over Moonraker. Great action scenes. Movie slows down a little here and there but when it picks up it rocks... literally, at one point, when James does a little rock climbing. And in this, Roger Moore's fifth Bond film, we finally get to see him playing baccarat, something he hadn't previously done and something Connery did in almost all his films. So minor compared to the international intrigue and chase scenes but I thought worth mentioning. This is absolutely one Bond film I look forward to seeing again!

--A Kat Pirate Screener