cinemajesty Movie Review: "007: For Your Eyes Only" (1981)Based on compilation of "007" short stories released by Ian Fleming (1908-1964) published in 1960, Eon productions' staff-screenwriter Richard Maibaum (1909-1991) joins forces with executive producer Michael G. Wilson to deliver the most accomplished action script in Roger Moore's era as the character of MI6 spy James Bond. An extraordinary range of exterior locations delivers "007" spreading his wings to be up in the air, navigating a helicopter to dispose an unfortunately-neglected character of "Blofeld" since "Diamonds are Forever" (1971) in a forgettable pre-title-sequence, underwater wreck diving with deep sea robotics, an super-accelerated chase scene at an Italian alps ski resort before an exciting showdown leads James Bond climbing up a mountain top accompanied with his fellow sidekick Milos Columbo, protrayed by highly authentically actor Chaim Topol and actresses Carole Bouquet and Lynn-Holly Johnson in their early 20s, bringing the light and the dark into romantic as erotic play for actor Roger Moore, who in his fifth portrayal as "007" handles it with such understatement at the age of 53 that punchlines as "No Head For Heights" while kicking a contemporary Mercedes-Benz with antagonist's right hand behind the steering wheel of a razor-sharp rocky cliff. These opponents in "For Your Eyes Only" have their skills mainly with hand-to-hand combat, all up front actor Julian Glover as the "007" Hyper-antagonist character of Kristatos stealing a British encryption machine to sell it to the Russian, who stays behind expectations with a minor hostile performance as Michael Lonsdale before him, who gave space-racing Super-Villian Drax in "Moonraker" (1979).Nevertheless "For Your Eyes Only" first-time directed by former-action-editor John Glen becomes a James Bond picture back down to Earth, which stands strong as full-embodied action-thriller quality entertainment. Cinematography by Alan Hume (1924-2010) delivers plain, but well-executed coverage with no surprises in a since 1977 "The Spy Who Love Me" kept CinemaScope (2.35:1 aspect ratio) film format that presents promoted editor John Grover panoramic on-location widescreen photography, live-action stunt work, especially in a stunningly-paced skiing scene, choreographed by Willy Bogner and his associates, plus the fair character close-ups, which holds its suspense to the end, preparing recurring international audiences for more Roger Moore charm, humor and strikes of boldness in two more "007" pictures already in his mid-50s. © 2017 Felix Alexander Dausend (Cinemajesty Entertainments LLC)

mark.waltz From a helicopter running amuck high above London to the country roads in Spain, to high atop the Alps, and finally at the bottom of the beautiful briny sea, this remains the greatest of the Roger Moore Bond films and one of the very best of the 50+ year film franchise. It is nonstop action and excitement, taking the viewer on a journey they'll never forget. I certainly haven't, having seen this in my senior year of high school in the theater, and gripped by every chase sequence, by every villain and by every moment in a truly marvelous film. No stone in Europe seems to be left unturned as the series nears its 20th anniversary practically outdoing itself. The basic plot line has Bond desperately trying to find out who sunk an English liner (and why) and murdered the parents of the beautiful Carole Bouquet. A car chase through the curvy roads of a peaceful Spanish countryside leads to an unforgettable skiing sequence in Switzerland and finally a dive to the sunken ship where hopefully all will be explained and resolved. Not only is this a visual treat for the eye, but keeps you gripping the sides of your seat. To top it off are a few zingers at the expense of British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, as well as a brief appearance by the iron Lady herself (hysterically played by Janet Brown). There are a ton of villains here, each one getting their comeuppance in a unique fashion, as well as three women of different types who turn up for Bond to temporarily romance, although the young Lynn Holly Johnson, as a skating champion, seems more obsessed with him than he's even interested in her. Cassandra Miles has a bit part as an opportunistic countess who finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time when Bond's enemies show up. This leads Bouquet to be the main Bond girl in this film, and she's quite lovely. Topol comes on half way through the film to add some international glamour as a possible mega villain. Adding on that fabulous Sheena Easton Oscar nominated theme song (my favorite of the Bond themes), and you end up with a completely timeless entry in the series that is as potent today as it was over 35 years ago.

stormhawk2018 For the twelfth installment of the James Bond franchise (and Roger Moore's fifth turn in the lead role), the decision was made to, (aside from the cold opening) return the series to a more grounded and series route with focus on intrigue over gimmickry. And the results are mostly pretty successful. What we have here is Bond being sent on a mission to infiltrate the Greek underworld in order to locate and recover a missile command system, a task that also sees him getting caught up in an interlinked revenge plot. Revenge is actually a main theme throughout, and I liked it. Our main Bond girl is on a quest to avenge the deaths of her parents, and the cold opening sees Bond get vengeance on longtime arch nemesis Blofeld for good, though, due to legal reasons, he isn't called that. It's still obvious that's who it is though. I did enjoy this film, but I will be honest and say that it is a tad slow and times, and that it often feels dragged out and longer than the running time suggests. I appreciated that they toned down the camp, but aside from a few decently staged action sequences (the diving and fortress assault scenes especially) this one isn't really all that memorable, and the main villain is also not all that noteworthy or memorable. All in all though, this is one of Moore's better films, and I'd place it in the upper middle of his era when it comes to rankings.

connorbbalboa It is saddening to hear about Roger Moore's passing in recent weeks. Looking back at his work, regardless of how good or bad his James Bond films were, he really did put as much effort into the role as he could and developed his own personality for the role, filling it with a sense of humor. He was also one of the more British-looking actors to play Bond, which helped him physically seem the part.For Your Eyes Only, his fifth Bond film, has him investigating the disappearance of the ATAC system, which can control British submarines. Tagging alongside him is Melina Havelock (Carole Bouquet), whose parents-both hired by the British government to find ATAC-are killed by hit-man Hector Gonzales. With the help of assassin Columbo (Topol), they find out that Aristotle Kristatos (Julian Glover) is planning to give the ATAC system to the Soviet Union to accomplish his own ends.Moore gives one of his best performances as Bond in the film, albeit with a more serious personality than usual. This was part of director John Glen's intention to go back to basics and make this film simpler after the ridiculousness of Moonraker. Bond's one-liners are kept to a minimum and he seems very emotionally aware of the conflicts surrounding the side characters, such as Melina, who wants revenge on Kristatos for hiring Gonzales to kill her parents. His aggressiveness is especially shown when he knocks a car with one of Kristatos' henchmen off a cliff.Bouquet is one of the most beautiful Bond girls in the franchise, but her character is nothing special, being one of the many Bond girls who wants revenge on somebody for a past sin. Glover, while pulling off a good performance, is uninteresting as a villain, as he only wants to get money from the ATAC, although this could have been an intentional choice to keep things grounded. Some of the action is exciting, like when Bond climbs the mountain to Kristatos' base, but some set pieces are reused from other Bond films, like the skiing, already used in On Her Majesty's Secret Service and the opening of The Spy Who Loved Me.Perhaps, however, the biggest flaw of this film, is how the book-ending scenes contradict the whole intention to be more serious. In the opening scene, Bond visits his wife's grave (see On Her Majesty's Secret Service), and is later trapped in a helicopter by Blofeld (not identified as such because of a legal battle with Kevin McClory over the rights to the Thunderball story), whom Bond later drops down a chimney. Blofeld speaks in a ridiculously-accented voice none of the previous incarnations had and when Bond scoops him up, he pleads for his life, stupidly offering to buy Bond a delicatessen. What could have been an emotional payback scene is reduced to bad comedy (Blofeld killed his wife). Also, at the end of the film, Bond and Melina are getting ready to skinny-dip, but they are interrupted by the Secret Service, and Bond somehow directs the line of communication to former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who starts talking with Melina's parrot while Bond and Melina finally go on their swim. This is not as contradictory to the film's goal as On Her Majesty's Secret Service was to its goal to present a more emotional Bond story, but it can take a more serious-minded Bond fan out of the movie.For Your Eyes Only is most likely Roger Moore's second best Bond film after The Spy Who Loved Me. It has a one-dimensional villain, repeated set-pieces, and unneeded book-ending scenes, but in the end, there is more good than bad, mainly because of Moore's more serious performance. The newer action scenes help too. One last thing to mention: Lynn-Holly Johnson plays a skater girl who falls in love with Bond, despite the fact that she's still a teen and he's in his fifties (Moore hadn't exactly aged that much at this point). Creepy? Sure, but Bond does the right thing and doesn't sleep with her.