Octopussy - The Kamal/Orlov agreement

Brosnan_fan

Having just rewatched OP, I found a flaw in the bargain between these two villains. The agreement was Kamal would smuggle the Soviet bomb into West Germany under the cover of Octopussy's circus operation, and Orlov would pay Kamal the jewellery for his efforts - "The jewellery should net us approximately 300 million (Pounds? Dollars?) in Zurich."

Now, let's say the bomb had detonated as Orlov intended, and the Soviet Army was then free to march into and occupy all of Europe. A communist-ruled empire of such existence would definitely not accept any capitalist gain, especially of Kamal's magnitude, and one of its first orders of business would be to seize the holdings of the wealthy, and their big, fat Swiss bank accounts.

As such, Orlov's part of the agreement would be null and void, and Kamal would no doubt be left most unhappy.

Thoughts?

thesecretagent

I don't think Kamal planned on staying in Europe, or keeping his assets there either, and with Octopussy out of the way, surely he would have simply returned to India?

To be honest I find the whole plot implausible and there are other ways to get a nuclear device either onto or near enough to a US base than having to use a travelling circus - which after travelling from east Germany would have had the most stringent of security checks...

Dan Same

I agree with thesecretagent. The odds are Kamal would have made sure that his assets were safely out of harm's way. That said, although I love OP, I try not to examine its plot too closely. I think it's a terrificially entertaining film, but its plot isn't exactly watertight.

chrisno1

At the risk of sounding like I really don't care about the plot of OP... well, I really don't care about the plot of OP.
There is one, but quite what it is completely non-pluses me. Atomic bombs, Faberge eggs, circuses, smuggling operations, hotel chains, invasions of West Germany. It defies belief. I think there wasn't such a confusing 007 until TWINE.

Loeffelholz

chrisno1 wrote:

...Atomic bombs, Faberge eggs, circuses, smuggling operations, hotel chains, invasions of West Germany. It defies belief. I think there wasn't such a confusing 007 until TWINE.

Well...TLD tried

Alex

Confusing? I won't argue

Jaw dropping in it's far-fetched audacity? Absolutely.

Watch it again to reiterate? That's up to you!

hegottheboot

I tried to explain the plot to my roommates yesterday morning when they turned it on while flipping channels. All I got were blank expressions and I quote: "WTF?"-especially when whole scenes had been cut out of a TV airing.
It took me at least 5 viewings as a kid to even remotely understand the whole plot-now I just let it go on each subsequent viewing. I do love the bomb idea and the Orlov/Bond dialogue though. Louis Jourdan is underused.
Yay: A Bollywood Bond, Circus Bond, Cliche Bond, By the Numbers Bond, Broke the immortal "Never do two films" rule Bond, Confusing Bond, Tame Bond, and Tired Bond-all in one plus the first appearance of Clown 007! What more could you ask for?
How the hell did this ever beat NSNA? They both have huge flaws!

Dan Same

hegottheboot wrote:

Broke the immortal "Never do two films" rule Bond

Which rule is that? ?:) Are you referring to directors? (John Glenn having previously directed FYEO.)

hegottheboot wrote:

How the hell did this ever beat NSNA? They both have huge flaws!

Well yes, but I think that OP is an incredibly fun film, in spite of its flaws. NSNA, on the other hand, while it does have some good points, is a massive disappointment which IMO wasted Connery, who whilst still good (as he always is) was way past his prime.

Loeffelholz

Guess nobody quoted that rule to Terence Young, Guy Hamilton and Lewis Gilbert

Still, I'd agree that Glen shouldn't have had as many shots as he got...!

Barbel

Dan Same wrote:

hegottheboot wrote:

Broke the immortal "Never do two films" rule Bond

Which rule is that? ?:) Are you referring to directors? (John Glenn having previously directed FYEO.)

Maud Adams?

Alex

M, 'penny, and Q are immortal.