For Your Eyes Only Movie Review

Q-Branch_2012

This is Moore's fifth outing as James Bond, and his age is beginning to show. He looks old in this movie and this should have been his last outing. After the crazy Moonraker, this movie tried to bring Bond back to the ground, and had a more gritty plot, more reminiscent of the earlier movies, with s revenge plot intertwined into it.

The movie starts off with Bond visiting the grave of his wife Tracey, one of the rare scenes where his wife is ever mentioned, I think this was mainly in to get away from the over the top sci-fi of the last film, and make viewers remember the earlier Bond work. This is followed up with Bond taking a helicopter ride from hell, as Blofeld (although he is never mentioned by name) takes control of the helicopter and tries to crash it. Bond however recovers and takes out the unamed Blofeld. This was a strange pre-title sequence as Blofeld had not been seen of mentioned since Diamonds are Forever, Connery's last movie.

Another perculiar thing about this film is the theme song, that sounds more like something from a Disney movie, again this didn't really sit well with me, and I didn't enjoy it one bit, in fact it kind of hurt my ears.

So the plot of this movie revolves around Bond trying to retrieve an ATAC (Automatic Targeting Attack Communicator) From a sunken Naval ship, St Georges. The British government originally asked marine archaeologist Sir Timothy Havelock to investigate but he is murdered, this brings in the sub plot of his daughter seeking revenge on the killers.

For me this film didn't really tick many boxes, the action sequences are great, particularly the ski chase scenes, which are one of my favourites, the Bond girls are all great (looking) and had a credible storyline. Unfortunately, between the action it all seemed a little boring and I felt that it dragged its feet. I think this movie was really lacking any spark and some of the acting was very wooden. I did enjoy the Milos Colombo character and thought he was a good addition to the movie.

This Bond had some potential to be great but i feel it was let down by being slightly boring in places and some wooden performances. Not Bonds finest hour.

chrisisall

I agree with all your points here. -{

Smiert-Spionam

I'm sorry but I can't agree. Bar LALD, FYEO is my favourite Moore film. It's such a kick back to reality after the sci-fi nonsense of Moonraker that I can't help but like it. The action scenes are brilliant (the scene with the motorbikes in the snow, the skiing scenes, the final battle), Colombo is Moores best ally, the girls are beautiful and it just feels more like a genuine early Bond film. Okay I accept the main villain wasn't the best but I thought Loque was a fine henchmen (not very standout but again, at least he was realistic and capable at his job). And who can deny that the climbing scene where Bond almost falls to his death is anything but tense! Again it's one of my favourite Bond moments of all time.

An honourable mention must also go to one of Moores best (and darkest) moments. Kicking Loques car over the cliff. I still would have prefered to see Dalton do it mind you. -{

alphaagent

Smiert-Spionam wrote:

I'm sorry but I can't agree. Bar LALD, FYEO is my favourite Moore film. It's such a kick back to reality after the sci-fi nonsense of Moonraker that I can't help but like it. The action scenes are brilliant (the scene with the motorbikes in the snow, the skiing scenes, the final battle), Colombo is Moores best ally, the girls are beautiful and it just feels more like a genuine early Bond film. Okay I accept the main villain wasn't the best but I thought Loque was a fine henchmen (not very standout but again, at least he was realistic and capable at his job). And who can deny that the climbing scene where Bond almost falls to his death is anything but tense! Again it's one of my favourite Bond moments of all time.

An honourable mention must also go to one of Moores best (and darkest) moments. Kicking Loques car over the cliff. I still would have prefered to see Dalton do it mind you. -{

great review and tbh one of my favourites too I love when bebe is waiting for him and the ending is a classic of the Moore era. Even made myself a pair of these for how much I loved Columbo as a character.

Napoleon Plural

The first of many examples of a Bond film where they try to make it serious, only to throw it away. The Blofeld scene is spine tingling - thrown in the dumper the moment Bond gets out of trouble and turns silly ass, while Conti's naff music, the antithesis of Cold War grimness, kicks in.

Some Christopher Wood polish on the dialogue, John Barry on the score and fewer silly moments, with a less perfunctory director, and we'd have the movie it should be. It would be the same with NSNA, all this talk of back to basics and it gets thrown away with naff moments.

Moore Than

A very solid Bond film. Has some terrific action, notably the Renault 2CV, keel hauling, and mountain climbing sequences. The silly moments detract very little to nothing. Probably the only disappointment being Bill Conti's score, though it is not as poor as some make it out to be. Nice twist when it is implied that Aristotle Kristatos is an ally but turns out to be the villain. Milos Columbo is a great ally for Bond, terrific performance by Topol. Melina Havelock is one of the best and prettiest of the Bond girls, I like the way Bond acts more like a father figure than a lover to her. Speaking of Bond, Roger Moore never performed better. :007)

Blackleiter

Moore's best Bond film.

Firemass

Napoleon Plural wrote:

The first of many examples of a Bond film where they try to make it serious, only to throw it away. The Blofeld scene is spine tingling - thrown in the dumper the moment Bond gets out of trouble and turns silly ass, while Conti's naff music, the antithesis of Cold War grimness, kicks in.

Some Christopher Wood polish on the dialogue, John Barry on the score and fewer silly moments, with a less perfunctory director, and we'd have the movie it should be. It would be the same with NSNA, all this talk of back to basics and it gets thrown away with naff moments.

Napoleon, i can definitely see your points and I would have totally agreed with you bout a year ago. However, recent viewings of the film I realized my list of complaints is fairly minimal:

-the line about stainless steel delicatessen
-scoring hockey goals
-bibi dahl having a bit too much screen time
-Margaret Thatcher impersonation

I kinda like Bill Conti's score. Besides, it's more of an "adventure sports" Bond than a grim cold-war thriller.

Overall, very solid 007 adventure. I'd give it 8/10

Silhouette Man

Smiert-Spionam wrote:

I'm sorry but I can't agree. Bar LALD, FYEO is my favourite Moore film. It's such a kick back to reality after the sci-fi nonsense of Moonraker that I can't help but like it. The action scenes are brilliant (the scene with the motorbikes in the snow, the skiing scenes, the final battle), Colombo is Moores best ally, the girls are beautiful and it just feels more like a genuine early Bond film. Okay I accept the main villain wasn't the best but I thought Loque was a fine henchmen (not very standout but again, at least he was realistic and capable at his job). And who can deny that the climbing scene where Bond almost falls to his death is anything but tense! Again it's one of my favourite Bond moments of all time.

An honourable mention must also go to one of Moores best (and darkest) moments. Kicking Loques car over the cliff. I still would have prefered to see Dalton do it mind you. -{

Well said. FYEO is in my opinion Moore's best Bond film - just a pity he was getting older before it waws delivered to us! Such is life. LALD and TSWLM don't come anywhere near thios one, but then I rate FYEO and TMWTGG much higher than many other Bond fans, so what would I know!

James Suzuki

It's my Favourite one.
It has the sexiest Bond girl in Melina, best ruthless kill in Loque,

Mr_Osato

I still see FYEO as a missed opportunity. They had all the ingredients, they did a lot of things right, but due to Glenn's idiotic choices, it is not a great Bond movie. It is still, too much a Moore vehicle, and that is a bad thing. Too many jokes, eyebrows raising, Thatcher impression, talking parrot, Bibi Dahl. They made no contribution to the story, in fact they kind of ruined it for me.

I had no problem however with the score. Sure, it is not Barry, but it is a guilty pleasure for me, because it is instantly recognizable when I hear it. There is a sort of 80's innocence in the disco score.

Firemass

FYEO is a decent Bond film with quite a few great scenes and the best intentions, but overall seems to be the weak link in the 1977-1985 Roger Moore heyday. Not as impressive as Moonraker, not as colorful as Octopussy.

My opinion on this film changes quite a bit, but lately it has been sliding in the rankings. One major factor is my reluctance to re-watch it due to the Conti score, bad pre-title sequence, dated wardrobes, and Bibi Dahl. Whereas Octopussy I can't WAIT to see again! :x

CmdrAtticus

Just saw the film on the telly from the beginning to the casino scene. Had not seen it for a few years so it does give one some perspective. I could see in certain scenes where they were trying to go for a realistic cold war spy thriller (using the Fleming short story for the spine of the plot) and those parts work. The many bumps in the road are Moore's obvious age (and having the skater young enough to be his grand daughter trying to bed him was creepy and made it even more obvious); the whole "Blofeld" pre-credits sequence set up as a joke instead of using a better scene for a serious, thrilling jumping off point; Conti's score - it really dates the film and sounds like excerpts from a Rocky/disco score; Bond's Lotus - I'm sorry, but a spy would not drive around in car that has the car's logo all over it - screaming product placement. As usual, the best parts of the film are from Fleming - the warehouse fight, the plot from Risico, the keyhauling scene, the use of the ATAC (a spin on the SPECTOR of FRWL), the killing of Melina's parents and her crossbow revenge, etc. Though the whole ATAC plot is itself a huge joke - if it was stolen all the codes would be immediately changed rendering it useless to the thieves (as would have been with the SPECTOR). The reason the WWII Enigma project worked was because the Germans never knew the Brits had gotten one and broke the code. All in all, it was a noble effort to get Bond back to cold war spying, but the director and writers could not keep out the bad jokes (Q disguised as a monk, the Thatcher scene, etc.). Then of course, Moore did some of his best work here, but his age and his past films still cast that "this is just a lark for me" image (such as in the olive tree grove/mountain chase) that it still leaves with me a feeling of "if only...". Then again, it was still a hundred times better for me than Moonraker.

Mr_Osato

It is one of Moore's best movies. Nevertheless, it is overrated in my books as a total Bond films. The reasons are due to the amount of misses in the movie. It definitely had more potential, even with Roger. Just cut out Thatcher, Bibi Dahl, give Kristatos a bit more to do and change the PTS and soundtrack (although I dont dispise it that much, I kind of like it. sue me.)

Firemass

CmdrAtticus,

I agree completely except for that last bit about Moonraker. The high production values, excellent special effects, enormous sets, wonderful soundtrack, and stunning cinematography are sorely missed in FYEO.

Napoleon Plural

The thing about Moore was, I felt that if he thought if he tried to be credible folk just wouldn't buy it, so instead we get the silly Austin Powers-style gags, to keep things afloat. Without them, he is in danger of being a bit wooden.

Okay, he wasn't wooden in The Wild Geese - but that was an ensemble cast.

CmdrAtticus

Firemass wrote:

CmdrAtticus,

I agree completely except for that last bit about Moonraker. The high production values, excellent special effects, enormous sets, wonderful soundtrack, and stunning cinematography are sorely missed in FYEO.

No disagreement here on the elements of Moonraker you list, except that I personally thought the production, effects and photography was up to Bond series standards in FYEO. As far as enormous sets, they would have been out of place in this entry as they were trying to be more realistic and move away from the sci-fi Ken Adam extravaganza of the earlier entries. Though great spectacle-wise, the problem I have with MR along with the other spectacle entries like TSWLM, AVTAK, YOLT, etc., is the sheer size of the film, sets and number of extras seems to dwarf the main character - which is what the films are about. They have their place in the canon, and many fans who are more into the films than the novels (including many who have or probably never even read the novels) seem to favor those over the more realistic entries. To me, they are rather like the classic western films. MR and TSWLM, etc., are rather like the large scale western spectacles such as HOW THE WEST WAS ONE, ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, THE BIG COUNTRY, etc, whereas the more realistic Bond's are like THE GUNFIGHTER, SHANE, A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS, etc. Some audiences like to just watch a film for the ride, others such as myself do as well, but prefer films where there is a character in the ride who is just as interesting to as the ride itself.

Mr_Osato

I thought the production values where quite up to par also for FYEO. Very nice locations where used, especially in Greece and in Cortina. It gave the movie something extra. I ony thought the casino scene was the worst of the series, it had no atmosphere at all.

But in comparisson to a movie such as LTK, I thought this movie showed more money on the screen. LTK still looks like an 80's tv show.

Firemass

CmdrAtticus wrote:

To me, they are rather like the classic western films. MR and TSWLM, etc., are rather like the large scale western spectacles such as HOW THE WEST WAS ONE, ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, THE BIG COUNTRY, etc, whereas the more realistic Bond's are like THE GUNFIGHTER, SHANE, A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS, etc. Some audiences like to just watch a film for the ride, others such as myself do as well, but prefer films where there is a character in the ride who is just as interesting to as the ride itself.

Interesting comparison to the westerns. I've seen all of those except the Gunfighter so I just ordered the DVD. I've heard great things about it and Gregory Peck rules

I never felt that Roger Moore's Bond was "buried in the mix" in the bigger films like Moonraker. Nor do I see the earlier Connery pictures as being noticeably more character driven. Bond is Bond...my favorite action hero. For me, he's not an in-depth character study such as Ethan Edwards in the Searchers or William Munny in Unforgiven.

Getting back to FYEO---It just seems a bit drab for my palette. The yellow citroen and yellow diving suits are nice splashes of color, but the rest is like "boring adult" colors. There's a lot of browns, and grey, and beige. And does anyone else hate Tanner's office paint job of seafoam green ? yeech!

Thankfully Octopussy brought back the vibrant primary colors in full force.

But hey...next time I watch FYEO I may love it.

Thunderpussy

I posted this video in the Roger Moore-The funny Bond thread.
http://youtu.be/np-myoje0_8

In which R Moore say that there was a change of Tailoring for FYEO to get away
from the safari suits and Back to the more milirary styled suits of the earlier films.

RogueAgent007

I absolutely love FYEO. It is my #1 Moore, although TSWLM is 1A. Musically, the theme song has yet to be topped, and I love the fact that they tried to experiment with the music rather than go with a cookie cutter soundtrack. Moore was aging, but the director seemed to take it in stride. His rejection of Bibi, trying to mentor Melina, so much more graceful aging as opposed to AVTAK shag fest. Honestly, the only detraction for me is the climbing scene, and that's only because I climb for a living and know those knots would have never allowed him to climb back up in time. For me, one of the best Bond films ever!

Thunderpussy

As a Non Climber, I loved the Mountain climbing sequence. I thought it
was amazing how Bond got out of it, as well as the Fantastic stunt work. -{

I know it might annoy those who know about these sort of things, but to us general public
"We know Nothing " ) It's like how I always hate how Extras playing Photographers nearly
always hold the camera the wrong way.

Firemass

Thunderpussy wrote:

I posted this video in the Roger Moore-The funny Bond thread.
http://youtu.be/np-myoje0_8

In which R Moore say that there was a change of Tailoring for FYEO to get away
from the safari suits and Back to the more milirary styled suits of the earlier films.

Thanks for the link. However, I didn't hear any mention of "military styled suits" and it seemed like they were referencing the Octopussy safari suits as a style of the 70's ?

(5 minutes later I find myself looking at a website called thesuitsofjamesbond....)

None of Roger Moore’s infamous safari suits are identical. The safari suit in Octopussy is one of the most classic, being in tan, and it doesn’t have the flared 1970′s trousers to date it. It’s now 1983, and Moore has continued to wear safari suits. And why not? It’s a classic piece of English clothing, and most appropriate for the safari that Bond finds himself being hunted in. - http://thesuitsofjamesbond.com/?cat=36

Thunderpussy

The "military styled suits" Might be from another video on Dressing Bond But the shoulder line
and cut of the lapels looks more like Mallory's suits in Skyfall ( which were military in cut ).
Unlike Craig's suits which ( IMO ) were far too tight, infact put a trilby hat on him and he
could be from a ska bad like "The Specials " )

DEFIANT 74205

Firemass wrote:

http://thesuitsofjamesbond.com/?cat=36

Off topic, but thanks for sharing that link. I had no idea that site existed! Not being vell versed on different cuts of suits (I see them as no more than office wear) I had no idea that they're all so different! Yes, I've been guilty of doing up the bottom button as well. Now I know not to!

DelicatessenInSteel

I saw FYEO in the theatre when it came out but didn't enjoy it cuz I was having a temper tantrum because we wouldn't see Raiders of the Lost Ark which I had already seen 5 times. I've always liked it especially the cool soundtrack but its never been in my faves. Saw it the other day and was amaze at how straight forward dramatic and epic it really is..I started thinking about shooting a movie like it and the logistics and my brain melted. Its a really complicated wonderful movie and beautiful to look at and fun. And not since Kerim Bey in FRWL do we have such a great Bond Ally as Columbo who is a rare ally who doesn't die. Just a great movie all around with insane action because it was done for real.

UltimateTruth

I saw it in the Theater twice during the summer of 81, went to my sister's babysitting job so I could watch it on HBO when it was first broadcast on there, then counted down the days until it was shown on network TV for the first time in Nov. of 83. Needless to say, I liked it very much.....One of the most spectacular cinematic scenes I have ever witnessed was when Bond checks into his Cortina hotel and then steps onto the outside balcony to see the Alpine vista as the sountrack music swells....Perhaps on a home TV, the impact is less, but I was blown away by the majesty of it in the theater
The only thing that really bugs me about the movie is when Bond is climbing up the monestary cliff and the guard catches him and kicks him off.....Bond's rope saves him, but then as Bond tries to climb back up, the same guard tries to extinguish Bond ON HIS OWN WITHOUT YELLING TO HIS FELLOW GUARDS THAT HE HAS SOMEONE TRYING TO INFILTRATE THEIR FORTRESS

johndrake

Q-Branch_2012 wrote:

The movie starts off with Bond visiting the grave of his wife Tracey, one of the rare scenes where his wife is ever mentioned, I think this was mainly in to get away from the over the top sci-fi of the last film, and make viewers remember the earlier Bond work.

John Glen said in his book that this scene was written in because Roger was not signed on when they wrote it and they were going to introduce a new Bond through this scene.