(4 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
Loading …Rent Movie.com movie reviews presents For Your Eyes Only movie review a 1981 film starring Roger Moore, Carole Bouquet and directed by John Glen Agent 007 is assigned to hunt for a lost British encryption device and prevent it from falling into enemy hands. A British spy trawler is accidentally sunk off the coast of a Warsaw pact county. On board is a hi-tech encryption device called an ATAC which the British use to send launch instructions to their Polaris fleet. The British send agent James Bond to investigate but once the Soviets learn of the loss the race is on to recover the device at any cost. There wasn’t much further 007 could go as far as sci-fi wizardry and fantastic characters after the cartoonish MOONRAKER that had seen James Bond propelled into space. What was called for was a `back to basics’ approach that emphasized realism, exotic locations, less gadgetry, down to earth villains and a return to the ruthlessness that Roger Moore had exhibited in movies such as THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN and THE SPY WHO LOVED ME. What better way for the filmakers to return Bond to his roots than to tap into original Fleming source material. Taking characters and situations from not only the Fleming novel FOR YOUR EYES ONLY, but also the keel-hauling sequence from LIVE AND LET DIE writers Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson wove together a complex and enticing cold war spy drama that included some of the staple setpieces underwater and on the slopes that had served the character so well in the past. As the late John Brosnan noted in his review of the movie this production is essentially one long chase, but in the one solitary tip of the hat to the fantastic plots of the previous two movies, here the stakes could not be higher. Those stakes are the fate of all the British nuclear missiles in the polaris fleet. Forget the kidnapping of a few nuclear warheads in previous movies, here the balance of nuclear brinksmanship is at risk and ultimately the fate of the world. This movie sports several of my favorite characters from the entire EON canon. Topol plays a brilliant, amiable Greek smuggler named Columbo and the good natured trust and friendship between him and Roger Moore’s James Bond is clearly evident in every scene they share together. Noted British television actor Julian Glover plays Greek mercenary and chief villain Kristatos and I love the understated mannerisms and menace that literally oozes from every line. The movie also has one of the series most beautiful women with the appealing Carole Bouquet and this particular Bond fan had a huge crush on Lynn Holly Johnson who portrayed the chipper Bibi Dahl. Add these elements together and place it against the backdrop of the Italian Alps and the Adriatic and you have one of the best entries in the series. - Darren Harrison
Comment by Steve Forsyth “sforsythnoe”
# December 31, 2006,
Between the overblown action spectacles of THE SPY WHO LOVED ME and MOONRAKER, and the overblown stupidty of OCTOPUSSY and VIEW TO A KILL, Roger Moore had the good fortune to be involved in this gem of a Bond movie. FOR YOUR EYES ONLY is the first time since Moore’s own MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN that Bond was really grounded in reality. Everything that occurs in this film is within the realm of believeability.
The secret to its success is in removing the tradtional arsenal of gadgetry and forcing Bond to rely instead on his survival skills. Right from the get-go, we know we are in for something different when Bond’s new souped-up gadget car blows up before he even gets to hop in! Throughout the movie, Bond is left to his own gut instincts to survive. Nowhere in the film is this better seen than in the extended ski slope chase. From the get go, he loses his gun, and must therefore out-think and out-ski his would-be assassin through a series of fun chases down the long ski slope.
In addition to this goodness is a fun car chase where Bond, having lost his car, has to make do with a Voklswagen Beetle to make his getaway. There is also some underwater action including a submersible vehicle fight, and a deep sea salvage dive. And the film climaxes in an amazing cliff-climbing mission to an isolated fortress!
The movie foregoes the global domination themes of the previous two films in favor of some cold-war espionage involving a top secret device that went down with a ship. It is a race between Bond and competing agencies to recover the box first. Nice to have something more believable to follow!
The film’s only weak point is Bond girl Carol Bouqet - she is easy on the eyes, but her delivery is only a few notches above the dreadful Barbara Bach from SPY WHO LOVED ME. Also, the villain is pretty plain and boring.
But, all that pales in comparison to the more even keeled and down-to-earth action and plotting the movie has to offer. To top it all off, you get to see Bond’s final showdown with Blofeld in the movies opening sequence! It’s all good, baby!
Comment by Vitaly Gorbachevsky
# September 29, 2007,
After the stupid MOONRAKER producers designed to make a serious and a smart movie. And finaly they managed to do it. They used all their arsenal: casting The Blondies, who brought the best cridibility and comercial cloud in 1981, Carole Bouqet - charming and beautiful, new great title sequence casting gorgeus Sheena Easton. By the way, Sheena Easton looked much better than Carole Bouqet. Film is full of the dramatic situations, such as: woman was killed with a bagy-car, Bond pushed Mercedes, which stopped at brink, into the gap with his leg.
The weakest point is the villain and Carole Bouqet. As for me they should have cast Sheena Easton instead of her.