1981 | Dir. John Glen | 127 Minutes
"The Chinese have a saying: Before you set out on revenge, you first dig two graves."
A spy ship carrying a device used to coordinate the Royal Navy's fleet of nuclear submarines is sunk in an accident, and the marine archaeologists hired by the British are assassinated by a Cuban hitman. Unlikely alliances are forged as James Bond races against Soviet operatives to recover the device and crosses paths with the daughter of the murdered marine archaeologists seeking vengeance at any cost.
John Glen, editor for On Her Majesty's Secret Service, The Spy Who Loved Me, and Moonraker, makes his directorial debut delivering a straightforward James Bond adventure that brings the series back to its more practical roots with mixed results. The camp that so prevalent in the series throughout the 1970s is dialed so far back that For Your Eyes Only seems to actively play against Roger Moore's strengths. While its central theme of revenge is explored with slightly more depth than expected, the inherent drama is undermined by predictable plot twists and severely suppressed vestiges of low-key cheap comedy. Deceptive smuggler Aristotle Kristatos' betrayal can be seen a mile away, encapsulating the narrative's lack of dramatic tension in a nutshell.
Notable action sequences featured in For Your Eyes Only take place in Cortina, Italy and underwater within a sunken ship, recalling Bond's prowess on a set of skies and in diving gear. However, even taking into consideration the high altitude final act that begins with Bond hanging from the side of a mountain, the stunt work and set pieces of the picture are merely passable and mostly unremarkable overall. The one notable exception is the film's very best sequence depicting Bond and Melina's escape from certain doom as they are dragged through a shark infested coral reef is truly excellent.
Roger Moore really shows his age in his fifth picture as Bond, and though he successfully pulls off a sterner 007 the script doesn't do him any favors, significantly toning down the humor so prevalent during his tenure and drawing direct attention in one sequence to the age gap between him and lusty Olympic hopeful Bibi Dahl played by accomplished American figure skater Lynn-Holly Johnson. As the vengeful crossbow-wielding Melina Havelock, Carole Bouquet convincing gives off a fierce intensity rarely found in Bond love interests. Julian Glover is believably suave as Kristatos though he isn't afforded a moment to truly shine as a Bond villain, his henchmen the laconic Emile Leopold Locque and KGB thug Erich Kriegler are respectively played by Michael Gothard and John Wyman. Israeli luminary Topol turns in a fun performance as honorable Greek smuggler Milos Columbo. Geoffrey Keen and James Villiers return as Frederick Gray and Bill Tanner to dole out exposition, alongside Desmond Llewelyn as Q and Lois Maxwell in her twelfth appearance as Moneypenny. More of a looming threat this time, Walter Gotell reprises the role of KGB head General Gogol, letting out a terrific laugh at the end. Cassandra Harris appears briefly in the thankless role of doomed Countess Lisl von Schlaf.
For Your Eyes Only is Roger Moore's most grounded but least memorable James Bond film by far. The stunt work and set pieces are relatively mundane compared to spectacular heights the franchise had previously reached. Hinging on a predictable twist, the picture ultimately lacks the whimsical spirit of the series' best and worst entries.
THE COLD OPEN
Completely divorced from the rest of the film, Bond visits Theresa's grave and survives an attempt on his life by a bald man in a wheelchair with a white cat on his lap, concluding with Bond dropping the villain down an industrial smoke stack. It's a dopey sequence made even sillier by Thunderball writer Kevin McClory's legal dispute with Eon Productions preventing the producers from officially identifying Bond's uncredited nemesis as Blofeld.
THE THEME SONG AND OPENING TITLES
The third James Bond theme song to be nominated for an the Best Original Song Academy Award, Sheena Easton's "For Your Eyes Only" written by composer Bill Conti is a pleasant enough love ballad but it isn't one of my favorites. As opening title designer Maurice Binder liked Easton's appearance, she appears alongside the usual selection of nude models in the strange literally bubbly sequence so that it plays almost like a standard 1980s music video. Approached by the producers of the film, rock band Blondie recorded a theme song for the film but it was rejected in favor of Sheena Easton's track.
THE BOND GIRL
Melina Havelock is one of the stronger Bond love interests, with her own apolitical mission that she could have carried out alone. She may also be the least fun of all of Bond's lovers, without much of a personality aside from her quest for vengeance.
THE BOND VILLAIN
Aristotle Kristatos is the most mundane Bond villain. Though he seems to have an unhealthy preoccupation with Bibi, acting as her sponsor, there is little that makes him stand out from other big bads and his plot to retrieve and sell the ATAC to the Soviets while shifting suspicion to his former smuggling partner Columbo is the least impressive evil scheme of the entire series.
FEATURED HENCHMAN
Emile Leopold Locque is the least memorable henchmen of the franchise though he's the only one who leaves any sort of a meaningful impression in this film. His look anchored by a set of octagonal glasses is more dweeby than intimidating. The way Bond kicks his car down a cliff is really damn cold.
FEATURED GADGET
The giant Identograph computer put to work in identifying Loque is hilariously giant and impractical, filling up an entire room in Q's lab.
FLEMING FIDELITY
The film is adapted from two of Ian Felming's James Bond short stories published in 1960 in the collection entitled For Your Eyes Only, the title story and Risico. The murder of the Havelocks was adapted from the collection's title story in which M offers Bond an off-the-books mission to avenge their deaths at the hands of Cuban assassins hired by ex-Nazi Herr von Hammerstein. When Bond tracks down von Hammerstein, the Havelocks' daughter Judy is one step ahead of Bond, killing von Hammerstein with an arrow from 100 yards away as he dives into a swimming pool, directly inspiring the scene in Spain depicted in the film. The character of Aristotle Kristatos, his betrayal of Colombo, and his collusion with the Russians is adapted pretty faithfully from Risico.
FRAGMENTS
- Regular Rocky series composer Bill Conti provided the score for the film as series regular composer John Barry was unable to work in the UK for tax reasons at the time
- Out of respect for M actor Bernard Lee who passed away in 1981, producer Albert R. Broccoli refused to recast the role of M for this film
- Julian Glover had been shortlisted as a possible Bond for Live and Let Die but ultimately lost out to Roger Moore
- Claus, one of Loque's underlings, is played by a Charles Dance, best known for playing Tywin Lannister on Game of Thrones
- Cassandra Harris and her husband, future Bond actor Pierce Brosnan, lunched with Albert R. Broccoli during filming
- At the bottom of the end credits, the film advertises that "James Bond will return in Octopussy"
