Watch For Your Eyes Only For Free

Great Film overall

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Roger Moore was 53 years old when he made this James Bond movie, and he would do two more yet. But his age was showing here. Not so much in his face, but in his overall slower movements. Indeed, the script has much less physical stuff than one is used to in the 007 series. "For Your Eyes Only" is a slower film all around. It doesn't have the frenzy of a car or boat chase, or other fast actions segments. The one car chase scene with Bond in a Citroen is more funny than nail-biting. The opening has a slightly harrowing scenario with a helicopter, and there is a chase on skis. It seems that the writers have dumbed Bond down a bit as well. By that I mean, Moore doesn't show the usual savvy alertness and watchfulness. An example is when Bond climbs the monolith that St. Cyril's Monastery caps. As he reaches the top he doesn't look around to see where the guards may be. Instead he's looking down and gets caught by surprise by a guard. Bond doesn't have any new gadgets to help him out of tough spots. In all of the earlier scenes with the bad guys, Bond gets beat or chased and he never gets the upper hand. Definitely not the normal routine of James Bond. This film must have had different playwrights. The dialog was rather droll at times and it was missing the peppy and frequent witty lines that one has come to expect in the Bond films.The rest of the cast are okay, but again, it's a slow film. The song for this episode in the series is particularly good, and it did receive an Academy Award nomination. The scenery in the Eastern Mediterranean especially is beautiful.

In 1969, George Lazenby's 007 stampeded the screen with the exquisitely '60s marketing battle cry of "Far up! Far out! Far more!" (and how! Like, wow!). Unfortunately, it's advice that Mr. Bond, James Bond continued to follow, well into the Roger Moore era, until the franchise had somewhat written itself into a corner of exponential excess, cultivating in the grotesque, campy bloat of Moonraker. So how to top Bond in space? Bring him back down to earth, naturally, with a cracking, gritty tale of espionage, to reestablish Bond as secret agent rather than Jedi Knight. And For Your Eyes Only nearly works as a welcome revitalization of Bond's class and spy credibility (even if it borrows even more liberally from From Russia With Love than The Spy Who Loved Me did from You Only Live Twice). It's just a shame that director John Glen seems to have overcompensated somewhat, endeavouring so tirelessly to deliver 'serious Bond' that his resulting romp, while pleasant, remains one of the blandest and least memorable outings of the series. To his credit, Glen rides the 007 franchise's most flamboyant, pointedly responsive tonal shift with ease, conjuring a distinctly vintage Fleming/John Le Carré vibe, and that rare shocker of a Bond film where (gasp!) the plot is actually its main selling point. And no, that's not just a jab at the comparative lack of 007 razzle-dazzle populating the spectacle frontier. Indeed, Glen stages a good action scene (the opening double-whammy of shipwreck and aeronautical murder are both genuinely alarming), even if many could do with having the pace and intensity accelerated to avoid pacing drifting into worrisomely laggy territory (the underwater submarine subterfuge and cliffhanger finale are all fun, but so lugubrious they're - literally, in the case of the shark-baiting water skiing - a drag). Glen makes good use of his experience as a veteran 007 second unit director, and evocatively captures the natural flavour and unassuming beauty of Italy and Greece. Still, the restrained spectacle and distinctly grey colour palate - set largely at night or in earthly locales, the only real colours pop up in Moore's gaudy wardrobe - do lend the film a disappointingly muted feel, which can't help but suck a lot of the fun out of proceedings. Serious is one thing, but snoozy is a step too far. Equally, the fawning fandom renown for the film's grit and credibility do demonstrate some selective memory: a somewhat shambling subplot having Bond subdue assailants by use of every Olympic winter sport is a strained contrivance whose fun factor wanes quickly, while a 'deus-ex-parrot' has to be one of the lamest plot devices of the entire franchise. Then there's the pre-credits sequence, which takes its place as the least thrilling and most idiotic offloading of Bond's legendary arch-nemesis imaginable (its inclusion being a thinly-veiled middle finger to Kevin McCrory, who hoarded Blofeld's rights for the execrable Never Say Never Again, is droll, but still self-indulgently stupid). And then there's Bibi - Lynn-Holly Johnson's contribution to the 'most annoying Bond girls' pantheon, whose infamous whiny, childhood petulance is excused only as cue for Moore's most amusingly acrid one-liner in his 007 tenure ("Put your clothes on and I'll buy you an ice cream"). Perhaps said ice cream could help sooth that burn. Bill Conti's jaunty disco synths and cowbells are groovy, but toe the line of distracting silliness, saved only when weaving the Bond theme in (more sparingly than usual, though - boo), while Glen anchoring the film's predominant car chase with a VW Beetle is really pushing the limit of tongue-in-cheek. And speaking of cheek: Daniel Craig's 007 may have met Queen Elizabeth, but it took Moore to take the p*ss out of Margaret Thatcher. It's a closing note of such amusing ballsiness you have to wonder how many shaken-not-stirred martinis Cubby Broccoli imbibed in before signing off on. Pairing the legendarily droll Roger Moore with the film's self-declared serious ethos could have misfired terribly, but Moore flexes his acting chops and keeps the British end up masterfully. He's starting to look a touch too old for the part here, and tempers his Bond appropriately - more sparing with the quips (though his incredulous eyebrows provide perennial punchlines in themselves), sombre and dignified visiting his wife's grave, and even more so when cautioning Melina not to be consumed by vengeance. As said vengeful firecracker, Carole Bouquet may be a touch flat, but she's elegant and credibly fierce, and welcomely far more capable than the average Bond girl. The same cannot be said for Julian Glover, whose adversary is so dull and immediately forgettable he's almost invisible while sharing scenes with his fellow actors. Thankfully, as the film's Kerim Bey surrogate, Topol is practically bursting at the seams with bawdy, infectious charisma (ten points if you recognized him without his Tevye beard, too). Cassandra Harris (Pierce Brosnan's late wife), is charmingly prissy as one of Bond's motivationally vaguer trysts. Finally, Desmond Llewelyn and Lois Maxwell's Q and Moneypenny are charm incarnate as always, while James Villiers, dripping with snide contempt, covers the vacancy of M well, after Bernard Lee's tragic mid-film passing. For Your Eyes Only marks a valiant social experiment in fighting against the decade's excesses in the interests of re-grounding the ethos of the character, and for this it deserves credit. Ultimately, it's one of Bond's quieter, more sombre and reflective outings, and in somewhat steadier hands could have served as a strong character study. As it stands, it's a pleasant, suitably engaging watch, with many strong moments undermined by inconsistent silliness and a general sense of hazy disengagement. Ultimately, for better or worse, it's a moment of zen for Bond - intriguing but scarcely memorable for many outside of die-hard fans, and unlikely to spur any new recruits into posing in tuxedos (or powder blue snowsuits) in changing rooms. Maybe if you offer to buy them a delicatessen...-6.5/10

And so James Bond enters the 1980's decade with this spectacular entry, one of the many greatest moments from Roger Moore as 007, and the first film directed by John Glen, previously an editor of several Bond films, who dominated that decade with all the 1980's Bond films. Besides the grandiosity usually brought and developed each episode goes by, this is a definitive work of the era and one that saved United Artists from vanishing after the huge financial losses they had with Cimino's "Heaven's Gate", so there's plenty reasons to be thankful to "For Your Eyes Only". Moore's fifth entry in the series is an adventure following a mysterious encryption device stolen by a powerful tycoon (Julian Glover), who as usually with the series, wants to control all the powers of be. To assist 007 there's the mortal yet lovely Melina Havelock (Carole Bouquet) whose parents were killed by this tycoon and she wants revenge; and there's also a Greek intelligence chief (Topol) who'll help MI6 and Bond in getting the device back and get rid off of the bad guys. In between, there's a forced "romance" between James and a teenage roller-skater (Lynn-Holly Johnson), protegé of the millionaire. That last part was just lame and gladly, Bond refuses her advances in between her training for the Olympics. "For Your Eyes Only" conquers viewers and Bond fans from the get go, a magnificent opening sequence where Bond is challenged by this Blofeld-like character (they couldn't use Blofeld name due to legal reasons), inside of a helicopter whose pilot was killed and Blofeld controls the air vehicle from afar, doing all possible ways to kill James - frightening sequences and greatly filmed. But there's some changes too, good and sad. Bill Conti takes over as composer, creating a nice soundtrack and a memorable theme song sung by Sheena Easton; and on the sad factor, M character is gone due to Bernard Lee's passing a few months before shooting - instead they have a ministry as head of the operation.Now the film: it's routine but the makers always find a way to break routine with outstanding action/adventure sequences that tops the ones presented in previous films. The bobsled chase is amazing (sadly, a stuntman died during the making of it); the underwater scenes when Bond and Melina are searching things inside the sunken ship is mind-blowing and there's even the villain's mini-submarine involved; a lethal henchman played by the great Michael Gothard (quite an ironic casting since his character here doesn't mutter a word while in Ken Russell's "The Devils" he was the loudest voice in the room, also a diabolical evil guy), who steals the show whenever he appears. And dramatically speaking this movie is quite well, specially when it comes to Melina's revenge about her parents killing, the movie never lost momentum when it came to those sequences - sometimes in other 007 flicks the drama is distracting. The major problem was the pacing in parts, even in some action moments and the whole thing about the teenage girl, which was embarrassing to watch, not because it couldn't happen but because it doesn't have much room to be there.Moore, as always, was a delightful class act who never missed an opportunity to throw hilarious one-liners and never failed with any of those (I think he has several during the car chase sequence). However, this has a more serious tone than some of his previous films since the producers wanted to avoid the riot and feast of absurdity "Moonraker" was - lots of fun though. Why you should go ahead with this? Well, the fore-mentioned reasons are enough; it's entertaining, exciting, rich in greatness of action, suspense and adventure, a ridiculous body count - James did the most of it -, the usual tolerable romance and Topol is a kick-ass sidekick, and let us not forget that Desmond Llewelyn as Q is also present to steal the show with his remarks and utility gadgets - the sequence where he does a profile sketch of the villain's henchman is hilarious. Bond entered the decade with grace, style, charm and lots of kills to his count. 10/10

A British spy ship, operating off the coast of Albania, is sunk. The ship was carrying the British ATAC system. The ATAC is a device used to secretly coordinate the movements of Britain's submarine fleet. If the ATAC were to fall into enemy hands, they would be able to track naval movements. James Bond is called in to find the ATAC.What works for me: 1. Tone – I appreciate the more serious tone of For Your Eyes Only. Gadgets are kept to a minimum. The final assault on the mountain fortress is a real highlight of the movie and was filmed in a very realistic fashion. And baddie Aristotle Kristatos' plan is also realistic. He's not trying to take over the world or steal space shuttles or anything like that. His plan is to get his hands on the ATAC and sell it to the highest bidder – something that's completely believable. Finally, Roger Moore was a decent enough Bond, but he turned into something of a joke to me, spitting out cringe inducing quip after quip. Not so much here. After the goofiness of Moonraker, a more serious Bond film was more than welcome. Unfortunately for the Bond series, this more serious tone would not last long.2. Carole Bouquet as Melina Havelock – What a fantastic Bond girl! Not only beautiful, but smart, brave, and capable in her own right. Her crossbow skills are on point. 3. The Underwater Scenes – The scenes where Bond and Melina are dragged through the sea are as good as anything you'll find in a Bond movie, filled with exciting and dangerous looking moments. Also, the underwater photography in For Your Eyes Only is stunning. Really gorgeous stuff.What doesn't work for me:1. Some of the Logic – If you want to make sure the Soviets do not get their hands on a strategic military device that is sitting at the bottom of the sea, why not head there first? Why does Bond head to the Alps for what almost appears to be a holiday? He knows exactly where the ATAC is – just go get it. But, I suppose that would have taken at least an hour off the movie's runtime and we couldn't have that.2. Lynn Holly-Johnson as Bibi Dahl – How annoying can one human being be? I still think that Denise Richards' Christmas Jones is the worst Bond girl in the series' history, but Bibi Dahl is a close second.3. Kristatos – I hope I'm not contradicting myself, but while I appreciate the realism in Bond villain Kristatos, he's very unremarkable and unmemorable. I'd most likely put Kristatos near the bottom of the Best Bond Villain List (if I had one).Overall, For Your Eyes Only is a solid entry in the Bond series. It's not without its faults, but it's an enjoyable enough experience and a considerable improvement over its predecessor. I really appreciate the film's tone. If only Bond had not made what seems to be the unnecessary side-trip to the Alps and everything that entailed (like meeting Bibi), I would probably rate this one much higher. I'm still giving it a rock-solid 7/10.