Until Casino Royale this was perhaps the best known “re-calibration” of the James Bond series – a conscious decision on the filmmakers to calm down after the spectacle of Moonraker, and this movie set the tone for 80s Bond (John Glenn director, Michael Wilson and Richard Maibaum writing). I remembered this being a better film than I thought it was on re-viewing – there’s lots of good things, but a lot not so good. Watching this was a schizophrenic experience for me - it was refreshing to have a more realistic approach to set design and so on (a cramped spy ship as opposed to a massive interior, no threat of nuclear annihilation, a more ruthless Bond) plus the nod to Bond continuity, but there are flaws and overall it lacks a little magic: it's not hard to understand why the film has never really been a big fan favourite.
I quite liked the script – it’s a lot more believable story than say Moonraker (the Macguffin is a top-secret piece of machinery which could stuff the British defense system), logically worked out, some funny lines, emotional stakes. Well, for the most part – I didn’t believe Topol’s smuggler would smuggle everything except heroin. I also hated the Lynne Holly-Johnson character – this barely legal ice skater character who tries to bed James Bond. What was the point of her? To make Roger Moore seem less like a dirty old man? To give villain Julian Glover (who is her mentor) some humanity? I didn't get it. The whole thing was a bit off.
I really liked Carole Bouquet’s character – she actually has a decent motivation which ties in with the film’s theme (that’s right – this movie has a theme; it’s about revenge. The film kind of makes the point that you shouldn’t go overboard with revenge, and Bond encourages Bouquet not to shoot the baddie – but then the baddie tries to shoot them, so someone shoots the baddie, which is a typical Hollywood cop out... Besides it's confusing because Bond commits revenge against the assassin who killed his colleagues and Blofeld, who killed his wife. and Topol commits revenge against Glover, and that's all shown to be a good thing... maybe the point is don't commit revenge if you're a girl? This movie does my head in.)
However, I didn’t like Bouquet’s performance – she’s beautiful, with great legs, but has dead eyes, zero chemistry with Roger Moore and can't act to save her life. It's a pity because it is such a good character.
Roger Moore is called upon to do a lot of helter skelter action in this one (clambering up rocks, outside helicopters) – or rather his doubles are, and his doubles are particularly noticeable in this one. Moore’s lack of physicality as Bond is shown up in this harder-edged entry. Having said that (see what I mean about liking and disliking a lot of things), he handles the action chores quite well. Moore could act, and act a lot better than many people gave him credit for (including himself); he doesn’t get much of a chance to act here, John Glenn cuts away from him a lot, but he has some effective moments – particularly talking to Bouquet in a sled, and when he kills an assassin in cold blood.
Okay let’s cover some other positive things: Cassandra Harris is lovely in an all-too-brief role as a woman who seduces Bond then is killed; all the actors who play assassins are great (I liked Michael Grourard in particular, and Charles Dance makes his debut here); Topol’s character is one of the best Bond allies since OHMSS (even if he’s introduced into the film too late); Julian Glover is a decent villain; there are some tremendous stunts (the opening helicopter stuff, climbing up that cliff at the end); that Margaret Thatcher gag at the end is corny but funny.
Most of all, I really liked the sense of history, raiding the film series and the Fleming novels – the story is taken from two short stories; it also uses bits from the novels that hadn’t been exploited yet (eg dragging Bond along the coral a la Live and Let Die) and ties up some series continuity (eg killing off Blofeld once and for all, having Bond visit Tracey’s grave, referring to M not being around).
I quite liked the script – it’s a lot more believable story than say Moonraker (the Macguffin is a top-secret piece of machinery which could stuff the British defense system), logically worked out, some funny lines, emotional stakes. Well, for the most part – I didn’t believe Topol’s smuggler would smuggle everything except heroin. I also hated the Lynne Holly-Johnson character – this barely legal ice skater character who tries to bed James Bond. What was the point of her? To make Roger Moore seem less like a dirty old man? To give villain Julian Glover (who is her mentor) some humanity? I didn't get it. The whole thing was a bit off.
I really liked Carole Bouquet’s character – she actually has a decent motivation which ties in with the film’s theme (that’s right – this movie has a theme; it’s about revenge. The film kind of makes the point that you shouldn’t go overboard with revenge, and Bond encourages Bouquet not to shoot the baddie – but then the baddie tries to shoot them, so someone shoots the baddie, which is a typical Hollywood cop out... Besides it's confusing because Bond commits revenge against the assassin who killed his colleagues and Blofeld, who killed his wife. and Topol commits revenge against Glover, and that's all shown to be a good thing... maybe the point is don't commit revenge if you're a girl? This movie does my head in.)
However, I didn’t like Bouquet’s performance – she’s beautiful, with great legs, but has dead eyes, zero chemistry with Roger Moore and can't act to save her life. It's a pity because it is such a good character.
Roger Moore is called upon to do a lot of helter skelter action in this one (clambering up rocks, outside helicopters) – or rather his doubles are, and his doubles are particularly noticeable in this one. Moore’s lack of physicality as Bond is shown up in this harder-edged entry. Having said that (see what I mean about liking and disliking a lot of things), he handles the action chores quite well. Moore could act, and act a lot better than many people gave him credit for (including himself); he doesn’t get much of a chance to act here, John Glenn cuts away from him a lot, but he has some effective moments – particularly talking to Bouquet in a sled, and when he kills an assassin in cold blood.
Okay let’s cover some other positive things: Cassandra Harris is lovely in an all-too-brief role as a woman who seduces Bond then is killed; all the actors who play assassins are great (I liked Michael Grourard in particular, and Charles Dance makes his debut here); Topol’s character is one of the best Bond allies since OHMSS (even if he’s introduced into the film too late); Julian Glover is a decent villain; there are some tremendous stunts (the opening helicopter stuff, climbing up that cliff at the end); that Margaret Thatcher gag at the end is corny but funny.
Most of all, I really liked the sense of history, raiding the film series and the Fleming novels – the story is taken from two short stories; it also uses bits from the novels that hadn’t been exploited yet (eg dragging Bond along the coral a la Live and Let Die) and ties up some series continuity (eg killing off Blofeld once and for all, having Bond visit Tracey’s grave, referring to M not being around).
Some less positive things: the big ski chase, which I remember being enthralled by as a kid, came across a bit flat; the long underwater sequence where they look at the boat was dull; some of the action is repetitive; the blond East German henchman is dull (why did they insist on repeating the blond henchman archetype after Robert Shaw? They never came up with a good one); the climax feels a bit underwhelming; Bill Conti’s score is among the worst in the series (by way of contrast, his theme song is one of the series’ best). I would still rank this in Moore’s top three as Bonds, though, after The Spy Who Loved Me and Octopussy.
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