For Your Eyes Only (1981) Reviews

• One of Roger Moore's Best Bond movies he ever did my all time favorite

  ivo-cobra82017-11-11

  What can I say about this film that was said already? I love this film to death! It is definitely the best Roger Moore's James Bond 007 film since The Spy Who Loved Me! It is my second favorite Roger Moore film I love it to death since I was a kid. For Your Eyes Only (1981) is better then the lackluster The Man With The Golden Gun, Octopussy and A View To A Kill in my honest opinion it is better then Moonraker. This is the first Bond of the 80's and it is honestly one of the best Bond films in my opinion this is just my opinion. This movie is simply action with real stunts more darker then the last one, more serious. Roger Moore did one of his best performance as James Bond 007. Really good actors and really good actresses. It is my childhood. A classic James Bond adventure there is. All right, maybe it was not that simple. Surprisingly this works very well, with the action sequences being more realistic (what with a car chase, ski chase and a small scale assault on the villain's residence instead), but brilliant too. For Roger Moore the film offers his best performance as James Bond. The climbing on (The Monastery of the Holy Trinity in Meteora) St Cyril's monastery in the northern mountains of Greece is a great realistic sequence. Bond (Roger Moore) climbs the cliff in the mountains to reach the hoist controlling the basket. Those were real stunts it was really dangerous for Moore and his stuntman doing those stunts. In 1993 we got Cliffhanger with Sylvester Stallone climbing the mountains even those stunts were dangerous. This stunts that Roger Moore performed were really dangerous. Bond in the beginning climbs on the helicopter another dangerous stunt that was performed from Roger Moore and his stuntman. James Bond on skies on the cross-country skiing and he is perused by motorcycle assassins great stunts performed from stuntman's. Great car chase A Citroën 2CV was used in which Bond and Melina are fleeing and are kicked by this car really bad-ass scene. Great fights on the ship, great fights with car on the beach in which Bond shoot's a guy's car. Great under water scenes in which Bond and Melina are under attack by a diver in a JIM suit. Great effects for the mini-subs under water. Bond and Melina are tied up with the line on Kristatos' yacht been as bait for sharks. Great actors like are: Roger Moore, Carole Bouquet, Julian Glover, Topol ,Lynn-Holly Johnson, Michael Gothard, Jill Bennett, John Wyman and Walter Gotell. Melina Havelock (Carole Bouquet) is a perfect Bond heroine determined to avenge her parents at all costs. Melina Havelock is a combination of Tilly Masterson from 'Goldfinger' and Domino from 'Thunderball.' Melina comes upon a much bigger plot, involving 007 and a Russian-British race to regain the A.T.A.C. She was really great Bond girl I enjoy the girl so much and the actress she was awesome better then Britt Ekland. Carole Bouquet did a great performance and she did a great job playing Melina Havelock she was so realistic in screen just my opinion. This movie had the absolute most beautiful Bond girl . Bibi Dahl (Lynn-Holly Johnson) really touched my heart who would do anything for Bond! She is the American figure-skating prodigy who meets 007 in Cortina D'Ampezzo. Lynn-Holly Johnson did a great job been a victim of her uncle Kristatos (Julian Glover). Agent 007 is assigned to hunt for a lost British encryption device and prevent it from falling into enemy hands. Bond investigate the murder of Timothy Havelock, who was working to salvage the wreckage of a spy boat carrying a vital command system called A.T.A.C. Bond's investigation leads him to believe that the Russians are also trying to recover the system, and may be using Aris Kristatos (Julian Glover) to carry out their dirty work. Aiding Bond is the beautiful sharpshooter Melina Havelock (Carole Bouquet) and an old acquaintance of Kristatos's named Milos Columbo (Topol). I really miss movies like this one today I really do, I miss them so much. They don't make movies like this one today they don't. The plot was about the hunt for a lost British encryption device called A.T.A.C. that was also used later in Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995). I really did enjoy soundtrack For Your Eyes Only by Sheena Easton and the music theme by Bill Conti. The movie is really fast paced, I really wasn't bored with it, it is highly entertaining. You see also the cemetery in which we see Bond on his wife's grave Tracy Di Vicenzo from On Her Majesty's Secret Service we see Blofeld and Bond finally kill's him on the end of the opening scene. For Your Eyes Only is a 1981 British spy film and the twelfth in the James Bond series to be produced by Eon Productions, and the fifth to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. 10/10 This in my opinion really my favorite Roger Moore James Bond 007 films I love it to death I think is my second favorite film The Spy Who Loved Me is my number 1 favorite film but this one will be the second one. This was the first movie John Glen directed and really did a good job on this film. I highly recommend for every Bond Fan.

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• Moore's finest Bond.

  sibisi732001-09-22

  'For Your Eyes Only' starts the tenure of John Glen at the helm of the Bond series. He had worked previously on many of the Bond movies but during the eighties he directed all 5 Bond movies, and with the exception of 'A View To A Kill', they are up there with the best of the whole series. Certainly 'For Your Eyes Only' and the follow up, 'Octopussy' are the best of the Moore years, and I don't think it would be overstating it to say that Glen may have single handedly saved the franchise. By the end of the 1970s Bond had turned from Ian Fleming's masterspy into an entirely comic book creation, culminating in the preposterous shenanigans of 'Moonraker' in 1979. At the start of a new decade a new style is clearly apparent, with a back to basics story that actually involves some spying, and a genuine threat to world peace. It's pushing it to say that the story is believable, but it is realistically told and is certainly a more adult affair than the previous efforts. The film starts with the final nail in the coffin for Blofeld. After years of legal wrangling over who had the rights to the character the filmmakers decided to show that they didn't need him anyway and unceremoniously dumped him once and for all. We are also immediately put in the mood for a far more serious Bond when he visits his late wife's grave, an unusual moment, not least because the movies rarely referenced previous actors in the role. Here we are reminded that Moore wasn't playing Bond at the time of his marriage. That serious tone pervades throughout the movie, with less wisecracking than usual, and a subdued villain, at odds with the expected megalomaniac we are used to. But the film is all the better for it. There are some fantastic action set-pieces including a chase in a Citroen 2CV, and a ski chase that tops even that of 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service', along with a tense finale that is literally a cliffhanger. Bond is actually forced to use his wits, and much of the action and escapes are less contrived than one would expect. It's also good to see (after 'The Spy Who Loved Me' and 'Moonraker') that the filmmakers have tried to get back to Fleming's Bond, with many ideas lifted from the original stories. The scene with Bond and Melina dragged behind the speedboat, for example, is taken directly from the novel of 'Live And Let Die', and many characters appear in Fleming's short story of the same name. Add to the mix a fine cast, notably Carole Bouquet as another strong character in the list of 'Bond women', and you have a satisfying and thrilling entry in the series.

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• Q provided 007 with the fastest, most maneuverable vehicle possible: the world's smallest jet the Acrostar…

  Nazi_Fighter_David2005-07-11

  A British fishing trawler/surveillance ship, on duty in the Ionian Sea, is sunk by an old World War II mine caught in her fishing nets… Lost in the wreck is a top secret missile launching device which soon becomes 'something of value' in a characteristic British-Russian confrontation… 007 is seen caught in a cold-blooded feud between two Greek ex-partisans… He has to recover a transmitter that could fall into the wrong hands… He is sent to climb up the cliffs below an abandoned monastery complex, and is aided by a vigorous and decided sharpshooter whose expertise with a crossbow proved vital… Throughout the mission 007 is aided by the brave Melina Havelock, a perfect Bond heroine determined to avenge her parents at all costs... Melina Havelock is a combination of Tilly Masterson from 'Goldfinger' and Domino from 'Thunderball.' Melina comes upon a much bigger plot, involving 007 and a Russian-British race to regain the A.T.A.C. As Bond, Roger Moore finally gets his hair messed up, and more… He is at the mercy of a bald figure in a wheelchair who controls his destiny; chased by ski-borne motorcycles; assailed by spear-carrying fishermen and unlucky hockey players; attacked by sharks and enemy divers; tied up and dragged behind a boat along the sharp corals… The film succeeds in introducing many mysterious characters… Three of them are: Milos Columbo (Topol) who becomes the incarnation of Bond's old friend Kerim Bey... Known as 'The Dove,' Columbo is a pistachio-chewing Greek smuggler, ex-resistance fighter, and casino owner on the Greek island in the Aegean Sea… Between him and Kristatos, there is blood feud dating back to World War II, when both fought the Nazis as resistance fighters on Crete… Ari Kristatos (Julian Glover) who manages to hide his treacherous nature behind a veneer of sophistication... Kristatos comes across as the most believable Bond villain in years… He introduces himself as an enthusiastic Anglophile who was a resistance fighter during the Second World War, and apparently uses Bond to murder his smuggling rival while scheming to please the KGB… Bibi Dahl (Lynn Holly Johnson) who would do anything for Bond! She is the American figure-skating prodigy who meets 007 in Cortina D'Ampezzo, where at one point was invitingly in 007's bed… Hate and revenge play significant part in this twelfth James Bond film… "For Your Eyes Only" follows the adventure and exotic appeal of earlier Bond movies like 'From Russia with Love' and 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service'. The result is a delightful spy adventure with plenty of intriguing characters, plot twists, and romance…

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• Roger Moore's best Bond hands down

  TimBoHannon2003-04-11

  After 1979's sci-fi cartoon called Moonraker, Albert Broccoli and the rest of the James Bond producers decided to change the pace for Roger Moore's fifth adventure. This included firing incumbent director Lewis Gilbert and writing a more believable plot, to begin with. The second item on the agenda was to write a script which curbed Roger Moore's obsessive tendencies to pile on the jokes. Add a few good villains and allies, and voila! a classic James Bond adventure there is. All right, maybe it was not that simple. This time around, Bond is sent to investigate the murder of one Timothy Havelock, who was working to salvage the wreckage of a spy boat carrying a vital command system called A.T.A.C. Bond's investigation leads him to believe that the Russians are also trying to recover the system, and may be using one Aris Kristatos (Julian Glover) to carry out their dirty work. Aiding Bond is the beautiful sharpshooter Melina Havelock (Carole Bouquet) and an old acquaintance of Kristatos's named Milos Columbo (Topol). As good as it is, 'For Your Eyes Only' starts out terribly. The pre-title sequence involves an attempt on James Bond's life by a bald guy in a wheelchair with a white cat (I wonder who that could be?). The scene is campy and don't get me started on the remark about the delicatessen in stainless steel (obviously put in there at the request of some actor). I understand why the sequence was filmed, but that does not make it good. Thankfully it would not be a barometer on the rest of the movie! It may not be among the very best in the series, but believe me when I say that the difference in tone between this and the goofy 'Moonraker' is like day compared to night. It is easily the preeminent Roger Moore Bond film, and is well worth watching in every area. The villain is not trying to kill a majority of the human race for some outlandish purpose. There are no extravagant weapons or billionaire lunatics, no silly motives or doomsday schemes. Instead, we have a lean adventure that a Bond fan can actually enjoy. There are many outstanding qualities about this film, mixed in with a few notable negatives. Any list of what went right with this film has to begin with Roger Moore. After two mediocre performances, he really nails down the part here. He is courageous, commanding, tough, and, most importantly, serious, thanks to new director John Glen (who apparently had to do some prying to slow down Moore's humor blitz). Another BIG breath of fresh air is provided by the villains and allies, who are also treated seriously and given unusual depth of character. Julian Glover is exceptional as the ruthless and deceptive Kristatos. It is villains like this that help make the Bond series so great, and Glover is excellent indeed. No wonder Steven Spielberg cast him for Indiana Jones! In Topol, most famous for his work in 'Fiddler on the Roof', we get a terrific ally who has a great chemistry with Bond. I imagine I am not the only person who found him to be much like Kerim Bey in the great 'From Russia With Love'. Then there is the matter of the women, who both bring good and bad qualities to the table. Carole Bouquet is somewhat wooden as female lead, Melina, but can also hold her own when the heat is on, which makes her the best Bond girl in some time. Lynn-Holly Johnson provides a lovable portrayal as Bibi Dahl, a figure skater who gets the hots for Bond (don't get me started on the age difference). Her bubble headed character makes for some humorous moments and is used to make the character of Kristatos stronger. Dahl is also enrapturing to look at, but I find her ditzy part a little too over the top, but not to the point of weakening the final product. Unfortunately, there are a few items that bug me about this film. The first is Bill Conti's soundtrack. While it would be terrific literature for an up-tempo jazz band, it really clashes with the action more than anything. Another weakness is Roger Moore's lack of talent for fight choreography, which detracts from the action slightly. The last is Eric Kriegler (John Wyman), another invincible Oddjob rip-off that at one point picks up a motorcycle and hurls it at a fleeing Bond (!). This is all forgivable, however, because the action, from the mountainside ski chase to the climax atop a rock cliff, is of very high standards. The absurdity of the previous chapter is shed, and we get a highly entertaining adventure that appeals to fans and non-fans alike. I can certainly live with all of the flaws any day. So grab a bag of popcorn and enjoy another great 007 adventure.

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• One of Roger's best!

  eamon-hennedy2004-04-28

  Undeniably one of Roger Moore's best outings as 007, For Your Eyes Only was an attempt by Cubby Broccoli to bring Bond down to earth after the over the top, but brilliant, Moonraker. Surprisingly this works very well, with the action sequences being more realistic (what with a car chase, ski chase and a small scale assault on the villain's residence instead), but brilliant too. For Roger Moore the film offers his best performance as James Bond. The puns are played down more here and while he does still have a little twinkle in his eye at times, his performance reflects more an older 007, a man who has lost his wife and is still fighting to save the world and right wrongs. This is demonstrated in the superb pre-title sequence in which after visiting his wife's grave, he is kidnapped by Blofeld (unofficially Blofeld however) and taken on a wild helicopter ride. The moment were he visits Tracy's grave sees Roger convey so much in one scene, he shows that he is not just the comedic 007, but he can be a serious one too. We see how the character has come to view revenge on Blofeld as he tells the dream like Melina (a beautiful and enchanting performance from Carole Bouquet) that before setting out on revenge as she hopes to do, she must first dig two graves. Some would see this as hypocrisy, whereas it is the words of a Bond who has come to analyse the hardship of a licence to kill. With Julian Glover portraying a more down to earth villain and the plot centering around the Cold War, For Your Eyes Only is a great 80's Bond film, with scatterings of what would be developed into the Timothy Dalton years, such as the serious Bond and the more down to earth story telling. Following on the heels of two of the biggest Bond films in terms of scope and financial success, For Your Eyes Only was a risk, but it worked. While it did not outgross Moonraker, it's financial intake was close and while it does possess the entertainment factor that both Moonraker and The Spy Who Loved Me did, it is an artistic success, with great performances, an engrossing storyline, wonderful characterization and superb direction from John Glen in his directorial debut for a Bond film. He stages the abundance of chase scenes well and is helped by the fact that he has a good script to go with. On top of that Sheena Easton delivers a great theme tune. A great film and one deserving of classic status.

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