Mission Summary

When a ship housing the British ATAC (Automatic Targeting Attack Communicator) system sinks in the Adriatic Sea, James Bond (Roger Moore) is called upon to retrieve it before it falls into Soviet hands. He begins in Madrid, where Melina Havelock (Carole Bouquet), the daughter of a man working for the British to retrieve the ATAC before Bond, kills his lead. Bond turns to the Italian secret service for help, and he is introduced to Aristotle Kristatos (Julian Glover), who tells them the man behind the plan is Milos Columbo (Topol). Bond confronts Columbo, and he informs Bond that Krisatos is playing them against each other. Bond soon learns one of the two men is not telling the truth

Analysis

Rank: 6

After the campy farce that was "Moonraker," the producers wisely chose to return to a realistic spy adventure that worked so well in the Connery days. This is by far and away the best of the Roger Moore era, where Bond is at his most ruthless and relying more on his instinct than gadgets. The script is excellent and boasts the lone twist ending of the series, which doesn't come off as being forced nor contrived. Despite a few ridiculous moments, "For Your Eyes Only" is solid from beginning to end.

In this film, it begins and ends with the plot. It seems extremely simple in the beginning, but gains complexity as the film wears on. Unlike the earlier films, Bond doesn't discover who his true enemy is until very late. Usually he knows from his briefing who he should target, but this time, we are on the same level with Bond as he tries to put the pieces together. This is another break from the template, and it increases the puzzling mood of the film. As I mentioned above, the ending has an unusual plot twist in that Bond technically fails his mission, yet he still manages to save the day.

Action in the film is somewhat restrained, since it is heavy on suspense and suspicion. Although, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. There aren't the prolonged gun battles we see in recent films, and since the action is spaced out enough this time around, it seems more intense and life-threatening. The action is more espionage-related, where Bond must sneak into a warehouse undetected and the like. In a rare display of cold-blooded killing for Moore, Bond kicks a car off a cliff with the henchman still inside. The one chase scene is somewhat improbable, since Bond and Milena escape in her tiny Citroen 2CV, which manages to outrun BMWs. The skiing sequence in Cortina is a little too drawn out, but seeing Bond out maneuver his enemies without the use of ski pole guns is refreshing.

The pre-title sequence is both terrific and awful inside of the same five minutes. It begins with Bond visiting his wife's grave, and the scene might be Moore's best of the series, showing substantial sorrow without saying a word. Yet it concludes with a bizarre and out of place battle with Bond's long-time nemesis: Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Blofeld takes remote control of the helicopter that Universal Exports sent for him, and intends to kill him by dropping him over a warehouse. Of course Bond manages to take control and turns the tables by picking up Blofled with the helicopter's skids. While begging for his life (which seems completely out of character for a villain of Blofeld's stature), he utters the most nonsensical line in the series: "I'll buy you a delicatessen, in stainless steel."

A large part of why this is my favorite of the Moore series is his depiction of Bond. It is the closest he ever came to Fleming's character and doesn't go overboard with the one-liners. This is probably the only time you can believe he is an elite spy and not some cardboard action-hero. Bouquet is less than memorable as Melina, yet she has quite the vindictive side and kills several people throughout the film. The dueling villains of Kristatos and Columbo are both strong characters with unique personalities. One annoying addition to the cast that is utterly unnecessary is Bibi Dahl (Lynn-Holly Johnson), a teenage figure skater obsessed with Bond. Although she has the distinction of being the only woman that Bond rejected, she is both annoying and distracting from the plot. One last note on characters is this is the only film where "M" doesn't make an appearance. Bernard Lee had died in between "Moonraker" and this film, so the script reflected the MI6 leader was "on leave." Bond receives his orders from Defence Minister Sir Frederick Gray (Geoffrey Keen, who becomes "M" in the next film, "Octopussy") and Chief of Staff Bill Tanner (James Villiers).

The producers admit that "Moonraker" was a terrific financial success yet it deviated too much from traditional Bond films. "For Your Eyes Only" was hit all the right notes to get the series back on track and return to what makes Bond adventures enjoyable: a tight, suspenseful script with solid acting from its leading cast. Had Moore played Bond like this in all his films, I wouldn't have to be so hard on him all the time. Aside from a few minor distractions (What's with Sheena Easton appearing in the opening credits? It looks like a bad '80s music video), this film remains one of the best.