27 replies to this topic

[James Bond Jr]

Its such a popular film and it makes me feel like I'm missing out on something... or these other fans are insane . I much prefer TMWTGG or Moonraker than this. I think I rate it my least favorite Bond film. Its action heavy (and its good action), but the plot is so damn boring.

The PTS sequence is almost good, but it bugs me. As an epilogue for OHMSS, its cool. This Blofeld is trying to sound like Telly Savalas and has his neck broken like Blofeld from OHMSS' end. Its directed so well and its very tense, but the Blofeld is SO corny and the dialogue is terrible. "I trust you had pleasant... FRIGHT"

I really dislike the females in this one. Mileena has a good motive for being in the film, but the actress is terrible. She isn't my idea of beautiful, but thats besides the point. Her acting is so flat and it consists of nothing but staring blankly into the camera, frowning and looking high on cocaine. The young skater character is very annoying, but cute. I think she was totally miscast for the role. The "eye candy" at the pool party are especially unappealing IMO.

This is the first film directed by John Glen, a man I really do not admire. Most of the action is exceptional as he was just transitioning from editor to director. Some scenes are John Glen's best work until his Dalton films. But I think his dramatic scenes are so boring, coming off like bad early 80s soap opera. The whole film comes off sleazy and boring for some reason. The clothing people are wearing is awful. The soundtrack is not bad, but totally wrong for this film. The cinematography and camerawork sort of saves the film for me. Its a very cheap, boring film, but it looks like something more classy and Bond-ian.

The script is really bad in my opinion. Despite this film's many praises for being "serious" and "less campy", I find it much sillier than the previous "Moonraker" with Moneypenny having an elaborate vanity mirror in her file cabinet, the terribly unfunny/non-witty lines throughout ("A license to kill... OR BE KILLED!") and ofcourse the last cheesy bit with Margaret Thatcher. Don't get me started about the stupid hockey-playing assassins. Its nice Bond is on an almost exclusive snowy mission, but the whole adventure feels like "small potatoes".

Roger Moore is very good in the role and his fans seem to overpraise this film simply because he isn't joking the whole time. Bond is actually sympathetic and sort of a weakling in this one. But I think this film's version of Bond is probably the most boring characterization yet. The CHARACTER is going through the motions, but at least Roger isn't.

Edited by James Bond Jr, 15 January 2011 - 05:40 AM.

[jaguar007]

Personally I really like FYEO. After to excessive over the top film Moonraker was, I really think a more down to earth approach was needed. Personally I find Carole Bouchet (while not a great actress) amazingly beautiful. It does not have the grand scope of many of the previous films, but it really has some beautiful scenery and it makes good use of it's locations(something that would be missing in many of Glen's later films). The music score worked for the time (although a bit dated now), in fact is was the first Bond soundtrack I ever bought, way back in 1981. Moore had some great scenes in it but I do know where you are coming from especially with his relationship with Melina. The whole "don't go after revenge" approach is very un-Bond. Bond also developed more of a fatherly relationship with Melina during the film and it seems awkward when he gets together with her at the end.

All in all I really like the movie, it ranks just below TSWLM and LALD as my favorite Moore Bond films.

[General G.]

The comedic "bookends" are terrible. Bill Conti's score is arguably the worst of the series, already sounding dated when the film was first released.

Other than those factors it's a pretty solid Bond, I think... but it would've been a lot better with Dalton in the role. Sir Rog should've stepped down after MOONRAKER.

[Biggy1954]

The whole "don't go after revenge" approach is very un-Bond.

Bond has gone out for revenge at times, but he does not always kill for revenge. He also kills on the orders of his government, which is the opposite of killing for revenge. To quote Moore's Bond in The Man With the Golden Gun, "when I kill, it's on the specific orders of my government, and those I kill are themselves killers." One can say that when Bond feels patriotic and kills on the orders of his government, he would not feel the need for revenge. Bond telling Melina not to go out for revenge is not necessarily un-Bond.

Sir Rog should've stepped down after MOONRAKER.

I am glad Sir Rog made For Your Eyes Only. He needed at least one down to Earth Bond film. Plus, it is his best performance in the role.

[The Shark]

The whole "don't go after revenge" approach is very un-Bond.

So therefore Ian Fleming's LIVE AND LET DIE is very un-Bond, because he doesn't avenge Vesper?

Nonsense. Revenge for the most part, is a facile, over-used plot device in film. Bond isn't a hoodlum.

[DamnCoffee]

For Your Eyes Only is probably one of the worst for me. It's just plain dull. All of those beautiful locations used don't add anything to the film, at all. I don't know what camera's they were using, but everything just looks dark.

[sharpshooter]

As I view TSWLM/MR/OP as Moore’s best efforts, I don’t enjoy FYEO that much in comparison. I understand the mood for change after MR, but in hindsight, they should’ve held their nerve, because MR was that era’s height. After four attempts, they nailed what a Moore film was meant to be. Lavish spectacles suited Moore better, FYEO was not that, and it didn’t go the whole way with the serious concept anyway. I value the film for featuring Moore in the first place, but 1981 was a missed chance, IMO. They got back to that style with Octopussy, but by then Moore was getting on in age. Another money on the screen romp before then would’ve been tops.

[Major Tallon]

The whole "don't go after revenge" approach is very un-Bond.

Bond has gone out for revenge at times, but he does not always kill for revenge. He also kills on the orders of his government, which is the opposite of killing for revenge. To quote Moore's Bond in The Man With the Golden Gun, "when I kill, it's on the specific orders of my government, and those I kill are themselves killers." One can say that when Bond feels patriotic and kills on the orders of his government, he would not feel the need for revenge. Bond telling Melina not to go out for revenge is not necessarily un-Bond.

Sir Rog should've stepped down after MOONRAKER.

I am glad Sir Rog made For Your Eyes Only. He needed at least one down to Earth Bond film. Plus, it is his best performance in the role.

I agree with both points. I don't understand the comment that Bond's attitude toward the quest for revenge is "very un-Bond." The underlying source material has him say this:

"You know what they say in China: 'Before you set out on revenge, dig two graves.' Have you done that, or did you expect to get away with it?"

The man who wrote that is generally believed to have had some understanding of the character of James Bond.

[Nicolas Suszczyk]

Well, I'm not a big big big fan of For Your Eyes Only. I prefer Moonraker a lot more. It's better than A View to a Kill, still.

[jaguar007]

As far as Bond's attitude toward revenge, one just has to look at Fleming's YOLT. Bond discovers through a picture that Shatterhand is really Blofeld. All BOnd has to do is reveal that and the government would have invaded Shatterhand's castle and taken Blofled. However Bond kept that information to himself and risked his life because he personally wanted to kill Blofeld,

[Turn]

I don't dislike FYEO, as I like all Bond films. It's just I like it a lot less than others.

The last time we had a similar thread to this I made several comparisons to previous films FYEO seems to take away from and pointed out to the best comparison being a Mad Magazine parody pointing such out and caught hell for it from many fans.

When Cubby made the decision to "bring Bond back to earth" he went with one of the increasingly popular aspects of the series - stuntwork. They really took a lot of the series most popular elements and wound it into the story, although I don't think it improves it at all. And that's one of the big problems I have is almost nothing stands out in FYEO.

Many fans applaude putting the keelhauling sequence in, and although I applaud it being different. But when you think about it this really fits that Austin Powers joke about why they just don't take Bond out and shoot him. Kristatsos could very well have done that and then dumped his body to the sharks.

FYEO has been referred as being more like a big-budget episode of The Saint as opposed to a Bond film. That's one of the best descriptions I can give it.

[AMC Hornet]

Glen & Maibaum had a tough act to follow, in that they were following the overblown spectacle of MR with a film whose horns were - out of necessity - severely drawn in.

The challenge was to make another Bond film without trying to 'top' the previous OTT entry, and yet also not be disappointing. In many ways they succeeded in bringing both Bond and the series 'back to Earth' but it meant taking a chance on disappointing those who hadn't heard or read the pre-release promise of a 'grittier' film (a film which never really appeared until 2008).

To that end they focussed on story, plot, characters and action, and deliberately finished with a small-scale ending which - as Turn concurs - looks like something from a better episode of the Saint. But it was entirely necessary, in order to start building up again. The climax of OP, although also not as OTT as MR, was nonetheless more spectacular than that of FYEO, its immediate predecessor. FYEO established a new, lower benchmark to be exceeded, and that's how things progressed on through Dalton's era until DAD.

It takes courage and commitment to say 'enough's enough' and keep on going, building up again from the bottom. It was a bold move and it paid off - repeatedly. The series had already rebooted once before 1981 (in 1969) and again even more dramatically in this decade.

All that said, FYEO still doesn't top my list of favorites, although I for one did like the music and I agree that it was perhaps RM's best performance, and you can't go wrong with Greece for a location. What I appreciated the most is the way it took my mind off MR (with the exception of those comedic lapses at the beginning and end) and made the climax of each subsequent film something to look forward to.

[The Shark]

As far as Bond's attitude toward revenge, one just has to look at Fleming's YOLT. Bond discovers through a picture that Shatterhand is really Blofeld. All BOnd has to do is reveal that and the government would have invaded Shatterhand's castle and taken Blofled. However Bond kept that information to himself and risked his life because he personally wanted to kill Blofeld,

Yes, but that is personal revenge. Fleming's Bond often showed a fair amount of hubris when it came to berating others for things he'd already done himself. In From A View To A Kill Bond gets pretty peeved by Mary Russell's claim that he's "playing Red Indians", which was the main bone of his argument against Mathis in Casino Royale.

[James Bond Jr]

"Fatherly" is the perfect way to describe Bond's relationship to Mileena. I really think the musical score is a highlight of the film, but I think Bill Conti's style would have benefited another story better.

Have you all heard the original theme song by Blondie? It is very bad, but it makes more sense as a title track than Sheena Easton's wonderful song (which is my only reason to love this movie besides Roger Moore's charm).

[DR76]

Its such a popular film and it makes me feel like I'm missing out on something... or these other fans are insane . I much prefer TMWTGG or Moonraker than this. I think I rate it my least favorite Bond film. Its action heavy (and its good action), but the plot is so damn boring.

The PTS sequence is almost good, but it bugs me. As an epilogue for OHMSS, its cool. This Blofeld is trying to sound like Telly Savalas and has his neck broken like Blofeld from OHMSS' end. Its directed so well and its very tense, but the Blofeld is SO corny and the dialogue is terrible. "I trust you had pleasant... FRIGHT"

I really dislike the females in this one. Mileena has a good motive for being in the film, but the actress is terrible. She isn't my idea of beautiful, but thats besides the point. Her acting is so flat and it consists of nothing but staring blankly into the camera, frowning and looking high on cocaine. The young skater character is very annoying, but cute. I think she was totally miscast for the role. The "eye candy" at the pool party are especially unappealing IMO.

This is the first film directed by John Glen, a man I really do not admire. Most of the action is exceptional as he was just transitioning from editor to director. Some scenes are John Glen's best work until his Dalton films. But I think his dramatic scenes are so boring, coming off like bad early 80s soap opera. The whole film comes off sleazy and boring for some reason. The clothing people are wearing is awful. The soundtrack is not bad, but totally wrong for this film. The cinematography and camerawork sort of saves the film for me. Its a very cheap, boring film, but it looks like something more classy and Bond-ian.

The script is really bad in my opinion. Despite this film's many praises for being "serious" and "less campy", I find it much sillier than the previous "Moonraker" with Moneypenny having an elaborate vanity mirror in her file cabinet, the terribly unfunny/non-witty lines throughout ("A license to kill... OR BE KILLED!") and ofcourse the last cheesy bit with Margaret Thatcher. Don't get me started about the stupid hockey-playing assassins. Its nice Bond is on an almost exclusive snowy mission, but the whole adventure feels like "small potatoes".

Roger Moore is very good in the role and his fans seem to overpraise this film simply because he isn't joking the whole time. Bond is actually sympathetic and sort of a weakling in this one. But I think this film's version of Bond is probably the most boring characterization yet. The CHARACTER is going through the motions, but at least Roger isn't.

I love FOR YOUR EYES ONLY. It's my fourth favorite Bond film of all time. The only thing I dislike about it is the pre-title sequence. It sucks. But the rest of the film surpasses it completely.

[Safari Suit]

"Dislike" is perhaps too strong a word, but I do feel FYEO has at times been overrated in fandom, including myself at one point. The look and feel of the movie just seems kind of flat and unexciting; colourless and, dare I say it, sexless. I understand the need to bring Bond down to earth, literally and figuratively, after Moonraker, but at times FYEO feels more like a thud than a graceful landing. Octopussy found a middle ground between FYEO and MR, and I feel it's stronger than either. And yes, I'll even say I think AVTAK is a stronger movie.

[Matt_13]

My feelings toward FYEO are torn. I definitely appreciate what it's attempting to do, and often the film is successful in maintaining grit while also balancing the Rog style humor. However, Glenn is such a hideously bland director that there's very little "awe" to be found here outside of some spectacular chase sequences. Glenn never made the locations in any of his films look as beautiful as he could, and as a result the movie is relatively boring when the action cools off. It's a real shame because he had the opportunity to film in some really stunning locales. Pessimism aside, Conti's score is quite good (little dated but still quite good) and Roger Moore is in top form. This is the most "Connery" of the Moore Bonds, in structure and in style. I appreciate FYEO for that effort, I only wish Cubby could have hired a better director for not only this one, but the next four films that follow, too.

[Biggy1954]

"Anyone dislike FYEO?"

Yeah, Roger Ebert.

Roger Ebert— ** out of ****
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY is a competent James Bond thriller, well-crafted, a respectable product from the 007 production line. But it's no more than that. It doesn't have the special sly humor of the Sean Connery Bonds, of course, but also doesn't have the visual splendor of such Roger Moore Bonds as THE SPY WHO LOVED ME, or special effects to equal MOONRAKER. And in this era of jolting, inspired visual effects from George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, it's just not quite in the same league. That will no doubt come as a shock to Producer Albert (Cubby) Broccoli, who has made the JAMES BOND series his life's work.
Broccoli and his late partner, Harry Saltzman, all but invented the genre that Hollywood calls "event films" or "special effects films." The ingredients, which Bond popularized and others imitated, always included supervillains, sensational stunts, sex, absurd plots to destroy or rule the world, and, of course, a hero. The 007 epics held the patent on that formula in the late '60s and early '70s, but they are growing dated. FOR YOUR EYES ONLY doesn't have any surprises. We've seen all the big scenes before, and when the villains turn out to be headquartered in an impregnable mountaintop fortress, we yawn. After WHERE EAGLES DARE and THE GUNS OF NAVARONE and the hollow Japanese volcano that Bond himself once infiltrated, let's face it: When you've seen one impregnable mountaintop fortress, you've seen 'em all.
The movie opens with James Bond trapped inside a remote-controlled helicopter being guided by a bald sadist in a wheelchair. After Bond triumphs, the incident is never referred to again. This movie involves the loss of the secret British code controlling submarine-based missiles. The Russians would like to have it. Bond's mission: Retrieve the control console from a ship sunk in the Aegean. The movie breaks down into a series of set pieces. Bond and his latest Bondgirl (long-haired, undemonstrative Carole Bouquet) dive in a mini-sub, engage in a complicated chase through the back roads of Greece, crawl through the sunken wreck in wet suits, are nearly drowned and blown up, etc. For variety, Bond and Bouquet are dragged behind a powerboat as shark bait, and then Bond scales the fortress mountain. A fortress guard spots Bond dangling from a rope thousands of feet in the air. What does he do? Does he just cut the rope? No, sir, the guard descends part way to tantalize Bond by letting him drop a little at a time. The rest is predictable.
In a movie of respectable craftsmanship and moderate pleasures, there's one obvious disappointment. The relationship between Roger Moore and Carole Bouquet is never worked out in an interesting way. Since the days when he was played by Sean Connery, agent 007 has always had a dry, quiet, humorous way with women. Roger Moore has risen to the same challenge, notably opposite Barbara Bach in THE SPY WHO LOVED ME. But Moore and Bouquet have no real chemistry in FOR YOUR EYES ONLY. There's none of that kidding byplay. It's too routine. The whole movie is too routine.

[AMC Hornet]

Roger Ebert was disappointed because FYEO wasn't chock-full of special effects like MR or any of Lucas/Spielberg's movies?

What did he think of MR?

What would he have thought of MR if it had been another SFX-fest?

[Mr. Blofeld]

I do like FYEO, and think it's underappreciated, but it's got a good number of scenes that feel redundant, and easily should have been cut; the second sub attack, for one, and the "Q at St. Cyril" scene, for another -- both removed wouldn't have harmed the plot in the slightest.

I also really would have de-emphasized Bibi Dahl, because, well... she's just annoying.

[James Bond Jr]

Maybe instead of saying I dislike this film, I should say I find it very over-rated. I will sing some more praises for it though, because I do really love anything Bond.

I respect that this film is very different. It is full of muted colors (purple and gray in the opening titles, beige and navy in the clothing) which goes splendidly with the mournful tone of the film. It pays a lot of tribute to OHMSS with Tracy's grave, snow sequences and another bobsled track scene. And the action sequences are very good. And I will always love the theme song!

I have a hunch that this film inspired the makers of Quantum of Solace. Both are named after short stories, both are serious and focused on revenge, both value very striking cinematography over direction, both value incredible action scenes over a real plot, both feature a dark Bond girl out for revenge and they have similar villains. So in that respect, this is a pretty important film.

[dinovelvet]

I'm not crazy about it. It's the most low-key Rog outing, and I think it proves Rog and low-key don't really go together all that well; Dalton and Craig are more suited to this kind of caper. I do like a lot of scenes in it like the Gonzalez villa and car chase, the skiing scenes, and the climbing sequence, but the parts don't really add up to a satisfactory whole. While I appreciate the need to scale back after Moonraker, would it have killed them to beef up the finale a bit? Matt-13 has it right, there's no "awe". The locations are also a bit ho-hum when you compare them with the previous outings TMWTGG-TSWLM-MR. I think a more action packed climax could have saved it, but it all wraps up in quite a dull fashion (complete with Gogol inexplicably failing to recognize the agent he came face to face with in TSWLM) which leaves you with the impression that the rest of the film was duller than it really was.

I'm guessing EON weren't mad about it either, as we were right back to classic Rog antics with Octopussy.

[jrcjohnny99]

I dont mind it, it's def a lower-half Bond for me;
While it has a lot of things I like, it also has a LOT of things I don't like..

Like

Locations
Topol
Cassandra Harris
Julian Glover
All the stuff from the book
Rog


Dislike

Glen's flat direction
Conti's horrible score
very dated humor (hell the Thatcher thing wasnt even funny at the time)
Carole Bouquet
Lynne-Holly Johnson
PTS
Talking parrot
Q Scenes
Overlong car chase, ski chase



Ironically I find it one of the Bond films with the least amount of menace in it;
yes, it's less comic book, but there's nothing as dark as Corinne's death in MR.
While Rog is good in it, I think he's better in the 4 previous pics

Edited by jrcjohnny99, 17 January 2011 - 08:13 PM.

[O.H.M.S.S.]

Personally I find Carole Bouchet (while not a great actress) amazingly beautiful.

I think you meant Carole Bouquet there. If not, I would wonder what Miss Moneypenny from CR'67 does in FYEO .

On topic:
FYEO is a solid 7/10 for me. It's not the best Bond film but it's a good one all right. I like the Cold War plot, the Cortina and Mediterranean settings of the film. Topol is one of my favourite allies for sure and I the Bill Conti soundtrack adds a unique atmosphere to the whole thing. What I don't like is Bibi Dahl, awful character, Moore's interaction with her and out of the place lines like "What about the rest of you?" (Moneypenny). Also Moore's skiing clothes must have been chosen by an idiot because it makes him look much older and less athletic, they could have at least done a little bit better there.
In the end a fine, entertaining middle of the road Bond which could have been better if they had paid more attention to some details.

[Doctor Whom]

Coming as it did after the excesses of MR, at the time, I thought FYEO was a really refreshing change of pace. Time, however, has dulled my enthusiasm for the film. Glen's direction is flat and generally lifeless and the film dosn't have any sense of narrative drive; it just sort of lurches from scene to scene (although to be fair, a lot of Bond films have that problem.).

Moore is fine as Bond, probably his best overall performance in the series, although he's starting to look a bit long in the tooth.

Bill Conti's score is very much of its time. It felt dated by the time I finished watching the movie. But have you ever listened to the lyrics of Make it Last All Night (the song playing at Gonzales' place)? They're beyond suggestive and make me crack up just thinking about them.

Still, given (IMHO) the generally lacklustre nature of the Moore films, FYEO is one of the best of that era.

[marktmurphy]

It is a bit dull. Quite flat. Moonraker and Octopussy are just more fun and zingy.
The action is top-notch, though.

[O.H.M.S.S.]

But have you ever listened to the lyrics of Make it Last All Night (the song playing at Gonzales' place)? They're beyond suggestive and make me crack up just thinking about them.

It's not Serge Gainsbourg but you do have a point there.

[elizabeth]

I think 'dislike' is a strong word. I'd have to watch it in full again, but from what I remember, it is not one of my favorites.