Following the outer space adventure of Moonraker, the most grandiose and spectacular film in James Bond series, the producers became concerned that they simply couldn’t match that achievement with something even grander in the next instalment. Decision was made for James Bond to be brought down to Earth, both literally and figuratively. The result of that decision was For Your Eyes Only, 1981 film directed by John Glen.
This film was the first one not to be based on Ian Fleming’s novels. Scriptwriters Richard Maibaum and Richard G. Wilson turned to Fleming’s short stories instead and also cannibalised some of the novels’ plot element not used in earlier films. The plot begins when a British electronic surveillance ship, posing as a Maltese trawler, sinks with all hands after accidentally hitting old naval mine in Ionian Sea. This is very bad news for the British government, because the ship was equipped with ATAC, top secret and advanced communication device used to contact nuclear submarines. This is something Soviets would very much like to lay their hands on and British begin to lose the race when Sir Timothy Havelock (played by Jack Hadley), marine archaeologist who was helping with search and salvage effort, gets killed by an assassin. British secret agent James Bond (played by Roger Moore) is sent to find the assassin and the trail leads him to Cortina d’Ampezzo where Aristotle Kristatos (played by Julian Glover), rich Greek industrialist with British government connections, points finger at Milos Columbo (played by Topol) his old business rival who turned to smuggling. Bond’s investigation is complicated not only by hordes of men trying to assassinate, but also by Melina Havelock (played by Carole Bouqet), archaeologist’s daughter who is conducting her own investigation in order to avenge her father’s murder.
For Your Eyes Only represented a conscious effort to stir James Bond series back to basics, namely towards the serious tone and realistic portrayal of espionage in modern world which characterised the early films during Sean Connery days. In many ways, this film was represented the downsizing of James Bond films. Instead of megalomaniacal villains trying to destroy or rule the world, this film featured more realistic characters of ruthless businessmen and common criminals trying to make a profit. This approach was also inspired by real life developments, namely the new escalation of Cold War which allowed Soviets to become main villains again. Locations, while attractive, were not that exotic and they were clustered within relatively limited area of Southern Europe. Downsizing was seen also in Bond lacking any gadgets and having to use improvisation and his wits to get out of trouble; symbolically, it was shown in the scene in which Bond loses his expensive Lotus and has to use Citroën 2CV in order to escape. Script also abandoned comedy and self-parodical references and focused on action instead. This approach was good for director John Glen, who excelled in staging some diverse, ingenious and effective action scenes; they featured elaborate car chases, ski chases, and underwater fights, including the final scene that features impressive mountain climbing stunts, shot at scenic Greek monasteries in Meteora (known for being used as locations in Sky Riders. Those scenes are aided by an effective musical score by Bill Conti, a veteran composer who also wrote title song performed by Sheena Easton, the only singer in the history of franchise who had the honour of singing and actually appearing in famous opening titles.
An interesting idea behind For Your Eyes Only was, on the other hand, compromised at the very beginning and at the very end. The film has rather silly prologue of Bond having to deal with pathetic wheelchair-bound villain which is supposed to be Ernst Stavro Blofeld; the scene was introduced only in order for Cubby Broccoli to point middle finger to Kevin McClory, the creator of such character with whom he was in bitter and long copyright dispute. It also ends with brief and supposedly funny, but actually quite uninspired scene in which Bond is supposed to talk with then current prime minister Margaret Thatcher (played by Janet Brown). The bigger problem for this film is rather thin script and underdeveloped characters, mainly the chief villain. Julian Glover is good actor but as Kristatos he has very little to do. Israeli actor Topol is formidable but he appears too late in the film to improve the impression. Carole Bouqet is also good actress and one of the most beautiful Bond girls, but the script gives her bad lines and she lacks chemistry with Moore. The only character that actually stands out is Bibi Dahl (played by Lynn-Holly Johnson), young figure skater sponsored by Kristatos who immediately falls in love at Bond and throws herself at British secret agent, only to be rejected by Bond who is becoming visibly uncomfortable with the age difference. If that character appeared in more scenes and played some larger part, it would have created much stronger dynamic and provided more humour. Yet, despite those flaws, For Your Eyes Only is well-directed, competently made and mostly entertaining film with the reputation that actually improved with age. Few films from the series, especially those made later, matched such achievement.
RATING: 7/10 (++)
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