FOR YOUR EYES ONLY

a film by John Glen released through United Artists Pictures in 1981

Its title derived from the 1960 Ian Fleming short story, For Your Eyes Only manages the balance between serious and light-hearted elements better than the preceding Bond film, Moonraker (1979).  The action scenes are spectacular (if a touch overlong), but a yawning chasm is opening between Roger Moore and his female companions—Carol Bouquet (who seems genuinely miserable throughout) and goofy-but-good-looking Lynn-Holly Johnson—they're just too young.  (The producers got it right with the casting of Maud Adams two years later in Octopussy).  And while it's good to see Bond a little angry in this one, For Your Eyes Only works better as a revenge narrative than a Cold War thriller, as it's never clear why the British can't just ignore the lost ATAC transmitter, and dismantle the system from the other end by ripping out the receiver equipment in all their Polaris submarines. 

Still, with bravura performances by Topol and Julian Glover, flawless underwater effects work, and an audacious score by Bill Conti, the 12th Bond adventure is fondly remembered as the first 007 film since the '60s that didn't laugh at its own jokes.
 

★★★☆☆

Best for ages 12+

FEATURING

ROGER MOORE, CAROL BOUQUET, TOPOL, LYNN-HOLLY JOHNSON, AND JULIAN GLOVER

© 2023 Ian C. Bloom