release year: 1983
genre: James Bond
viewing setting: home laserdisc, 1/18/2000
what I expected: n/a
what I got: an average Bond movie
synopsis: Bond gets involved in a plot to smuggle jewels and strengthen the Russian position in Europe.
impressions: It had a lot of intrigue and subplots, but it also had a lot of corny humor, and Moore was showing his age. Worse, the ending portion was little more than a showcase for a circusful of performers to help Bond catch the bad guys. This part ruined the rest of the movie for me. Notable: 009 killed at beginning, knife-throwing twins, evil Russian general, tennis pro Vijay Armitraj, silly Tarzan yell as Bond swings along vines in jungle, wanna-be badass with sawblade weapon, octopus, island of beautiful women, good plane-hanging-on scene near end.
acting: Moore went for the corny cheese here. Louis Jourdan did a good job as an upper-class villain. The guy who played his main henchman was menacing too. Maud Adams did a pretty good job as the head of an all-female semi-criminal organization.
chase scenes: 3-wheeled buggy, safari, cop car chase in Germany
mass fight at end: Octopussy's circus vs Kamal's guards
neat gadgets: tiny plane, bug-tracking watch, acid pen
confirmed Bond kills: 8
confirmed Bond nooky: 2
obnoxious female name: Octopussy
defining Bond moments:
- while posing as an enemy officer, Bond chastizes some enlisted guy whose uniform is sloppy
- drives plane up to gas pump
- ogles women instead of paying attention to auction
- basically makes Kamal spend an extra $500,000 on the Faberge egg for no real reason
- uses government property to win himself $200,000 at the backgammon table
- uses Q's camera to zoom in on girl's cleavage
- plays mind games with Kamal and bodyguard
- while hiding in a body bag, comes to life with a ghostly yell, scaring the hell out of the body bag loaders
quotable:
Magda: "You have a very good memory for faces."
Bond: "And figures."
Kamal: "Mr. Bond is indeed a very rare breed...soon to become extinct!"
Vijay: "An island of beautiful women...no men allowed."
Bond: "Really...how chauvanistic. I'll have to pay a visit."
Kamal: "Mr. Bond...you have a nasty habit of surviving."
Bond: "You know what they say about the fittest."
Vijay: (watching Q scope out the island with binoculars) "Is he still there?"
Q: "You must be joking. 007 on an island populated exclusively by women? We won't see him until dawn."
final word: Mix of good intrigue and bad humor.
rating: C+