ReBONDing: The Moore Years, Pt. 1
Reevaluating the Roger Moore Era (1973 - 1985)
When we last left James Bond, he had successfully created two films that had divided viewers and Bond fans alike. The running consensus was, "Dalton was the right man for the wrong film" or films, depending on how you looked at it...
No matter how often I try to rewire my brain, if someone says James Bond, the first image that usually flashes through my mind is something pretty close to this:
Thankfully, ever since the reboot of the franchise in 2006, sometimes it ends up being this:
However, when I'm at my lowest, it ends up being one of these two:
No matter which way you slice it, Roger Moore almost always beats the odds. I don't consider Roger Moore to be the best Bond, nor the worst. He is, however, the one I most Bonded with as a child. Each Bond is a product of their time, and I judge each performance on the material they were given as well as the way they chose to play the character. Moore's performance is a far cry from Ian Fleming's vision (outside of maybe Bond's almost obsessing interest in the opposite sex), but it works for the time. If it hadn't worked, I'm certain the producers would have most likely shifted gears at some point in Moore's original three picture deal with Eon Productions. But that, of course, never happened.
When Roger Moore was introduced to the world as James Bond in 1973, it seemed as if the producers were ready to take the film franchise in an entirely different direction. Out was the cool-yet-misogynistic Sean Connery. In was the suave, quick-witted, and tongue-in-cheek Roger Moore.
And so we enter into my era of James Bond. Moore begins his film career as Bond almost three years older than when Connery left. Thirteen years and seven films later -- more than any other actor to date -- Moore was nearing 60 and unfortunately showing his age by the time they released For Your Eyes Only in 1981.
I soon began fighting a battle with my inner child. I wasn't entirely sure that I wanted to revisit Moore's era. It could be a little rough (or a lot, depending on the film). But I wanted to readily go into this reevaluation of Moore's films with an open mind. I will try my best to avoid what could very well be a painful revisit. I kept telling myself, "have fun with it, like you're ten years old again."
OCTOPUSSY (1983)
Directed by John Glen
Written by George MacDonald Fraser, Richard Maibaum, and Michael G. Wilson
Ian Fleming (story)
Running Time: 2 hours, 11 minutes
Original Verdict:
Moore is seriously showing his age but apparently can still attract an audience and a paycheck. A weak script along with an aging bond are no match for the knife-throwing twins along with a traveling circus and a mostly absurd plot. Sneaking the film score into the flute of a snake charmer, as an undercover agent attracting Bond's attention, was a pretty lame act, too.
Rating: 2 out of 5.
Just as it was with the last ReBONDing post, it had been a good while since I last watched Octopussy (15 years or more). It was a letterboxed VHS copy which was a part of a "Deluxe Box Set" most likely purchased for an ungodly sum at the Suncoast Motion Picture Company back in the early 1990s. (A lot of my hard-earned money was blown at the now extinct retailer.)
At some point between then and the early 2000s, my love of film grew considerably. And with it, I also developed an ever-growing critical eye that quite often turned me into a bit of a film snob. So much so that I began to dislike a lot of movies that I used to love as a child, including several James Bond films. (For the better part of a decade I've tried to re-correct this way of thinking -- of viewing movies and TV shows with fresh eyes -- but it has been nearly impossible. Just ask my wife whenever we begin browsing titles to watch on Netflix.)
THE REEVALUATION
Even with the obvious sexual overtones (and undertones, for that matter), James Bond is a bonafide horndog in Octopussy. Maybe he's this way throughout all of his films (please keep in mind that my memory of certain elements may have faded through time), but it seems so over the top here it's almost embarrassing at times like it was written by a twelve-year-old boy who just discovered puberty. However, even with its shortcomings, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the re-watch.
The Cold Open: It's fantastic and fun. It's the perfect length, has absolutely nothing to do with the main story, and is completely ridiculous. I loved this opening as a young boy and I still love it now, even if it's just another shining example of how bad Bond is at being a "secret agent." Until he takes off in the mini-jet.
The Story: Octopussy's plot is tad complex, but it slowly unravels like a well-crafted detective novel. The audience isn't privy to any new developments until James Bond discovers them. And even when that happens, we don't truly understand what is truly at stake until we reach the film's final act. The film is well-paced, rarely slowing down, successfully keeping the audience engaged.
The Villain: Louis Jourdan chews the scenery as Kamal Khan. His performance is rather enjoyable and it's also apparent that they gave Jourdan some of the best lines in the film. Whether it's "Spend the money quickly, Mister Bond" or "You seem to have this nasty habit of surviving." The way he says "Octopussy" is worth the price of admission alone.
The Heavy: At first Octopussy feels like henchman overload, but by the film's end, the balance seems appropriate. The knife-throwing twins Mischka & Grischka who are working for maverick Soviet General Orlov behind the iron curtain pose a decent threat under the cover of Octopussy's Circus. Gobinda has a commanding presence as Khan's bodyguard, always obeying every order without question (leading to his eventual demise).
The Girls: Maud Adams performance as the powerful Octopussy works well opposite the more than obvious aging Moore. While the age-gap between Moore and his leading ladies would range anywhere from 15 to 30 years, Adams feels like the only age-appropriate love interest, and the two actually seem to have genuine chemistry. On the opposite end of the scale, Kristina Wayborn's performance as Magda comes off strangely wooden and most of her scenes feel anywhere from uncomfortable to stale at best.
The Gadgets: Bond's Acrostar mini-jet, a multi-functional pen containing an acid that dissolves all metals, a crocodile disguise that carries Bond through the croc-infested waters onto the floating palace, and a henchman's yo-yo from hell. Still quite memorable even after thirty some odd years.
What Doesn't Work: It's the little things -- the tongue-in-cheek gags -- that ruin the integrity of this film... well, other than the film's title. Some of the gags are stupid, some are silly, but all of them clearly don't age well with time. For instance, Bond's contact in India, Vijay, is undercover as a snake charmer. In order to get his attention, he plays the well-known Bond theme. Was this for the benefit of the audience? Because he could have easily played "God Save The Queen" instead without it feeling corny. The Tarzan yell. Why? Lastly, the not-so-subtle British flag-covered hot air balloon operated by Q. Seems highly impractical. Whatever happened to the importance of the word secret in secret agent anyway?
While Octopussy isn't the best of his seven-film run, it definitely isn't the worst and I think the film is overly criticized compared to Moore's last entry with A View To A Kill. Even with some of the worst screen gags that make you laugh at the movie, rather than with it, Octopussy still delivers some great action sequences and another thrilling score by John Barry who had been absent the last time round.
Just be thankful that this wasn't the year that Moore decided to retire. Connery came out of retirement to star in Never Say Never Again (a reboot of Thunderball brought on by legal battles that would haunt Eon Productions for decades) and the last thing the producers wanted was Connery competing against "the new guy" in the Summer of 1983. If Moore had said no to Octopussy, we might have ended up with the worst James Bond. Ever. I shudder at the mere thought.
Reevaluation Score: 3 out of 5.
My intention was to have two films reviewed here, but I really picked apart Octopussy, so I chose not to inundate you with two somewhat over-analyzed Moore films. I plan to be more brief with my next post (which in and of itself seems like an oxymoron).
James Bond will return...
When we last left James Bond, he had successfully created two films that had divided viewers and Bond fans alike. The running consensus was, "Dalton was the right man for the wrong film" or films, depending on how you looked at it...
No matter how often I try to rewire my brain, if someone says James Bond, the first image that usually flashes through my mind is something pretty close to this:
Thankfully, ever since the reboot of the franchise in 2006, sometimes it ends up being this:
However, when I'm at my lowest, it ends up being one of these two:
No matter which way you slice it, Roger Moore almost always beats the odds. I don't consider Roger Moore to be the best Bond, nor the worst. He is, however, the one I most Bonded with as a child. Each Bond is a product of their time, and I judge each performance on the material they were given as well as the way they chose to play the character. Moore's performance is a far cry from Ian Fleming's vision (outside of maybe Bond's almost obsessing interest in the opposite sex), but it works for the time. If it hadn't worked, I'm certain the producers would have most likely shifted gears at some point in Moore's original three picture deal with Eon Productions. But that, of course, never happened.
When Roger Moore was introduced to the world as James Bond in 1973, it seemed as if the producers were ready to take the film franchise in an entirely different direction. Out was the cool-yet-misogynistic Sean Connery. In was the suave, quick-witted, and tongue-in-cheek Roger Moore.
And so we enter into my era of James Bond. Moore begins his film career as Bond almost three years older than when Connery left. Thirteen years and seven films later -- more than any other actor to date -- Moore was nearing 60 and unfortunately showing his age by the time they released For Your Eyes Only in 1981.
I soon began fighting a battle with my inner child. I wasn't entirely sure that I wanted to revisit Moore's era. It could be a little rough (or a lot, depending on the film). But I wanted to readily go into this reevaluation of Moore's films with an open mind. I will try my best to avoid what could very well be a painful revisit. I kept telling myself, "have fun with it, like you're ten years old again."
OCTOPUSSY (1983)
Directed by John Glen
Written by George MacDonald Fraser, Richard Maibaum, and Michael G. Wilson
Ian Fleming (story)
Running Time: 2 hours, 11 minutes
Original Verdict:
Moore is seriously showing his age but apparently can still attract an audience and a paycheck. A weak script along with an aging bond are no match for the knife-throwing twins along with a traveling circus and a mostly absurd plot. Sneaking the film score into the flute of a snake charmer, as an undercover agent attracting Bond's attention, was a pretty lame act, too.
Rating: 2 out of 5.
Just as it was with the last ReBONDing post, it had been a good while since I last watched Octopussy (15 years or more). It was a letterboxed VHS copy which was a part of a "Deluxe Box Set" most likely purchased for an ungodly sum at the Suncoast Motion Picture Company back in the early 1990s. (A lot of my hard-earned money was blown at the now extinct retailer.)
At some point between then and the early 2000s, my love of film grew considerably. And with it, I also developed an ever-growing critical eye that quite often turned me into a bit of a film snob. So much so that I began to dislike a lot of movies that I used to love as a child, including several James Bond films. (For the better part of a decade I've tried to re-correct this way of thinking -- of viewing movies and TV shows with fresh eyes -- but it has been nearly impossible. Just ask my wife whenever we begin browsing titles to watch on Netflix.)
THE REEVALUATION
Even with the obvious sexual overtones (and undertones, for that matter), James Bond is a bonafide horndog in Octopussy. Maybe he's this way throughout all of his films (please keep in mind that my memory of certain elements may have faded through time), but it seems so over the top here it's almost embarrassing at times like it was written by a twelve-year-old boy who just discovered puberty. However, even with its shortcomings, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the re-watch.
The Cold Open: It's fantastic and fun. It's the perfect length, has absolutely nothing to do with the main story, and is completely ridiculous. I loved this opening as a young boy and I still love it now, even if it's just another shining example of how bad Bond is at being a "secret agent." Until he takes off in the mini-jet.
The Story: Octopussy's plot is tad complex, but it slowly unravels like a well-crafted detective novel. The audience isn't privy to any new developments until James Bond discovers them. And even when that happens, we don't truly understand what is truly at stake until we reach the film's final act. The film is well-paced, rarely slowing down, successfully keeping the audience engaged.
The Villain: Louis Jourdan chews the scenery as Kamal Khan. His performance is rather enjoyable and it's also apparent that they gave Jourdan some of the best lines in the film. Whether it's "Spend the money quickly, Mister Bond" or "You seem to have this nasty habit of surviving." The way he says "Octopussy" is worth the price of admission alone.
The Heavy: At first Octopussy feels like henchman overload, but by the film's end, the balance seems appropriate. The knife-throwing twins Mischka & Grischka who are working for maverick Soviet General Orlov behind the iron curtain pose a decent threat under the cover of Octopussy's Circus. Gobinda has a commanding presence as Khan's bodyguard, always obeying every order without question (leading to his eventual demise).
 |
| Were Octopussy's guards auditioning for a role on The Incredibles earlier that day? |
The Girls: Maud Adams performance as the powerful Octopussy works well opposite the more than obvious aging Moore. While the age-gap between Moore and his leading ladies would range anywhere from 15 to 30 years, Adams feels like the only age-appropriate love interest, and the two actually seem to have genuine chemistry. On the opposite end of the scale, Kristina Wayborn's performance as Magda comes off strangely wooden and most of her scenes feel anywhere from uncomfortable to stale at best.
The Gadgets: Bond's Acrostar mini-jet, a multi-functional pen containing an acid that dissolves all metals, a crocodile disguise that carries Bond through the croc-infested waters onto the floating palace, and a henchman's yo-yo from hell. Still quite memorable even after thirty some odd years.
What Doesn't Work: It's the little things -- the tongue-in-cheek gags -- that ruin the integrity of this film... well, other than the film's title. Some of the gags are stupid, some are silly, but all of them clearly don't age well with time. For instance, Bond's contact in India, Vijay, is undercover as a snake charmer. In order to get his attention, he plays the well-known Bond theme. Was this for the benefit of the audience? Because he could have easily played "God Save The Queen" instead without it feeling corny. The Tarzan yell. Why? Lastly, the not-so-subtle British flag-covered hot air balloon operated by Q. Seems highly impractical. Whatever happened to the importance of the word secret in secret agent anyway?
While Octopussy isn't the best of his seven-film run, it definitely isn't the worst and I think the film is overly criticized compared to Moore's last entry with A View To A Kill. Even with some of the worst screen gags that make you laugh at the movie, rather than with it, Octopussy still delivers some great action sequences and another thrilling score by John Barry who had been absent the last time round.
Just be thankful that this wasn't the year that Moore decided to retire. Connery came out of retirement to star in Never Say Never Again (a reboot of Thunderball brought on by legal battles that would haunt Eon Productions for decades) and the last thing the producers wanted was Connery competing against "the new guy" in the Summer of 1983. If Moore had said no to Octopussy, we might have ended up with the worst James Bond. Ever. I shudder at the mere thought.
Reevaluation Score: 3 out of 5.
My intention was to have two films reviewed here, but I really picked apart Octopussy, so I chose not to inundate you with two somewhat over-analyzed Moore films. I plan to be more brief with my next post (which in and of itself seems like an oxymoron).
James Bond will return...
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