The chemistry between Roger Moore (as James Bond) and Lois Maxwell (as Moneypenny) is getting quite revolting by now. They both look like someone’s grandparents. Lois even looks like she could be a cross dresser. But she’s been in that position since the start of the Sean Connery era and stays throughout the Roger Moore era. We only get a new Miss Moneypenny when the Timothy Dalton era begins. Still, better late than never.
After a nice ski chase in the opening of The Spy Who Loved Me, Roger Moore does another one in For Your Eyes Only, but this time with a bit more context. It works quite well. It includes some brushing through alpine trees, and may have somewhat inspired Timothy Dalton’s epic snow chase on a cello case in The Living Daylights (1987).
For a movie that’s trying to be more romantic than usual, there’s a lack of attractive women in this one. Still, French actress Carole Bouquet plays Melina Havelock, the lead female, and makes for a slightly interesting character.
One of the best things about this movie is when Bond teams up with a well resourced guy called Milos Columbo – someone who Bond initially thought to be his enemy – played quite well by Chaim Topol.
There’s a couple of long diving scenes in this movie, which includes the use of small submarine-type vessels as well as independent scuba diving and some completely unassisted breath-holding diving too. It initially seems to drag on a bit too long for those who have seen it before, but scuba divers and underwater explorers may appreciate it, and gets a bit more interesting after a while (when James Bond and Melina Havelock get caught and tied up but make their escape).
The ending has a nice cliff-climbing and fortress infiltration scene.
John Wyman plays KGB agent Erich Kriegler, the main antagonist in terms of brawn, while Julian Glover plays Aristotle Kristatos, the main antagonist in terms of brains. They both do a fair job but nothing amazing.
I have to say this feels like one of the weakest Bond movies, so I’m going to rate it Lower-OK, below most of the others. It lacks a great enemy or a great female or a great plot, but Roger Moore still pulls it off in his usual style. Although Roger Moore went on to do a couple more Bond movies after this one – namely Octopussy (1983) and A View To A Kill (1985) – the shortcomings in this movie (For Your Eyes Only, 1981) may have inspired Sean Connery to come back with Never Say Never Again, produced outside of the usual Eon Productions team, and released shortly after Moore’s next movie Octopussy in 1983.