After The Spy Who Loved Me, it's Roger Moore's best 007 outing and it's a real throwback to the more espionage-influenced style of the early Sean Connery pictures.
From the very opening sequence it's clear that the silliness of Moonraker is long behind us. A solemn Bond is seen placing flowers at the gravesite of his dead wife Tracy. It's a subtle and powerful moment.
The more serious tone permeates throughout, especially when it comes to the backstory of one the most stunning and soulful Bond girls, the crossbow-bearing Carole Bouquet. Other than Barbara Bach, no Bond girl has more agency in this era and her presence helps Moore up his game.
The movie, paring down on gadget and one liners, has more of a realistic story and tone. The stunts are phenomenal -- from a breathtaking ski chase to a truly scary climb up the side of a mountain. As always, the sets and locales are stunning, but the story here is the strongest element, which is simple and direct in the best way. There are no supervillains trying to take over the world here, just a smuggler trying to sell a valuable piece of military hardware to the highest bidder.
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| Carole Bouquet |
This was Bond's first foray into the '80s, not always remembered as his best decade, but the film's start to get a little harder-edged from here on out which is ultimately a great thing for the series. The pace of this film is also better than its predecessor, instead of a last act that drags -- the film builds to a peak and a surprisingly ambiguous pay-off.
Moore's Bond films are often dismissed as too silly and slapstick, to those critics I see and raise you For Your Eyes Only, a strong thriller with real heart and wit.
My rankings so far:
1) From Russia With Love
2) The Spy Who Loved Me
3) Goldfinger
4) For Your Eyes Only
5) Live and Let Die
6) Dr. No
7) On Her Majesty's Secret Service
8) You Only Live Twice
9) Diamonds Are Forever
10) Thunderball
11) Moonraker
12) The Man with the Golden Gun
Liz's take: I do feel like this one was a distinct change heralding the advent of the 1980s, whereas the transition from the 1960s Bond films to the 1970s ones wasn't as noticeable. That may because you had Lazenby in the middle. I like that the film was a more realistic portrayal of 007. The characters aren't as campy. There's still humor but never crosses the line.
If you're going to do camp -- do The Man with the Golden Gun -- but if you want a serious Bond, this is the one for you. The Bond girl was awesome. My three favorites so far are Tracy Bond, Agent XXX and this one. They're my favorites because the film actually bothers to give them all a backstory with real weight and they're not just a sidekick for 007. The best Bond girls can hold their weight against him, can contribute to the plot and the action. Carolina Bouquet was stunning and just may be my favorite Bond girl to date.
The villain (played by Julian Glover) was interesting because you honestly don't see it coming that he is the bad guy, which is a cool twist. Meanwhile, the character initially set up to be Bond's enemy, turns out to be a charming ally, a kind of Greek 007 -- played by Topol.
I like that the villain's motivations are more realistic -- he's just a bad person looking to make money and he was really scary in a chilling sort of way. I especially thought the scene where he dragged Bond and the heroine under water was really cold and he was very menacing in that.
This one is very high up there on the list for me. This is a really strong Bond film.
Liz's rankings:
1) On Her Majesty's Secret Service
2) For Your Eyes Only
3) Goldfinger
4) Dr. No
5) Live and Let Die
6) The Man with the Golden Gun
7) The Spy Who Loved Me
8) Moonraker
9) You Only Live Twice
10) From Russia With Love
11) Diamonds Are Forever
12) Thunderball
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