For You Eyes Only (John Glen, 1981) Review

If James Bond films were crisp flavours, this one would defiantly be ready salted...and by that I mean bland and plain. Doesn't mean it's bad (ready salted is one of my favourite flavours), it just means that it's not that interesting and its pretty boring. Well, that certainly set up my opinion of this film didn't it! To be honest, this is the true follow-up to The Spy Who Loved Me (Moonraker was a distraction from this...maybe because space was more interesting). Without furter ado (adieu? SERIOUSLY SOMEONE! HELP ME HERE!), let's take a look.

The film begins with Bond (Roger Moore) visiting the grave of his wife, Tracey (who you might remember from On Her Majesty's Secret Service) until Blofeld (back to his 'head off-screen' ways) intervenes  Bond manages to get the upper hand and finally finish him off once and for all. Meanwhile, a communication device is lost when a British spy ship is sunk. Bond is sent to recover the device but must get it before the Russians do. He teams up with Melina Havelock (Carole Bouquet), whose parents were murdered, and Milos Colombo (Topol). Another man, Aristotle Kristatos (Julian Glover), accuses Colombo of having links with the Russians while Colombo accuses Kristatos of the same. Bond must retrieve the device and find the traitor he's working with.

The opening scene is everything Diamonds Are Forever should have been: revenge against Blofeld (and don't give me this crap that it isn't Blofeld as so many people try to tell us...he's bald, in a chair, wants to kill Bond and has a cat...it's Blofeld). Anyway, let's focus on the film. Julian Glover is a good idea for a Bond villain (WHOOPS Spoilers...) and is actually pretty brutal. Sadly, he is sort of swamped by other great villains. He is an underrated villain. Melina is one of the more competent Bond girls but comes up a bit...bland. They're's nothing really unique about here. Colombo is a great character though...he's awesome.

One thing to address, Bibi Dahl (Lynn-Holly Johnson) is a TERRIBLE character! My God, is she annoying. I'm pretty sure she's the only girl Bond's met that he didn't want in bed...damn. The plot is also pretty basic and it's at this point (or, more accurately, Moonraker is) that the plots seem to repeat each other as this is a weird mix of Thunderball and On Her Majesty's Secret Service...also this is one of the only Bond films with continuity thanks to the opening. I respect that.

For Your Eyes Only is a pretty basic and bland Bond film but has lots of good things in it such as the villain and the opening. Also the theme song is great. I love it! While the plot seems recycled (I might be wrong about that though) and there are some pretty annoying characters, the action is fantastic and has one very satisfying ending. This is a much forgotten Bond film that is much better than Moonraker.

Verdict:
7.5/10
While it may seem a bit bland, it features some great action and some very good characters...and some bad...