For Your Eyes Only (1981) - film review

When a fishing trawler is sunk by an old naval mine in the Ionian Sea, Britain’s entire defences are suddenly put at risk.  The trawler was equipped with a hi-tech communications device named ATAC (Automatic Targeting Attack Communicator) which coordinates the Royal Navy’s fleet of nuclear submarines. If this were to fallen into enemy hands, the submarines could be directed to attack Britain.  Marine archaeologist Timoth Havelock is hired by the British government to recover ATAC, but he is killed by Cuban assassin Hector Gonzales before he can send in his report.   Havelock’s daughter Melina narrowly avoids being killed in the attack and swears to avenge her father’s death.  British secret agent James Bond is sent to Spain to look for Gonzales and identify his employer.  Before he can make contact, the assassin is killed by Melina.  Just before he died, Gonzales was paid off by another gangster-type.  This provides Bond with another lead that takes him to the influential Greek businessman Aris Kristatos, who turns out to have connections with the KGB...

The eleventh entry in the original series of James Bond films produced by Albert R. Broccoli showed a drastic change from what had gone before and was a concerted attempt to inject more realism into the series, making it closer in spirit to Ian Fleming’s original novels.  After the gadget-oriented excesses and comic-book escapades of the preceding three or four Bond films, For Your Eyes Only is refreshingly different, a more traditional spy thriller with believable characters and an intelligent plot.

The film marks the directing debut of John Glen, who had previously worked as an editor (on three previous Bond films and the hit TV series Danger Man) and who would direct each of the following four Bond films.   Glen’s work is far less assured than that of his predecessors, but also far less bombastic and complacent.  This new broom succeeds in bringing a gritty reality to the film, particularly the action sequences which, for once, convey a genuine sense of danger. 
 
For Your Eyes Only is clearly a marked improvement on what went before but it is far from perfect.  The cinematography, camerawork and editing are unpolished and, at times, look distinctly amateurish, making this the dullest looking (and therefore most easily forgotten) of all the Bond films.  The disco-inspired score, so painfully redolent of the eighties, becomes unendurable after about ten minutes.  And, sad to say, the camp humour hasn’t been entirely eliminated.  The silly opening sequence, in which Bond apparently rids himself of Blofeld once and for all, is eclipsed by an even sillier end sequence, in which Margaret Thatcher pops up to be propositioned by a parrot.   (If the parrot had said something more risqué, like "Show us yer knickers" this latter scene might just have redeemed itself.)  The less that is said about Sheena Easton’s monstrosity of a theme song the better.  Just make sure you have the ear plugs close to hand.

For Your Eyes Only is a well-meant but not entirely successful attempt to reinvigorate the Bond series at a time when it was beginning to lose its appeal.  Roger Moore has never looked more convincing in the role of Bond, although you do sense he is growing tired of the part and that the series could benefit from a change of lead actor.  Carole Bouquet’s character is also an interesting progression, a Bond girl who is central to the plot rather than just a decorative accessory.  Whilst it may lack the boisterous fun and outlandish charm of earlier Bond films, this one at least has the merit of being true to Ian Fleming’s original concept.  Surely, to coin a phrase, things could only get better?

© Chris Alderton 2010

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