Octopussy

Octopussy (1983)

Runtime: 131 minutes

Directed by: John Glen

Starring: Roger Moore, Maud Adams, Louis Jourdan, Steven Berkoff, Vijay Amritraj

From: United Artists

I know I am still out of order in watching Bond films, but I figured after the bad Friday and the horrible thing that happened in Connecticut, why not watch a Bond that is a little too “punny” at times (and didn't need a Tarzan yell inserted into one scene) but still is quite entertaining, at least to me. I know people seem to have wildly different opinions for this (even more so than a typical Bond movie); despite the hate I still dig this one.

The plot... well, let me steal it from the IMDb: “A fake Fabergé egg and a fellow agent's death leads James Bond to uncovering an international jewel smuggling operation, headed by the mysterious Octopussy, being used to disguise a nuclear attack on NATO forces.” Yep.

The movie does start off on a good note in what looks like some fictional desert country (might as well call it Val Verde) with 007 flying a personal aircraft all about and causing a massive explosion in an airplane hangar. You then get into the main story, which I won't reveal; yeah, I realize what the movie is actually about isn't made clear for a good amount of time, but unlike the complaint I've heard about it being “boring”, I usually do not think it's dull at all. You do spend a good amount of time in the exotic country of India (at least what you see isn't the worst parts of that country) and then you end up in East Germany, with a rogue Russian general (Berkoff, who devours the scenery... in a good way), a circus, and more.

Like I said it's one of the lighter Bond movies as you have a good amount of humor, even if sometimes it isn't really needed. I do say there's a lot to like, from the comedy of them being able to make a movie called Octopussy, the tremendously wacky thing that Octopussy is, the contact in India (Amritaj, a former tennis player) being a dude you like, to some pretty ladies being present, and then you have nice action scenes overall, from the opening to a lot of action in and all over a train, to the ending where you see some incredible things on a train. You also get plenty of wackiness, such as 007 wearing some less than dignified outfits, to Bond insinuating that Q has problems with erectile dysfunction, to old James being fascinated with a woman's cleavage as if he was a 15 year old boy.

Overall, I still like this film and once I finally rate all the Moore Bond movies, this will be in the top half, I'll put it that way. I'll be back Monday night.