Octopussy
1983
Director: John Glen
Starring: Roger
Moore, Maud Adams, Louis Jordan, Desmond Llewelyn, Kristina Wayborn
Rated PG
You must be joking!
007 on an island populated exclusively by women? We won't see him till dawn!
~Q
STATS
Kills: 10 + unknown amount in a hangar explosion
Bond Girls:
Octopussy, Magda
Car: Bond steals an Alfa Romeo GTV6
Locales: India, West
Germany
Odd Villain Trait: Gobinda, a big strong muscle man who
wears a turban
Song: “All Time High”
performed by Rita Coolidge
Octopussy marks a
complete step in the opposite direction of its predecessor. Gone is the gritty reality and in comes the
goofball. On paper, Octopussy could have been a notable achievement in the series. In execution, Octopussy is an effort fueling the Roger Moore era as a laughing
stock or embarrassment in the series. Soviet General Orlov, exhiled Afghan prince Kamal Khan and
jewel smuggler Octopussy are running a series of Faberge Egg purchases and
swapping them with fakes. Somehow this
winds up in Orlov and Khan plotting to set off a nuclear warhead at a US Air
Base in West Germany during a circus, making it look like the US did it
themselves. James Bond is on the job,
per usual, filling in for 009 who is killed after recovering one of the fake
eggs from the circus.
We’ve talked about the borrowing from other genres multiple
times here. I couldn’t help but feel a
lot of this was an answer to Raiders of
the Lost Ark. The scenery, the
action, the search for these treasures/artifacts definitely felt ripped from
it. Oddly enough, though it came a year
later, there’s a lot of Temple of Doom
familiarity here as well. Especially the
scene when Khan eats the sheep’s head.
Also, was he named Khan due to the popular Star Trek character from the year before? Octopussy features
plenty of action scenes. But, they’re
handled so carelessly there’s nothing to write home about. There’re stupid details like crowd reactions
keeping from the enjoyment. We even get
a camal’s reaction. All the guys Bond is
running from/fighting are over the type stereotypes from any sort of children’s
tales. Racially, this can definitely
come across as the Indian version of You
Only Live Twice. There’s also a lot
of going too far with believability that just comes off as offensive. And a big one comes in the final showdown on
the plane. It’s almost insulting when you’ve
been watching for over two hours and are treated to it for your finale.
The trios of villains given to us are lame. Orlov is just your stereotypical Soviet
baddy. Khan looks like a complete Dr. No
clone and his performance is rather groanworthy. Octopussy is a villain in this whole, whether
she’s involved with the bomb or not, but is allowed to go free at the end? I really didn’t understand this. She WAS a part of this whole scheme, but
because she likes 007’s Quantum of Penis, she’s scott-free at the end. Maud Adams does deliver a much better
performance this time. Good thing, too,
she’s had nine years to practice. On paper, Octopussy
should have been known for its 40 minute chase to stop the bomb at the
end. The idea of this sounds
fantastic. In the end, and following the
film leading up to it, it’s just poorly executed and you just don’t care. Had a better movie come prior to the point,
it might be cool. But with the overall
dopey feel of Octopussy, it just
feels excessive and like too much at this point.
To continue the running theme of “lame”, let’s talk about
the theme song. For one, this didn’t
feel like a title Bond song at all. It
felt like a rejected theme for an 80’s television series. Like a rejected theme for the show Moonlighting. Its just kinda lazy sounding and nothing
really sticks out. The opening sequence isn’t too bad. It’s kinda fun. It revolves around Bond in a mini airplane
dodging a heat seeking missile. It’s the
weakest of the Moore “stunt” openers, but still fun. But in a way, it’s a bit of foreshadowing of
what’s to come in the movie.
Octopussy is
regarded in 007 fan circles generally as favorably mediocre to middle of the
pack in terms of where it stands. I cannot
see where people are getting this. This
one is really bad. This is the one film
giving the entire Roger Moore era a bad rap.
Man with the Golden Gun was
boring, but it didn’t flat out stupefy the series. This one is never mentioned (aside from Bond
dressing as a clown) when discussing the series. It should be.
Roger Moore was ready to retire from Bond after For Your Eyes Only, but was begged back due to wanting to keep
familiarity with these series in competing for Never Say Never Again. It
shows that he just doesn’t give a rip at this point. His performance is just that stereotypical
Roger Moore that people seem to think about when thinking back on the
series. Scott Mendelson once told me “I
couldn’t tell you six things about Octopussy”.
He’s right. And maybe that’s why
its never looked back on negatively, people instantly want to wipe their brains
of it following their viewing.
Brandon Peters will OFFICIALLY return in From a View to a Kill (but we’ll get rid
of that pesky “From”).
Brandon Peters will UNOFFICIALLY return in Never Say Never Again.
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E-mail – naptownnerd@gmail.com
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