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| Octopussy |
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  (7/10)
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Runtime: 131 |
| Public Rating: 8.86 (22 votes) |
Director: John Glen |
MPAA Rating:  |
| Genre: Action adventure |
Year: 1983 |
| Writer(s): Ian Fleming (story); George MacDonald Fraser, Richard Maibaum & |
| Reviewed by: Le Apprenti |
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“All Time High” is what Roger Moore is gearing for in his second-last outing as Ian Fleming’s famous superspy. Although a worthy successor to Sean Connery, his Bond films failed to scale the heights set by the original 077. His debut in Live And Let Die is overshadowed by blaxploitation-styled villains. The Man With The Golden Gun is best remembered for Christopher Lee in the title role, midget Nick Nack, and bikini-clad Britt Ekland while 2 months pregnant. The sci-fi oriented Moonraker was an attempt to cash in following the success of Star Wars and Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, but is notorious for Jaw’s slapstick villany, his humorous romance with a girl, and his eventual hero turn. Nothing about For Your Eyes Only is memorable. His final run in A View To A Kill was handicapped by age and lack of substance. Which leaves Octopussy as his only other all time high accomplishment as 007 alongside The Spy Who Loved Me.
If there is one thing Octopussy is remembered for, it is the myriad of colorful characters, exotic locales and intriguing twists. Bond’s investigation of the appearance of an egg-shaped jewel introduces him to wealthy India-based estate owner Kamal Khan (Louis Jourdan), a powerful and influential businessman of dubious dealings and of Russian background. He affords his own security personnel armed with rifles and machine-guns, a personal assistant/henchman Gobinda (Kabir Bedi) who never cracks a smile, and a voluptuous blond siren Magda (Kristina Wayborn). He affiliates himself with an international jewelry smuggler aptly named Octopussy (Maud Adams), who runs an all-women cult devoted to her profession. At the same time, he plots with Russian General Orlov (Steven Berkoff) to perpetrate acts far more deadly than mere jewelry theft. After which, the attention shifts away completely from the egg.
Like Moore’s Bond films before, the action sequences are the cream of the crop. The pre-opening scene has Bond in a little jet plane out-maneuvering a barrage of machine-guns and a surface-to-air rocket. This is complimented in the finale by another airplane with him hanging on top of it for dear life as it accelerates at an alarming rate and flies upside down. The Land of the Taj Mahal provides many creative situations for his showdowns with Khan’s men – the crowded marketplace, Octopussy’s island, and the safari hunt in the jungle – before moving on to trains and the circus in Germany. Resident MI-6 inventor Q (Desmond Llewelyn) has some share of the action for the first time since his debut back in Dr. No.
The wealth of characters would almost rival that of Goldfinger, had they have more depth. Octopussy’s criminal background takes a backseat to her amorous romances as the leading Bond girl. Adams, in her second Bond film, is exceptionally sensual and radiant in the title role. She has terrific chemistry with Moore, but little with the rest of the cast. Bedi is intense as henchman Gobinda. Though not as intimidating as Oddjob or Jaws, he is silent yet strong and skilled in many weapons. Twin knife throwers Mischka (David Meyer) and Grischka (Anthony Meyer) provide supporting villain roles. Of all the villains, Khan is chosen to be the brains among all the villains since is given no distinguishing characteristics. Very little is revealed about his background. Although he has a British accent, the story suggests he isn’t. These are the better characters. Unfortunately, there are some worse ones. Orlov is a ridiculous attempt at the “mad world-conqueror” routine, with Berkoff’s take on him playing up to the stereotype. In place of frequent Bond ally Felix Leiter is Vijay, in a colorless performance by tennis pro Vijay Amritraj. His best effort is fighting the bad guys with a tennis racquet. Wayborn, the other prominent Bond girl, is plain beautiful. As Magda, her only redeeming qualities are the little octopussy tattoo on her lower back and her 2-storey descent using her saree as a makeshift rope.
Octopussy marks Robert Brown’s debut as M, with Lois Maxwell and Walther Gotell reprising their roles as Moneypenny and General Anatol Gogol respectively. Rita Coolidge sings the theme song “All Time High” in this action-driven exotic adventure of 007 that does live up to the song title. Sadly, Moore did not retire from the role at this point. Already showing signs of aging, he would go on to do A View To A Kill, bringing his all time high to a low point before bowing out.
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