Octopussy

Rating:
Summary: One Of The Best 007 Films Yet!
Review: I have seen all the 007 movies (including The World Is Not Enough, which is AWESOME!) and this was one of the best. It has some cool gadgets, like the yo-yo saw, and an awesome fight on top of an airplane! This movie will keep you on the edge of your seat from the first five minutes!

The Story: This is Roger Moore's second to last 007 film (A View To A Kill is his last one), and the 13th movie in the series. At the beginning one of 007's fellow agents is killed, so Bond travels to India in search of the killer. There he meets Octopussy, head of a crime empire, who lives on an island populated by only women! As the movie moves on, we learn there is a far more serious problem than just a crime ring . . .

I would recommend buying this film. It is an cool movie, and Amazon.com has a great price.

Rating:
Summary: You have a nasty habit of surviving!
Review: The 13th James Bond movie. James Bond films have always been noted for their high-tech gadgetry, maniacal villains, and beautiful women. However even more noteworthy is a mixture of exotic locates; the beaches of Jamaica in DR. NO, the Swiss Alps in ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE, the Egyptian pyramids in THE SPY WHO LOVED ME, the list is endless. This time around the filmmakers would shoot in one of the most exotic locations yet - India. OCTOPUSSY holds many memorable film settings including a Monsoon Taj Mahal Palace for games of backgammon, and the lavish palaces of the villains' lair and the Octopalace. The real pleasant surprise is the choice of casting THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN's Maud Adams as the Bond girl appropriately named after the films' title, and Kristina Wayborn is blonde beauty Magda.

THE ASSIGNMENT: Several Faberge eggs have turned up for auction at international markets. Strangely one of which is a fake discovered in the dead hands of Agent 009 during an escape mission in East Germany. The real egg is being auctioned at Sotheby's, and M sends Bond out to find out more about the eggs. When the egg is purchased from Kamal Khan, a noted Prince who works for a gang of jewel thieves who replace original replicas with clever fakes, Bond learns Kamal purchased the egg to prevent it being discovered. At the same time, General Orlov has a plan of his own: with Kamal's help, he smuggles atomic bombs into a US Air Force Base held in West Germany where during a circus act the bomb will be set to detonate. This movement will strengthen the argument for nuclear disarmament leaving Western Europe defenseless for the Soviets to counterattack with nuclear weapons. Unfortunately, General Gogol is unaware of this, and it is up to 007 to save the situation.

THE VILLAINS: Louis Jourdan as Kamal Khan, Kabir Bedi as Gobinda, Steven Berkoff as General Orlov, and David and Tony Meyer as the knife-throwing twins Mischka and Grischka.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! BUY IT!

Rating:
Summary: TERRIFIC BOND FILM !
Review: Excelent Bond film with some of the smartest action films in any movie ever.
Here's proof no CG technology can match the best stuntmen in the world.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Moore
Review: The OO7 period from 1981 to 1985 was like the OO7 period from 1964 to 1967. Goldfinger and For Your Eyes Only are considered by most to be Connery and Moore's best (yet TSWLM is also considred by most to be Mooore's best), Thunderball and Octopussy are very strong follow-ups to their predecessors, and A View To a Kill and You Only Live Twice were expected to be great but fell short by a good amount. Octopussy has several great things about it including two excellent villains with the insane, power-hungry Russian General Orlov and the suave, witty Kamal Khan, a perfect combination of wit and toughness. Octopussy also features some of the best (and very underrated) henchmen in the series, with Khamal Khan's Indian strongman Gobinda and the dynamic duo, the twin brother knife throwers, Mischa and Grischa. Maud Adams and Kristina Wayborn are sexy and excellent Bond girls, and though Moore looks worn out, he gives his third best performance after TSWLM, his best performance and movie, and after FYEO, his second best performance and film. This film also has an excellent Bond feel to it.

The plot is solid, which is that Khan will explode an atomic bomb at the U.S. Air Force Base in East Berlin, which will cripple NATO forces in that area and leave it for the Soviets to take it involved with a massive jewelry heist. Rita Coolidge's title song is good, and John Barry's score is top-notch. The settings in India are beautiful, especially the Monsoon Palace and the Floating Palace. The German settings are also good.

Unlike most other OO7 films, Octopussy lacks a grand-scale climax but has more action than most Bond films for sure. For hand-to-hand combat lovers, Octopussy is a real treat. It's fights are a fight in, on top of, and off a train where Bond battles one of the knife throwers and Gobinda, in and on top of a plane where Bond battles Gobinda for the final time, on a golf cart-like car where Bond fights off several assasins, including one armed with a jinsu knife during a car chase through the streets of India. OO7 even gets stabbed, but his life is saved by "hard currency". The other hand-to-hand fights are a terrific one at Octopussy's Floating Palace where Bond beats out several of Kamal's henchmen,including one with the ingenious "yo-yo" saw and a fight near the very end at Kamal's Monsoon Palace. The other action is a shootout next to a train, two other car chases, and a very entertaining chase through the jungle. the gadgets are some of the best in the series, which are the "yo-yo" saw, a pen capable of releasing acid wich also has a listening device, a homing device planted in the Faberge egg so OO7 can listen to anyone speaking, and his watch which can track the egg thanks also to the homing device.

Overall, this is my seventh favorite OO7 film beaten by For Your Eyes Only, The Spy who Loved Me, Thunderball, From Russia With Love, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, and the all-time best, Goldfinger. If you want a fun, action-packed, suspenseful film, rent Octopussy, you won't be disappointed

Rating:
Summary: This Is the Big One for Roger
Review: This is probably Roger Moore's best Bond movie. It seems like a throwback to the 60s style of filmmaking. The pace is slower and deliberate and the dialogue seems to have more subtle wit interspersed. It has an overall nostalgic feel about it. The opening is excellent as we see Bond the spy infiltrate a banana republic air base. Bond escapes via a Bede Acrostar mini jet aircraft with a guided missile in hot pursuit.

The score by John Barry is a little vague. The action scenes he scored didn't have his old punch. It was like he was in a transitional state. He scored the early scenes very well and they had that unique Bond sound that he used to bring to the earlier films. As the film progressed the score seemed to become repetitious and tedious. He did do a good job scoring the scenes involving the Soviets, which had that eastern block flavor similar to his score for "The Quiller Memorandum."

To its credit, the film uses elements from the short stories "Octopussy" and "The Property of a Lady" by Ian Fleming in a sentimental throwback to earlier Bonds. "For Your Eyes Only" filmed just before this one, also used some of Fleming's original writings for inspiration. In that one Bond as the shark bate in-tow was taken directly from Fleming's novel "Live and Let Die."

Louis Jourdan as Kamal, in a very underrated performance, is excellent and is one of the best villains of the series. He is Bond's counterpart nemesis. It was also good to see many of the regular cast members return for this one. Desmond Llewelyn as "Q" seemed to return to his old self prior to "Diamonds Are Forever." Walter Gotell as Gogol, Geoffrey Keen as the Minister of Defense, Eva Reuber-Staier as Rublevitch, Jeremy Bullock as Smithers and Lois Maxwell as Miss Moneypenny all reprised their roles much more effectively and reminiscent to the style of the earlier Bonds. Robert Brown replaced Bernard Lee as the beloved "M." We all missed Bernard.

The film goes a little over-the-top near the end having Octopussy's troupe of beautiful amazons attack Kamal's Monsoon Palace. Then the film really goes over-the-top and under-the-top as Bond crawls all over Kamal's Beechcraft Model 18 Super H18 as it dives, loops and tailspins. I don't see anything wrong with that.

Rating:
Summary: Octopussy
Review: My mom bought this film and "For Your Eyes Only" on VHS not too long ago...and I watched both. I have my own Bond collection on DVD. This bond film has a good plot, with general Gogol taking a 'good-guy' stance in this one, opposed to one of his subordinates who wants to prolonge the cold war. Isn't it ironic that in most if not all Bond films, the villains arrogantly describe to 007 in great detail how their master plans will be executed, only to see them foiled at the last minute because of something they said?!!! I still liked this film, one of the more believable, less exaggerated Bond films, in terms of outrageous stunts. The auction, and the 'double six' scenes are very funny to watch, to see 007 and Kamal Khan size each other up. And watch out for the big guy who never speaks, and crushes dice in his hands (never a good thing). Kinda like Jaws or Oddjob. The knivethrowers are peskier than first impressions too. An enjoyable film

Rating:
Summary: Glamorous Bond film
Review: At one point in "Octopussy," Roger Moore's James Bond dons a clown suit, a disguise that needlessly reminds us that Moore's reign as Ian Fleming's master spy was characterized by humor.

After "For Your Eyes Only," which brought a welcome return to the more serious thriller mode of "From Russia With Love," this 1983 entry harks back to the more glamorous Bond film, with generally fine results. Maud Adams, previously cast in "The Man With the Golden Gun," is a welcome addition to Bond's lineup of gorgeous female adversaries (and allies) in a clever script that combines elements of two Ian Fleming short stories ("Octopussy" and "The Property of a Lady"). And veteran actor Louis Jourdan brings a sophisticated elegance to the proceedings that more recent Bond villains have lacked.

Of course, there's humor but it doesn't overtake the action, most of which is splendid, as is John Barry's score. This isn't one of the most memorable films in the series, but it's a good one.

And how did that title ever get past the ratings board of the MPAA?

Rating:
Summary: Good Movie
Review: The movie had fabulous locations and a great bad guy named Khamal Khan and his helper in the turban. Maude Adams and Roger Moore were great together. What added to the movie was Moore's dry humor ("its all in the wrist") and that crude line: "thats my little octopussy."

Rating:
Summary: A truly classic Bond film
Review: Not only one of Roger Moore's greatest Bond films, but one of the best period. The film begins with one of the best action sequences ever, Bond outruns a heatseeker in an Acrostar jet an blows up the bad guys in return. The plots switches gear when a 009 is killed in East Germany. The death was lnked to a circus which is a coverup for a diamond smuggling ring. James Bond soon is surrounded by an island full of women, led by Octopussy( Maud Adams at her hottest) who is connected with the head villian Kamal Khan and his accomplice Russian General Orlov( Stephen Berkoff, one of films most underated villians). I don't want to spoil the film for people who have never seen it, but it is classic. I bought the film on VHS when i was 10 and still have the original cover. Other great factors about this film are: the title song , sung by Rita Coolidge. Great stunts including the climactic battle on the airplane. Not to mention many beautiful women and more great Bond toys. Octopussy is truly awesome, I consider it much better than For your Eyes, but that is just me.
Octopussy is still great to watch today.

Rating:
Summary: Pierce Brosnan, take note!
Review: Like most on this site, I agree that Roger Moore had grown weary and a little "long in the tooth" by the time this film was made and released. While he seems to be enjoying himself in the role, it was time for him to retire his "license to kill".

The film, like its predecessors as well as successors, boast the patented Bond elements in the form of a power-mad Russian general (Steven Berkoff as villain #1), a contemptible Indian prince (Frenchman Louis Jourdan assaying the role of villain #2), murderous, knife-throwing twins (David and Anthony Meyer), incredible stunts, massive explosions, unbelievable gadgets, and the always alluring Bond "babes" (chief among them Maud Adams in the title role and Kristina Wayborn as Octopussy's second-in-command).

The story is formulaic, as is the custom in all Bond films.

But, at least this one allows the late Desmond Llewleyn ("Q") a chance to be a hero.

It's a shame that the moviemakers didn't afford the same respect to Lois Maxwell ("Miss Moneypenny"). By having an assistant waiting in the wings for her job, it appeared that the actress was about to be put out to pasture, a fate that probably should've befallen the movie's star before he made "A View to a Kill".

Brosnan, the current "Bond" may need to go out before the "crows feet" catch up with him.