Octopussy

I recently sat down and watched Octopussy for the first time from start to finish in probably a decade. It was never my favorite, there were flaws but it still was okay. Seeing it again I was kind of surprised, some typical Roger Moore silliness aside the film actually is pretty good.

The plot of the film has to do with a Soviet general using Russian treasures for how own ends. He’s mixed up with Kamal Khan and a woman known as Octopussy who think that it’s a simple jewel robbery when in fact it’s something darker. British Intelligence isn’t sure what is going on and they send in James Bond.

The Roger Moore Bonds are cinematically odd. A weird mix of humor and action the ones that were too silly have aged badly (Moonraker, View to a Kill) while the more realistic ones (For Your Eyes Only and this) actually stand up as fine action films. Looking back now the Moore films make many film fans wince if they didn’t grow up watching them. Yes they are fun goofs, but any tension that might have been there is wrecked by the sense Bond is never going to be hurt even remotely.

However in For Your Eyes Only and here in Octopussy the possibility of injury is kind of real. For example here in Octopussy Bond is injured at the end. Yes its turned on its head but its one of the few time in any film where his injuries are more than a scratch.

For me seeing the film for the first time in years it was kind of a revelation. Yes the film is extremely sexist, I mean the dress of Octopussy's girls is a dead give away, But at the same time if you strip away the nonsense and for give the intrusive silliness it's actually one of the better Bond films.

Seeing this film again for the first time made me actually want to go back and rewatch the earlier films because I realized that past the hype and past the constant cable TV rtation the films are pretty good adventures.