For Your Eyes Only

1981 "No one comes close to James Bond, 007."
6.7| 2h8m| PG| en| More Info
Released: 26 June 1981 Released
Producted By: United Artists
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: https://www.mgm.com/movies/for-your-eyes-only
Synopsis

A British spy ship has sunk and on board was a hi-tech encryption device. James Bond is sent to find the device that holds British launching instructions before the enemy Soviets get to it first.

... View More
Stream Online

Stream with Prime Video

Director

Producted By

United Artists

AD
AD

Watch Free for 30 Days

Stream on any device, 30-day free trial Watch Now

Trailers & Images

Reviews

KnotMissPriceless Why so much hype?
Helloturia I have absolutely never seen anything like this movie before. You have to see this movie.
Sanjeev Waters A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.
Jakoba True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.
connorbbalboa It is saddening to hear about Roger Moore's passing in recent weeks. Looking back at his work, regardless of how good or bad his James Bond films were, he really did put as much effort into the role as he could and developed his own personality for the role, filling it with a sense of humor. He was also one of the more British-looking actors to play Bond, which helped him physically seem the part.For Your Eyes Only, his fifth Bond film, has him investigating the disappearance of the ATAC system, which can control British submarines. Tagging alongside him is Melina Havelock (Carole Bouquet), whose parents-both hired by the British government to find ATAC-are killed by hit-man Hector Gonzales. With the help of assassin Columbo (Topol), they find out that Aristotle Kristatos (Julian Glover) is planning to give the ATAC system to the Soviet Union to accomplish his own ends.Moore gives one of his best performances as Bond in the film, albeit with a more serious personality than usual. This was part of director John Glen's intention to go back to basics and make this film simpler after the ridiculousness of Moonraker. Bond's one-liners are kept to a minimum and he seems very emotionally aware of the conflicts surrounding the side characters, such as Melina, who wants revenge on Kristatos for hiring Gonzales to kill her parents. His aggressiveness is especially shown when he knocks a car with one of Kristatos' henchmen off a cliff.Bouquet is one of the most beautiful Bond girls in the franchise, but her character is nothing special, being one of the many Bond girls who wants revenge on somebody for a past sin. Glover, while pulling off a good performance, is uninteresting as a villain, as he only wants to get money from the ATAC, although this could have been an intentional choice to keep things grounded. Some of the action is exciting, like when Bond climbs the mountain to Kristatos' base, but some set pieces are reused from other Bond films, like the skiing, already used in On Her Majesty's Secret Service and the opening of The Spy Who Loved Me.Perhaps, however, the biggest flaw of this film, is how the book-ending scenes contradict the whole intention to be more serious. In the opening scene, Bond visits his wife's grave (see On Her Majesty's Secret Service), and is later trapped in a helicopter by Blofeld (not identified as such because of a legal battle with Kevin McClory over the rights to the Thunderball story), whom Bond later drops down a chimney. Blofeld speaks in a ridiculously-accented voice none of the previous incarnations had and when Bond scoops him up, he pleads for his life, stupidly offering to buy Bond a delicatessen. What could have been an emotional payback scene is reduced to bad comedy (Blofeld killed his wife). Also, at the end of the film, Bond and Melina are getting ready to skinny-dip, but they are interrupted by the Secret Service, and Bond somehow directs the line of communication to former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who starts talking with Melina's parrot while Bond and Melina finally go on their swim. This is not as contradictory to the film's goal as On Her Majesty's Secret Service was to its goal to present a more emotional Bond story, but it can take a more serious-minded Bond fan out of the movie.For Your Eyes Only is most likely Roger Moore's second best Bond film after The Spy Who Loved Me. It has a one-dimensional villain, repeated set-pieces, and unneeded book-ending scenes, but in the end, there is more good than bad, mainly because of Moore's more serious performance. The newer action scenes help too. One last thing to mention: Lynn-Holly Johnson plays a skater girl who falls in love with Bond, despite the fact that she's still a teen and he's in his fifties (Moore hadn't exactly aged that much at this point). Creepy? Sure, but Bond does the right thing and doesn't sleep with her.
bensonmum2 A British spy ship, operating off the coast of Albania, is sunk. The ship was carrying the British ATAC system. The ATAC is a device used to secretly coordinate the movements of Britain's submarine fleet. If the ATAC were to fall into enemy hands, they would be able to track naval movements. James Bond is called in to find the ATAC.What works for me: 1. Tone – I appreciate the more serious tone of For Your Eyes Only. Gadgets are kept to a minimum. The final assault on the mountain fortress is a real highlight of the movie and was filmed in a very realistic fashion. And baddie Aristotle Kristatos' plan is also realistic. He's not trying to take over the world or steal space shuttles or anything like that. His plan is to get his hands on the ATAC and sell it to the highest bidder – something that's completely believable. Finally, Roger Moore was a decent enough Bond, but he turned into something of a joke to me, spitting out cringe inducing quip after quip. Not so much here. After the goofiness of Moonraker, a more serious Bond film was more than welcome. Unfortunately for the Bond series, this more serious tone would not last long.2. Carole Bouquet as Melina Havelock – What a fantastic Bond girl! Not only beautiful, but smart, brave, and capable in her own right. Her crossbow skills are on point. 3. The Underwater Scenes – The scenes where Bond and Melina are dragged through the sea are as good as anything you'll find in a Bond movie, filled with exciting and dangerous looking moments. Also, the underwater photography in For Your Eyes Only is stunning. Really gorgeous stuff.What doesn't work for me:1. Some of the Logic – If you want to make sure the Soviets do not get their hands on a strategic military device that is sitting at the bottom of the sea, why not head there first? Why does Bond head to the Alps for what almost appears to be a holiday? He knows exactly where the ATAC is – just go get it. But, I suppose that would have taken at least an hour off the movie's runtime and we couldn't have that.2. Lynn Holly-Johnson as Bibi Dahl – How annoying can one human being be? I still think that Denise Richards' Christmas Jones is the worst Bond girl in the series' history, but Bibi Dahl is a close second.3. Kristatos – I hope I'm not contradicting myself, but while I appreciate the realism in Bond villain Kristatos, he's very unremarkable and unmemorable. I'd most likely put Kristatos near the bottom of the Best Bond Villain List (if I had one).Overall, For Your Eyes Only is a solid entry in the Bond series. It's not without its faults, but it's an enjoyable enough experience and a considerable improvement over its predecessor. I really appreciate the film's tone. If only Bond had not made what seems to be the unnecessary side-trip to the Alps and everything that entailed (like meeting Bibi), I would probably rate this one much higher. I'm still giving it a rock-solid 7/10.
haln8 Was recently catching up on some James Bond movies available on Amazon Prime before they got yanked off. One of the ones I caught that I hadn't seen in a while was For Your Eyes Only. I fell asleep during one of the ski scenes. While watching it I had a thought. Roger Moore played the role of James Bond the Longest--well I guess he's technically tied with Connery because Connery did the unofficial one in 1983, but still the guy did a lot of Bond movies. A couple of questions came to mind--how was Moore able to make so many and how did James Bond survive the 1970's and early to mid 1980's? From Connery's last awful "Diamonds Are Forever" to Moonraker finishing Moore's career in the mid '80's with A View To a Kill. For Your Eyes Only probably represents the best of Moore's 1980's films. Dang though he was old by this time. It's one thing to have an old Indiana Jones or Han Solo, but James Bond was never meant to be an old timer and even if Moore was in pretty good shape he was still old. They should have changed him out at that time with Timothy Dalton. Moore's Bond movies were two cheesy and again his age got in the way. The best of his films were probably The Spy Who Loved Me and Live and Let Die was okay. Also, too many of his movies had ski chase scenes on the snow and For Your Eyes Only probably represented the longest ski chase scene and it was pretty boring. Moore should have never been selected anyway based on age. He was in his mid 40's by the time he did his first Bond movie. All other actors who have played Bond were younger. Well, despite the Moore years, James Bond survived. Looks like someone may be taking over for Daniel Craig now.
tomasg-69814 Definitely the best James Bond movie of J.B Mk. III - The Roger Moore Era - I think. Many Bond-fans I think applies with me, not every other one, of course.. I've read biographies from crew and cast - and other logs from the crossover between the 70's and the 80's - that the hubris and anticlimax that followed a movie called Moonraker caused some hang-over in the production team. There was, at the time, no plans of topping that expensive "space-flick". Get back to earth, bring back some of the good old-fashioned spy story.John Glen's debut in the director's seat (had been assistant/2nd unit for several times) was a terrific start to the 80's. The whole movie throughout is impregnated by a sense of re-start, and a "think things over"-feeling. Discussions of inviting Steven Spielberg to direct had been around, so was a thought of giving Timothy Dalton his debut as 007. Many rumors circulated at the time of giving this movie its blueprints.....OK, Roger Moore already showed some signs of ageing here, 53 years old. (Some age for a supposed to be fit and athletic MI6 agent.....) But, the character was already well worked in, the audience had learned to love the charming gentleman, who jumped in and out of hard trials. (With some hindsight, maybe this movie should have been an honorable farewell for Roger, a good-bye in flying colors, handing over the baton to, let's say Dalton.) But they played it safe for another while...The movie itself has aged well. Feels quite modern some 35 years later. Great stunts as the thrilling opening chopper scene, and the famous Citroën 2CV car chase. To complete the fresh and innovative theme song during the pre-credits, Maurice Binder cuts in performer for the first time, shown in figure. Female artist Sheena Easton completes her lovely voice with an appearance on screen, to the delight of the male audience. An airy, atmospheric tune with just the right touch for kicking off the 80's. The ATAC head story, and the "avenge the Havelock's"-story, matches each other well. Carole Bouquet's plays a strong, independent and sensitive woman. Not just being James Bond's amusement, as many of them in 007 past. I also think that the audience welcomed a more human villain, rather than a psychotic billionaire who's planning to destroy the world. Julian Glover performs well, and professionally cushioned.In my opinion, it's one of the very best compounded and successfully collected James Bond Movies. 9 out of 10.