Roger Moore was 53 years old when he made this James Bond movie, and he would do two more yet. But his age was showing here. Not so much in his face, but in his overall slower movements. Indeed, the script has much less physical stuff than one is used to in the 007 series. "For Your Eyes Only" is a slower film all around. It doesn't have the frenzy of a car or boat chase, or other fast actions segments. The one car chase scene with Bond in a Citroen is more funny than nail-biting. The opening has a slightly harrowing scenario with a helicopter, and there is a chase on skis. It seems that the writers have dumbed Bond down a bit as well. By that I mean, Moore doesn't show the usual savvy alertness and watchfulness. An example is when Bond climbs the monolith that St. Cyril's Monastery caps. As he reaches the top he doesn't look around to see where the guards may be. Instead he's looking down and gets caught by surprise by a guard. Bond doesn't have any new gadgets to help him out of tough spots. In all of the earlier scenes with the bad guys, Bond gets beat or chased and he never gets the upper hand. Definitely not the normal routine of James Bond. This film must have had different playwrights. The dialog was rather droll at times and it was missing the peppy and frequent witty lines that one has come to expect in the Bond films.The rest of the cast are okay, but again, it's a slow film. The song for this episode in the series is particularly good, and it did receive an Academy Award nomination. The scenery in the Eastern Mediterranean especially is beautiful.

And so James Bond enters the 1980's decade with this spectacular entry, one of the many greatest moments from Roger Moore as 007, and the first film directed by John Glen, previously an editor of several Bond films, who dominated that decade with all the 1980's Bond films. Besides the grandiosity usually brought and developed each episode goes by, this is a definitive work of the era and one that saved United Artists from vanishing after the huge financial losses they had with Cimino's "Heaven's Gate", so there's plenty reasons to be thankful to "For Your Eyes Only". Moore's fifth entry in the series is an adventure following a mysterious encryption device stolen by a powerful tycoon (Julian Glover), who as usually with the series, wants to control all the powers of be. To assist 007 there's the mortal yet lovely Melina Havelock (Carole Bouquet) whose parents were killed by this tycoon and she wants revenge; and there's also a Greek intelligence chief (Topol) who'll help MI6 and Bond in getting the device back and get rid off of the bad guys. In between, there's a forced "romance" between James and a teenage roller-skater (Lynn-Holly Johnson), protegé of the millionaire. That last part was just lame and gladly, Bond refuses her advances in between her training for the Olympics. "For Your Eyes Only" conquers viewers and Bond fans from the get go, a magnificent opening sequence where Bond is challenged by this Blofeld-like character (they couldn't use Blofeld name due to legal reasons), inside of a helicopter whose pilot was killed and Blofeld controls the air vehicle from afar, doing all possible ways to kill James - frightening sequences and greatly filmed. But there's some changes too, good and sad. Bill Conti takes over as composer, creating a nice soundtrack and a memorable theme song sung by Sheena Easton; and on the sad factor, M character is gone due to Bernard Lee's passing a few months before shooting - instead they have a ministry as head of the operation.Now the film: it's routine but the makers always find a way to break routine with outstanding action/adventure sequences that tops the ones presented in previous films. The bobsled chase is amazing (sadly, a stuntman died during the making of it); the underwater scenes when Bond and Melina are searching things inside the sunken ship is mind-blowing and there's even the villain's mini-submarine involved; a lethal henchman played by the great Michael Gothard (quite an ironic casting since his character here doesn't mutter a word while in Ken Russell's "The Devils" he was the loudest voice in the room, also a diabolical evil guy), who steals the show whenever he appears. And dramatically speaking this movie is quite well, specially when it comes to Melina's revenge about her parents killing, the movie never lost momentum when it came to those sequences - sometimes in other 007 flicks the drama is distracting. The major problem was the pacing in parts, even in some action moments and the whole thing about the teenage girl, which was embarrassing to watch, not because it couldn't happen but because it doesn't have much room to be there.Moore, as always, was a delightful class act who never missed an opportunity to throw hilarious one-liners and never failed with any of those (I think he has several during the car chase sequence). However, this has a more serious tone than some of his previous films since the producers wanted to avoid the riot and feast of absurdity "Moonraker" was - lots of fun though. Why you should go ahead with this? Well, the fore-mentioned reasons are enough; it's entertaining, exciting, rich in greatness of action, suspense and adventure, a ridiculous body count - James did the most of it -, the usual tolerable romance and Topol is a kick-ass sidekick, and let us not forget that Desmond Llewelyn as Q is also present to steal the show with his remarks and utility gadgets - the sequence where he does a profile sketch of the villain's henchman is hilarious. Bond entered the decade with grace, style, charm and lots of kills to his count. 10/10

After the Enormous Financial Success of the Ridiculous 11th Bond, "Moonraker" (1979), the Producers must be Given Credit for Returning Bond from Orbit.But the Movie is a Mixed Bag. The Numerous Chase Sequences have Gags Galore and the Bill Conti Musical Score is Unfitting and Cringe Inducing as it Prompts Scenes with a Disco Beat and almost Destroys any Thrills that Unfold.Roger Moore's Smirk and Eyebrow Arching are Toned Down a bit and that Helps and the Plot is Terra Firma Involving Spy Agencies and the Search for a Missing, could Threaten World Peace, Device and Mistaken Identities.It's Hit and Miss as the Silly First Act Involving a Manical Comic-Book Laugh from a Wheelchaired Blofeld and whose Idea was it to Show Sheena Easton's Face throughout the Title Sequence Completely Destroying the Ethereal Imagery that had Become Iconic Bond for 11 Movies. It could Make the List as one of the Biggest Missteps in Franchise History. A Franchise that Holds the Record for the Longest Continuous Ever.Overall, there are other Cringes that could be Pointed to as Unacceptable, one For Example is the Unneeded Byplay between Bond and the Underage Teenager. But the Movie's other Bond Girls are Multi-Dimensional Figures with Agendas and Respectfully Fulfill the "Character" and here are More Serious than Ever.The Good does Outweigh the Bad as Bond Films Go and this is Considered by many as the Best Roger Moore, but is Nowhere Near the Best Bond Film that, as Stated Earlier, is Still Going Strong.Long Live James Bond, Your Film History is Plentiful, but Inconsistent. This one has Plenty of the Expected and Needed Experience that Fans Demand, but the Movie is Inconsistent.

I like this film a lot. I this is the best Moore bond. It goods back to the grittier bonds of old. I would give this 10 for 10 but the skating parts drag it down a bit. Although it is nice to see Lynn Holly Johnson. The villain is very subtle but still dangerous. There are no real gadgets per se which is nice for a change. I really enjoy seeing Sheena Easton in the title song part. I think this is the only time you actually see the person singing the title song. I like watching Topol interacting bond. They don't know if they should trust each other. When I watch this bond I eat pistachios by the bowl full. My favorite scene is at the end where bond climbs the mountain. It is exciting. Also, bond takes the bad guys with limited men and simple weapons.