BOND VS. BOND: THE MANY FACES OF 007

BOND VS. BOND: The Many Faces of 007. Paul Simpson. Race Point Publishing; 2015.

This huge coffee table book is divided into several informative sections. First we meet James Bond creator, Ian Fleming, and look into his background and his various 007 novels. Simpson also examines other authors who have written James Bond adventures, including John Gardner and Raymond Benson, as well as writers, such as Jeffery Deaver, who contributed only one novel. Then each actor who played Bond in the major movies -- from Sean Connery of Dr. No to Daniel Craig of Casino Royale -- gets his own chapter, and there is an additional section of other Bond portrayals, such as Barry Nelson on Climax!. There are sidebars on cars, gadgets, villains and "Bond girls." Aside from a comment here and there, the book offers no critical analysis of the books or films, but it does offer a wealth of behind-the-scenes details and is generously illustrated throughout. Major Bond fans will enjoy this enormously. 

Verdict: Beautiful tome on the most famous film series of all and then some! ***. 

CLIMAX! -- CASINO ROYALE

Barry Nelson with Michael Pate

CLIMAX! Season One; episode 3. "Casino Royale" by Ian Fleming.  1954. Director: William H. Brown Jr. Colorized. 

Nearly ten years before the film Dr., No, the character of James Bond was unveiled for the viewing public for the first time on an hour-long episode of the anthology series, Climax! Based on Ian Fleming's very first Bond novel, it follows the story rather closely: Bond -- now an American agent with "Combined Intelligence" -- must prevent the Soviet agent, Le Chiffre (Peter Lorre) -- or The Cipher -- from winning a bundle at baccarat as he has amassed huge debts which will hopefully end his effectiveness as an agent. Bullets nearly take out Bond at the very opening, and later he is subjected to torture (although nowhere near as horrific as in the novel) in a bathtub. 

Linda Christian and Peter Lorre

Although not English, Nelson makes a very adept Bond (although it's disconcerting to have him referred to as "Jimmy".) He exudes competence and class in equal measure. Matching him is Linda Christian (of The Happy Time), as French agent Valerie (a variation on the British agent Vesper Lynn). She has to deliver some romantic dialogue during a very difficult moment and comes through with flying colors. Michael Pate also scores as another agent, Clarence (as opposed to Felix) Leiter. The one disappointing cast member is, surprisingly, Peter Lorre, who fails to make Le Chiffre menacing even when he is employing pliers on Bond in a fiendish manner. By this time the actor had become too avuncular -- he simply is too perfunctory and weak as the villain. 

Roth, Lorre, Nelson, Christian

"Casino Royale" was presented LIVE, and there are no slip-ups that I could see throughout the production. Telewriters Antony Ellis and Charles Bennett intelligently adapt the source material, cutting out some of the more gruesome moments (such as a bomb meant for Bond killing two Soviet agents). The novel was an excellent introduction to 007, who is much more dimensional than he ever was in most of the films, and this TV version is quite well-done. The show is hosted by William Lundigan and Gene Roth plays one of Le Chiffre's hoodlums. Linda Christian was married to Tyrone Power for several years; after their divorce she married Edmund Purdom and that union only lasted a year.

Verdict: Very interesting Bond piece is more than just a curio. ***. 

SPIES, SPIES, AND MORE SPIES

SPIES, SPIES, AND MORE SPIES. 

This week we look at a round up of spy movies and novels, including the latest James Bond feature, Spectre; two recent James Bond novels, Solo and Trigger Mortis (love that title!); three eurospy movies featuring Tom Adams as Charles Vine, Tony Kendall as Kommissar X, and Gordon Scott as Bart Fargo; a spy spoof, Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs, starring Vincent "Just give me the money" Price; and The Girl from Rio, which is not a spy movie as such but certainly borrows all the conventions of the genre. Some of these movies are fun; others are just dreadful, not "so bad they're good" but just bad. But that's what you get with this genre: either a slick piece of entertainment or pure schlock!

SOLO -- A James Bond Novel

SOLO. A James Bond novel. William Boyd. HarperCollins; 2013.

The year is 1969 and James Bond's boss, "M," asks 007 to intercede in a civil war going on in a small West African nation, Zanzarin. Oil has been found on one tribe's land, and said tribe decides to secede instead of sharing the bounty with the entire country. The head of this new nation of Duham is Solomon Adeka, who might have to be "taken care of" because Duham is now seen as a threat to certain oil interests. Portraying a journalist, Bond infiltrates Duham with the help of a pretty agent named Blessing Ogilvy-Grant, and encounters the vicious mercenary Kobus Breed and a millionaire philanthropist named Hulbert Linck who is using his money to bring arms and more mercenaries into Duham to fight against Zanzarin forces. Betrayed by familiar faces and nearly killed, Bond winds up in Washington, D.C., on an unsanctioned (or "solo" mission) where he re-encounters some of the Duhami players as well as Felix Leiter of the CIA, and comes face to face with hard and cold facts of war and oil. Solo is a more serious and sobering James Bond novel than usual, with less of the more flamboyant aspects of the 007 books written by Ian Fleming and John Gardner. Suspenseful and intriguing, the only flaw in Solo is that there is no really memorable villain for Bond to match wits with, as Kobus Breed is merely an especially nasty underling. Still, this is a solid, entertaining Bond book. A questionable aspect of the book is how an agent of Bond's ability can be taken by surprise -- by a group of men, no less -- sneaking up on him on more than one occasion.

Verdict: Solid 007. ***.

TRIGGER MORTIS -- A James Bond Novel

TRIGGER MORTIS. A James Bond novel. Anthony Horowitz. 2015; HarperCollins.

Trigger Mortis takes place after the events of Ian Fleming's Goldfinger. James Bond is back in London co-habiting with the apparently happily bisexual Pussy Galore. Both of them are aware that this will not be a long-lasting romance, and in a scene that is somewhat comical Pussy meets up with her next lover a few chapters into the book. Then Bond is ordered to become an undercover auto racer in order to save the life of speedster Lancey Smith, who has been targeted by those nasty Russians of SMERSH. Meanwhile Bond also encounters a sinister Korean man named Jason Sin, who seems to be in league with SMERSH and unveils a diabolical plan to wipe out half of Manhattan. Sin's origin includes the horrifying true-life massacre at No Gun Ri -- in which hundreds of innocent refugees, mostly women and children and the elderly -- were mowed down by U.S. soldiers with orders to kill (although some claim this was an unfortunate "accident"), an event that had a devastating impact on the few survivors. Bond's female helpmate in this is the unfortunately named Jeopardy Lane (ugh!). Horowitz has done a good job of updating Bond and exploring his psychology while remaining faithful to the 1950's period, and there is plenty of action, hair-breath escapes and death traps, and a finale thrilling enough to please any serious 007 fan.

Verdict: Excellent James Bond adventure! ***1/2.

SPECTRE

SPECTRE (2015). Director: Sam Mendes.

James Bond (Daniel Craig) seems to have two adversaries in this outing. One is Ernst Stavros Blofield (Christoph Waltz of Inglorious Basterds [sic]), who is running the organization, SPECTRE, a group that links together previous villains and deaths in 007's sphere. The other is Max Denbigh or "C" (Andrew Scott), the head of the Center of National Security, who thinks M (Ralph Fiennes of Wrath of the Titans) and his methods are hopelessly out of date. M sends Bond out on an assignment that has him infiltrating a SPECTRE meeting, one of the best and most suspenseful scenes in the movie. Other characters include Marco Sciarra (Allesandro Cremona), who engages Bond in Mexico City, and the Bond women include Lucia (Monica Bellucci), the widow of an infamous criminal, and Dr. Madeleine Swann (Lea Seydoux), the daughter of another criminal named White (Jesper Christensen), who may have secret knowledge of SPECTRE. Craig is terrific as Bond, Waltz makes an effective Blofeld, and the other actors are good, including nice turns by Naomie Harris as Moneypenny, and Ben Whishaw as "Q." The cinematography by Hoyte Van Hoytema is excellent, and there's a good score by Thomas Newman, although the title tune is all but ruined by the dreadful "singing" of Sam Smith. A train fight doesn't compare to the one in From Russia with Love.

Verdict: Sinister, but not as thrilling as it ought to be, although it's not a bad 007 entry. ***.

BOND ... JAMES BOND

BOND ... JAMES BOND

In honor of the release of the latest James Bond movie, Spectre, this week we have a round up of 007 adventures dating from the sixties (From Russia with Love with Sean Connery) to the 21st century (Die Another Day with Pierce Brosnan) with Roger Moore and Timothy Dalton in-between. All of these gentlemen -- including the latest Bond, Daniel Craig, as well as George Lazenby -- did their own take on the famous fictional spy, and I think all of them were very good, if different.

As for the evil organization, SPECTRE, it has been around since Dr. No in 1962. Dr No was working for the Russians in Ian Fleming's novel; Spectre, run by Ernest Stavros Blofeld, was invented for the films [maybe the studio didn't want Cold War problems?] The training center, Spectre Island, was introduced in the second Bond film, From Russia with Love, and really came into its own in Thunderball. As for Blofeld, he was up to his tricks in several later films, including You Only Live Twice.

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (1964). Director: Terence Young.

A beautiful Russian agent, Tatiana (Daniela Bianchi), is told to romance James Bond (Sean Connery) as part of a scheme engineered by the sinister organization, Spectre. Tatiana is given her orders by Colonel Rosa Klebb (Lotte Lenya), whom she believes is still her superior, but who has actually defected to Spectre. At stake is the Lektor decoder, which is coveted by both the British and Ernst Blofeld (Anthony Dawson, unseen but for the hands stroking his white cat), who is the head of Spectre. Bond and Tatiana come together in Istanbul and wind up in Venice, where along the way they are pursued by a deadly Spectre assassin, Grant (Robert Shaw), chased by speedboats and helicopters, and nearly come to an end at the feet -- yes, feet -- of Rosa Klebb. From Russia With Love is very entertaining, well turned-out hogwash with some very good performances. Although she's playing an "evil lesbian" stereotype, Lenya [The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone] is terrific and nearly walks off with the movie, although she gets competition from a superb Robert Shaw [A Man for All Seasons]. The tense train compartment scene which climaxes in a to-the-death battle between Grant and Bond is one of the best sequences in the picture. "Dr. No" was also a Spectre operative in the previous film, and this one introduces the training camp on Spectre Island, where Rosa punches Grant in the stomach while wearing "wooden knuckles." The copter attack does not compare favorably with the crop duster scene in North By Northwest, but there is a very good boat chase, and the climax with nasty Klebb is memorable. There's a zesty dance from a Gypsy dancer, as well as a cat fight in the Gypsy camp; one of the participants is Martine Beswick [Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde], although her name is misspelled as "Martin" Beswick in the opening credits. Bianchi was "introduced" in this film -- it was actually her fifth credit -- and is capable and very attractive, although it has been reported that her voice was (very skillfully) dubbed due to a too-thick Italian accent. Vladek Sheybal also makes an impression as the Spectre employee Kronsteen. The title tune is sung over the end credits by Matt Monro, a British pop singer of the period. 

Verdict: More fun with James Bond. ***.

DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER

DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER (1971). Director: Guy Hamilton.

"Making mud pies, double oh seven?" -- Blofeld.

Although it is generally considered that Roger Moore's Bond films -- with a couple of exceptions -- were the most absurd and cartoonish of the series, it was clear that Diamonds are Forever was already a step in that direction. George Lazenby wasn't interested in playing Bond again after On Her Majesty's Secret Service -- possibly a bad career choice -- so Sean Connery was again drafted to do duty as 007. Bond takes the place of a man involved in a stolen diamond pipeline, a scheme that takes him to Las Vegas where Ernst Stavos Blofeld (Charles Gray of The Devil Rides Out) has taken the place of a Howard Hughes-type, Willard White (Jimmy Dean), and where the master villain has yet another diabolical plan that Bond must demolish before the end. Connery is quite good as Bond, Jill St. John [The Lost World] makes an impression as jewel thief Tiffany Case (as does Lana Wood as "Plenty"), and Gray is excellent as the sinister, smirking Blofeld. In Ian Fleming's novel there are two homosexual hit men, but they are not the caricatures of the movie, with Bruce Glover as Wint being even more offensive than Putter Smith as Kidd. The sixties sensibility also includes the two female bodyguards Bambi (Lola Larsen) and Thumper (Trina Parks), who are like a condescending nod to women's lib, but who are dispatched by Bond fairly easily. Leonard Barr is fun as the deadpan comic "Shady Tree." Despite its many flaws, Diamonds Are Forever is very entertaining and colorful, with at least one excellent fight scene in an elevator, a nice bit in a crematorium, and an interesting interlude in a scientific laboratory and an underground desert pipeline, not to mention Bond scaling skyscrapers and the like.

Verdict: Lots of mindless fun.***

OCTOPUSSY

OCTOPUSSY (1983). Director: John Glen.

Ian Fleming wrote a short story featuring James Bond for Playboy magazine and gave it the provocative title of "Octopussy." The film that emerged uses only the title and little else. The renegade Russian General Orlov (Stephen Berkoff) has a diabolical plan to cause world-wide chaos by setting off a devastating bomb at a circus in Berlin. Orlov's allies include the exiled Afghan Prince Kamal (Louis Jourdan) and the woman only known as "Octopussy" (Maud Adams), who has a bevy of beautiful gals doing her bidding in both criminal and legitimate enterprises; she is unaware of the bomb plot. Then there's her ally, Magda (Kristina Weyborn), who engages with Bond (Roger Moore) over a certain suspicious Faberge egg.  Much of the movie takes place in Delhi, where we're treated to a variety of typical Indian stereotypes and cliches. There's a suspenseful climax with the circus and the bomb, and an excellent and harrowing epilogue with Bond trying to survive on the wing of a plane. Never considered the greatest of the 007 movies, Octopussy is nevertheless a very sleek and entertaining picture, extremely colorful, and with opulent settings and interesting set-pieces. Moore is fine, Jourdan is excellent, Adams is not bad as Octopussy, and Kristina Wayborn is lovely as Magda but isn't given enough screen time to really show what she can do, acting-wise, although she's a trifle stiff in her dinner scene with Bond. Vijay Amritraj scores as Vijay, an ill-fated agent, and Kabir Bedi makes an impression as Kamal's rather striking assistant, the master assassin, Gobinda. Another assassin uses a kind of buzzsaw/yo yo as a weapon. The theme song "All Time High" [Barry/Rice] is one of the best for a Bond movie, although Rita Coolidge's voice isn't quite sexy enough to do it justice.

Verdict: This seems to get better each time you see it. ***.

THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS

THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS (1987). Director: John Glen.

Timothy Dalton inherited the role of James Bond from Roger Moore and made an excellent, much more realistic 007 in an outing that has little of the overly campy humor and absurd situations of Moore's films. The pre-credit sequence, in which a training exercise at Gibraltar goes horribly wrong, is outstanding. The main story has to do with the defection of General Georgi Koskov (Jeroen Krabbe), whom Bond protects from a possible sniper attack. The "sniper" is a pretty cellist named Kara (Maryam d'Abo) but Bond resists killing her when he sees what an amateur she is and suspects something's up. The two wind up teaming up as assorted factions try to kill them. The action takes Bond from Czechoslovakia to Vienna to Tangiers and finally Afghanistan where the thrilling climax takes place on a plane as Bond and the assassin Necros (Andreas Wisniewski) dangle in the air and struggle even as a bomb is ticking in the cargo bay. Dalton makes a fine, more human Bond; Krabbe is wonderful; D'abo is hardly a classic Bond sexpot but she is effective and convincing; and there are good performances from Joe Don Baker [Criminal Law] as an American arms dealer, John Rhys-Davies as General Pushkin, and Art Malick as rebel Kamran Shah. "M" and "Miss Moneypenny" have been replaced by other actors, but Desmond Llewelyn is back as the marvelous "Q." Thomas Wheatley deserves special mention for his portrayal of fellow agent, Saunders, who is a bit tight-assed but likable. John Barry's music is a plus, especially the end title song "If Someone Was You." Followed by Licence to Kill, Dalton's second and last appearance as Bond.

Verdict: Entertaining, highly credible 007 outing. ***.

THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH

Bond (Pierce Brosnan) and Elektra (Sophie Marceau)

THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH (1999). Director: Michael Apted.

"There's no point in living if you can't feel alive."

Bond (Pierce Brosnan) is assigned as bodyguard to oil heiress Elektra King (Sophie Marceau), who has just gotten out of the clutches of kidnapper, Renard (Robert Carlyle). But is something else going on here? Bond tries to figure out who's the real villain as he stops a plutonium meltdown, battles bad guys near an exploding pipeline, tries to rescue a kidnapped "M" (Judi Dench), and faces torture at the hands of the series' most fascinating -- and perhaps only? -- major villainess. In addition to Brosnan and Marceau, there are good performances from Robbie Coltrane as Zukofsky and Carlyle as Renard, and an acceptable one from Denise Richards as Dr. Christmas Jones. The title is the Bond family's personal motto. Apparently this made more money than any other Bond film released in the 20th century. Brosnan first appeared as Bond in Goldeneye.

Verdict: Not on the level of Goldfinger or some of the other classic Bonds, but entertaining enough. ***.

DIE ANOTHER DAY

Rosamund Pike and Halle Berry

DIE ANOTHER DAY (2002). Director: Lee Tamahori.

James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) is captured during a mission and spends over a year in a prison in North Korea. General Moon (Kenneth Tsang) blames Bond for the death of his corrupt son, Colonel Moon (Will Yun Lee), but is the colonel really dead? After Bond affects his escape, "M" (Judi Dench) sees him as a useless non-agent, but 007 goes rogue (as he did in Licence to Kill) and takes off to capture the dangerous spy and terrorist, Zao (Rick Yune). Along the way he encounters American operative Jinx (Halle Berry), who also uncovers a clinic in Cuba where criminals can have their appearances altered via DNA manipulation. Bond learns that Gustave Graves (Toby Stephens), a man without a past and who has made a fortune in diamonds, may have made an alliance with Zao. Bond has both Jinx and undercover agent Miranda Frost (Rosamund Pike) helping -- or hindering -- him as he investigates Graves' operation in Iceland, and has a final encounter with Graves on a plane carrying a devastating weapon. I must say that I loved Die Another Day, which is one of the most exciting Bond movies in years. Brosnan is perfect as a more human Bond; Berry [Catwoman] and Pike [Gone Girl] are fine; Dench is on the money; and Stephens makes a sensational Bond adversary. Rick Yune, Yun Lee, and Tsang also offer superlative performances. There's a superbly-handled sword duel between Bond and Graves at the latter's club; a frenetic business with lasers running amok as Jinx tries to escape captivity; a laser beam pursuing Bond from on high as he races across the ice in his "invisible" car; and an outstanding climax with multiple battles on a plane that is breaking into pieces all around the participants. The only negatives are the over-abundance of high school-type double entendres that really make anyone over the age of eight groan. [For example: Miranda: "Has Mr. Bond been exploring his big bang theory for you? Jinx: "Oh, I think I get the thrust of it."]. Not to mention Madonna's dreadful title tune. Madonna [Shadows and Fog] herself, without her mole, shows up briefly as someone or other ("Verity"), and isn't bad. Die Another Day is full of entertaining absurdities. This is Brosnan's last appearance as Bond and his best 007 outing.

Verdict: Breathless, fast-paced fun. ***1/2.

THOSE AMAZING "EUROSPY" MOVIES

THOSE AMAZING "EUROSPY" MOVIES.

The success of the first James Bond movie, Dr. No, not only led to many, many more 007 films, but literally dozens of movies and TV shows that were influenced by the Bond movies. The chief TV show that came in Bond's wake was The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and this in turn influenced the lighter tone of certain Bond movies, as well as some of the Eurospy movies that came afterward. There were British and American imitations of Bond as well, not to mention productions from Italy, Germany, and elsewhere, generally dubbed into English and given silly, if appropriate and generic, titles such as Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Kiss Kiss Kill Kill. All sorts of secret agents wandered through a mostly European landscape, giving rise to a whole genre of "Eurospy" movies. In each of these there was a handsome, skirt-chasing devil, seemingly irresistible to women, trailing after spies and criminal masterminds, many of whom were inspired by such Bond villains as Goldfinger, Blofeld and Emilio Largo (Adolfo Celi), among others. Perhaps the most outrageous Bond imitation was Operation Kid Brother or O.K. Connery, which had the chutzpah to cast Sean Connery's younger brother, Neil Connery, in the lead, and even used his name for the main character. The Italian producers even hired Bernard Lee (M) and Lois Maxwell (Miss Moneypenny) to play parts virtually identical to the ones they played in the legitimate 007 features. [In spite of this, the Bond producers hired them back, probably figuring no one would actually see the dreadful Kid Brother.] You can read about this film and several others below, as this week we review a few Eurospy movies along with a couple of genuine James Bond features. In future weeks we'll be looking at other Eurospy movies starring everyone from Horst Bucholz to Kerwin Mathews to Ray Danton and more.

GOLDFINGER

GOLDFINGER (1964). Director: Guy Hamilton.

"I don't expect you to talk, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die." 

In the third and one of the very best of the James Bond movies, 007 (Sean Connery) must go up against cheat and murderer Auric Goldfinger (Gert Frobe), who has concocted a wild plan to loot Fort Knox -- although his plot has a cleverer and more sinister edge to it. Along the way he encounters Jill Masterson (Shirley Eaton of The Million Eyes of Sumuru), a pretty associate of Goldfinger's who winds up smothered in gold paint; her vengeful sister, Tilly (Tani Mallet); the oddly likable, supremely confidant, if completely homicidal Oddjob (Harold Sakata), who can behead statues with his hat; the cool, competent pilot Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman of The Glass Tomb); and a granny who fires a machine gun at Bond as he races by in his fancy auto. Martin Benson [The Cosmic Monsters] appears as a hood named "Solo" who turns out to have a "pressing engagement" in a car-pressing machine. Stand-out sequences include the bit with Bond's private parts menaced by an approaching laser beam as he lies helpless on a table (Connery is convincingly apprehensive during this scene), and the equally suspenseful climax inside Fort Knox with Bond battling Oddjob as a bomb keeps ticking away. Connery is excellent as Bond, and Frobe is simply superb as Goldfinger, one of the most memorable -- if not the most memorable -- of all Bond villains. Goldfinger can be illogical at times -- surely the good guys could have come up with a way of keeping the bomb out of Fort Knox! -- but it's consistently entertaining, fast-paced, and well-acted, with a pip of an epilogue, everything awash in a fine score by John Barry, including the title tune warbled by Shirley Bassey.

Verdict: They don't make Bond films like this anymore! ***1/2.

MOONRAKER

Hero vs villain: Roger Moore and Michael Lonsdale

MOONRAKER (1979). Director: Lewis Gilbert.

"Mr. Bond, you arrive with the tedious inevitability of an unloved season." -- Hugo Drax

When a Moonraker shuttle built by Drax Industries is hijacked in midair, James Bond (Roger Moore) is assigned to the investigation. He discovers that Hugo Drax (Michael Lonsdale) is behind a scheme to wipe out the earth's population and replace it with perfect specimens over which he, of course, will rule. After a variety of misadventures, Bond -- assisted by CIA agent Holly Goodhead (Lois Chiles) -- winds up on a space station for the final battle. Moonraker was the ultimate live-action cartoon and science fiction version of 007, but it's great fun on that level. There are major action setpieces in the film, such as a prologue in which Bond is forced out of an airplane; a scene when Bond is caught in a whirling thingamajig that registers acceleration pressure; a battle with metal-toothed Jaws (Richard Kiel) high atop a cable car over Rio; a chase on a river with a waterfall, Bond's glider at the ready; and another boat chase on a canal in Venice. [Bond's gondola is outfitted with wheels and an outboard motor!] Moore plays his own version of a lighter-hearted Bond and plays it well. The other two main performers underplay to good effect: Lonsdale is neither hysterical nor flamboyant but radiates a quiet menace; and while Chiles could be considered bland, even wooden at times, she gets across her character's strength, avoids making her a Kewpie doll (despite her dirty joke of a name), and only succumbs to Bond's charms when she is ready. John Barry's majestic music is on the money, including an excellent title tune very well-sung by Shirley Bassey of Goldfinger fame. A very colorful and exciting picture with some fascinating settings.

Verdict: More silly than it needs to be, but highly entertaining. ***.

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY (1981). Director: John Glen.

For Your Eyes Only begins with Bond putting flowers on his late wife's grave [see On Her Majesty's Secret Service], a nice nod to 007 history. After that there's a semi-comical prologue with Bond caught in a helicopter remote-controlled by old foe Blofeld. After a credit sequence which almost functions as a music video [we see the singer of the title song, Sheena Easton, something that was never done for Shirley Bassey], the story really begins and it's a convoluted one. An important encryption device has been lost in a shipwreck. When a couple who are searching for it on behalf of the British government are assassinated, their daughter Melina (Carole Bouquet) wants vengeance on everyone in the chain of responsibility, to which end she teams up with a hesitant Bond, and uses her crossbow weapon on anyone who gets in her way. Bond winds up at the Olympics where there are a number of chase/battle scenes connected to various sports, including a brief one on a bobsled that doesn't compare well to the bobsled sequence in the aforementioned Majesty. There are no real "Bond girls" -- super sexy beauties -- as such in the movie, although that's not to say the women are not attractive. In addition to Melina, Bond has to fight off the advances of teenage skater Bibi Dahl (Lynn-Holly Johnson, a real-life skater who became an actress), and dallies erotically with Countess Lisl (Cassandra Harris). For Your Eyes Only has a handsome Bond-villain for a change instead of the usual plug-uglies, embodied by Julian Glover [Theatre of Death] in the role of Kristatos, Bibi's sponsor and a man who wants to sell the encryption device to the Russians. Topol is cast as a criminal, Columbo, who becomes one of Bond's allies after Kristatos' henchmen kill the countess [it is never recorded if Columbo knows that Bond slept with his girlfriend the night before!]. Jill Bennett of Hammer studio's The Nanny plays Bibi's guardian and coach.

The underwater photography in For Your Eyes Only is excellent, and figures in two memorable sequences, an eerie one when Bond and Melina dive into the shipwreck with its drowned corpses; and a splendid scene when Kristatos has the couple tied together and towed behind his ship through sharp coral not to mention the sharks attracted by their blood [this sequence actually comes from Ian Fleming's novel Live and Let Die, but was not used in the film version thereof]. However the movie's most outstanding sequence takes place when Bond climbs up to the abandoned monastery at St. Ciro's which Kristatos is using as his headquarters, especially a taut and beautifully-edited passage when Bond tries desperately to get to the top even as a man overhead keeps knocking out the pitons that hold his rope to the rock.

For Your Eyes Only was a deliberate and successful attempt for the popular 007 series to become a little more down to earth after what some saw as the absurd sci fi excesses of The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker. Although it's by no means a perfect Bond outing, and is a bit overlong with a few slack stretches and chase scenes that fall a bit flat, when it is good it is very good, and proof that an entertaining Bond movie could be made without Jaws and high-tech special effects in outer space. Bill Conti's theme song is not bad at all; otherwise this is definitely one of the lesser Bond movie scores.

Verdict: Flawed but often invigorating Bond adventure. ***.

SKYFALL

"Skyfall:" Bond's family estate in Scotland

SKYFALL (2012). Director: Sam Mendes.

MI-5 is on high alert: a computer drive with a list of undercover agents in terrorist groups has been stolen, but while attempting to get it back James Bond (Daniel Craig) is accidentally shot by a fellow agent. Bond takes his time reporting back for duty, only to discover that the info on the drive is being used to kill many other agents; even headquarters comes under attack. The mastermind behind this is a highly disgruntled former agent, Silva (Javier Bardem), who is out to take down the whole network and especially M (Judi Dench) whom he chiefly [pun intended] blames for his troubles. Skyfall is somewhere between the excellent Casino Royale and disappointing Quantum of Solace in quality. There is not nearly enough plot for a movie that is almost two and a half hours long, and Bond has been turned into a very callous and unemotional creature. At one point he does nothing to stop an assassination [we never even learn who the victim was], and seems unperturbed by the death of a woman who helped him [admittedly he takes down the bad guys immediately thereafter]; even Roger Moore would have shown more emotion during such scenes. Most incredibly, Bond simply shows up in the shower of a woman that he knows has been manhandled by men since the age of 12 [Ian Fleming's Bond may have been a lover boy but he showed women more respect.] In fact the film has a general streak of misogyny through it, and M seems especially inept; at one point the villain breaks out of confinement with such ease that it's almost laughable.

Skyfall is the name of Bond's estate in Scotland, where he takes M for a final stand against Silva and his allies. As Silva, Javier Bardem is pretty awful; he seems to be channeling his inner Joker. A scene when he questions Bond and tries to make him uncomfortable by sort of coming on to him is meant to be homoerotically hip, but instead it seems dated, a throwback to the nasty gay villain. [For the record Silva's sexual orientation is never really established.] Silva tells Bond, "there's a first time for everything," to which Bond replies "what makes you think this is my first time?" which some have interpreted as Bond being bisexual when such is not the case. In any case, the scene doesn't really work.

The film has some striking cinematography by Roger Deakens [another reason why the movie has been vastly over-praised], some exciting action sequences involving high-speed trains and the like, and has recaptured some of the romantic atmosphere and elegance of earlier Bond films. Thomas Newman's music is generally helpful. Craig and Dench are competent, and newcomers Naomie Harris [the agent, Eve, who becomes the new Miss Moneypenny], Berenice Marlohe [as the seductive Severine] make a favorable impression. Ralph Fiennes is in the running for M's job, and a nearly unrecognizable Albert Finney plays the Bond family gameskeeper and figures in the finale. Director Mendes at least keeps things moving.

Verdict: Despite its many good points, this is far from being a great 007 outing. **1/2.

THE SPY WHO LOVED ME

James Bond versus Jaws

THE SPY WHO LOVED ME (1977). Director: Lewis Gilbert.

James Bond/agent 007 (Roger Moore) is on assignment to stop megalomaniac Karl Stromberg (Curt Jurgens), who is stealing submarines and nuclear warheads, and operating from his impressive underwater headquarters. Since the Russians have also lost one of their nuclear subs, Bond joins forces with red agent Triple X/Major Amasova (Barbara Bach), unaware that he killed her lover during a mission and she plans to murder him when their dual assignment is over. [How Amasova's lover could be in two places at the same time is never explained, as she is seen in bed with a man even as he and Bond are fighting many miles away -- unless the good major was unfaithful.] The Spy Who Loved Me introduced Richard Kiel as Jaws, a metal-toothed adversary who seems modeled on the old comic book villain Iron Jaws. Bach is attractive and competent enough as Triple X, but when luscious Caroline Munro briefly appears as a hit woman for Stromberg, she pretty much blows Bach right out of the water. Moore plays this comic book stuff in the right mode, even if he's a far cry from Ian Fleming's original creation. Jurgens is excellent. The suggestive "Nobody Does It Better," composed by Marvin Hamlisch and sung by Carly Simon, is one of the better James Bond theme songs.

Verdict: Good to look at and lots of fun. ***.

CARTE BLANCHE JEFFERY DEAVER NEW JAMES BOND NOVEL

CARTE BLANCHE THE NEW JAMES BOND NOVEL. Jeffery Deaver. Simon and Schuster; 20ll.

In the first new James Bond novel since Sebastian Faulke's disappointing Devil May Care  in 2008, top American thriller writer Jeffery Deaver [The Bone Collector] takes over the franchise and doesn't do a half-bad job. Bond has learned from intel that thousands of people are going to be killed in an attack, but the trick is in tracking down the details and saving all of those lives. The chief suspects are waste management man Severan Hydt and his right-hand man Niall Dunne, and Bond's allies include two beautiful ladies, an African police chief and a woman who raises money to feed the hungry. Deaver keeps the pages moving adeptly and suspensefully and has a couple of clever twists. However, while Carte Blanche is a good read and a good book, it doesn't have the sheer richness of the best of Ian Fleming [Man with the Golden Gun, among others] and also lacks that nail-biting tension, explosive violence, memorable antagonists, and wild paranoia of the best of John Gardner's 007 novels [Scorpius; Win, Lose or Die; Nobody Lives Forever.]  Still Bond fans should rejoice that 007 remains a very interesting and viable character. Bond and his writers have had to make some adjustments to the character as he goes from decade to decade and have generally done a good job in updating some of his attitudes. Meanwhile, work on the latest Bond movie seems to have come to a halt. We'll see.

Verdict: Not a bad bet for 007 fans if not without flaws. ***.