Continuing my journey to see every single 007 film before the release of Skyfall, I just got finished watching the thirteenth (and official) Bond film, Octopussy.

I say official because this film went head to head at the box office with unofficial Bond film Never Say Never Again which was headlined by Sean Connery and released just a few months before this. In terms of box office numbers, Octopussy won the battle and in terms of an overall film, in my opinion, Octopussy once again comes out on top.

For a sixth outing as James Bond, Roger Moore is fantastic again. He once again brings everything necessary to make the serious, charming, and humorous parts of the role convincing. I…

To my continued fascination, even the shittiest Bond movies (like Octopussy) play much better on the big screen. I guess it's because even though they're supposed to be espionage action-thrillers the emphasis is more on spectacle than suspense, which inevitably seems more spectacular in a theater than on TV as you fall asleep.

This one's problems still show through, though: For one thing, the score is way too subdued for a Bond movie. It's like they were afraid of infringing on John Williams' Indiana Jones turf but come on guys, you invented that turf, crank it up! The rest of the movie is kind of subdued, too: The sex, the plot, and the villains are all in danger of getting…

Day thirteen in the Bond Film Marathon, film 13:Octopussy. I... Fucking... Dreaded... Having to watch this. I've never liked it, it's Moore's worst. That's putting it bluntly. Well For Your Eyes Only was to be the end for Roger Moore, but when Sean Connery and Warner Bros. decided to do Never Say Never Again, EON decided to bring back Moore after Moore declined, feeling his time was up and due to age. EON initially was to hire James Brolin to play Bond, but finally Moore stepped up. The result is a lackluster film.

009 is found dead in East Berlin with a fake Faberge egg, and MI6 quickly assume it's the Soviets and send Bond on another mission. Bond then…

Part of:
Dr. No-vember or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bond Films

Double-0 seven on an island populated exclusively by women? We won't see him till dawn!
-Q

Roger Moore had actually fulfilled his contractual obligations to the Bond films with The Spy Who Loved Me in 1977 but had been negotiating a new deal with each subsequent film as the producers seemed reluctant to move on without him. With For Your Eyes Only however, Moore thought it was time to move on as he felt he was getting too old to portray Bond. The hunt was on for a new James Bond and once again Cubby Broccoli would look to trying to cast an American…

'All time high' by Rita Coolidge is the song to this film and for some it perfectly represents this film. Of all of the Moore efforts, The Spy Who Loved Me still ranks as my personal favourite but Octopussy isn't a long way off.
Although Roger Moore is really starting to look his age, he hasn't lost any of his impish charm which occasionally turns into some adolescent humour, as in zooming repeatedly at a colleagues cleavage with a video camera. But there's something about Moore that can make me forgive the nonsense.
Maud Adams returns from the dead it would seem as Octopussy. Her first foray into the Bondiverse was as Scaramanga's moll in The Man With The Golden…

007 Retrospective
All 23 Official James Bond films reviewed and rated in release date order

13# Octopussy

The mauling I was fully expecting to give Bond 12, for your eyes only, I now find I have to give to Octopussy. I don’t know why but this film comes across as a glorified Television movie and by that I mean it looks very plain and flat. This was made for the cinema but doesn’t look cinematic in any way even outdoor scenes look fake and overly controlled. Add to this Moore’s age and the fact that he’s doing less action scenes himself and relying more and more on doubles it’s all a bit disappointing really. This would be his penultimate Bond…

To my continued fascination, even the shittiest Bond movies (like Octopussy) play much better on the big screen. I guess it's because even though they're supposed to be espionage action-thrillers the emphasis is more on spectacle than suspense, which inevitably seems more spectacular in a theater than on TV as you fall asleep.

This one's problems still show through, though: For one thing, the score is way too subdued for a Bond movie. It's like they were afraid of infringing on John Williams' Indiana Jones turf but come on guys, you invented that turf, crank it up! The rest of the movie is kind of subdued, too: The sex, the plot, and the villains are all in danger of getting…

Day thirteen in the Bond Film Marathon, film 13:Octopussy. I... Fucking... Dreaded... Having to watch this. I've never liked it, it's Moore's worst. That's putting it bluntly. Well For Your Eyes Only was to be the end for Roger Moore, but when Sean Connery and Warner Bros. decided to do Never Say Never Again, EON decided to bring back Moore after Moore declined, feeling his time was up and due to age. EON initially was to hire James Brolin to play Bond, but finally Moore stepped up. The result is a lackluster film.

009 is found dead in East Berlin with a fake Faberge egg, and MI6 quickly assume it's the Soviets and send Bond on another mission. Bond then…

Roger Moore is tempted back for the 6th time as James Bond after the success of 'For Your Eyes Only', proving the audiences reaction for 007 and Moore himself was at an all time high. Maybe that is why the title song sung by Rita Coolidge was aptly called 'All Time High'.

After the death of 009 in Berlin linked to the theft of a Faberge Egg, 007 is sent to trace the owner of the egg and it comes to the light of Prince Kamal Khan (Louis Jordan) who resides in India with his beautiful mistress Magda (Kristina Weyborn) and bodyguard Gobinda (Kabir Bedi). Bond soon learns that the egg is just one of many jewels in a smuggling…