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Octopussy: a missed opportunity
GoldenGun
Per ora e per il momento che verrà
I am rewatching the Bond movies and when I came to Ocoptussy I came to the following conclusion: It is an entertaining Bond film but could have been one of the very best. It has a good Cold War driven plot, the settings are interesting (exotic India and mysterious DDR), Peter Lamont creates one of his best sets for this one, the villains (Kamal and Orlov) are memorable, it's exciting, there are some good action scenes. But, the silliness really prevents this from being one of the better outings. The Tarzan yell, the "tennnis audience" during the Tuk Tuk chase, etc. Why oh why did they have to take the humour so far. Other Bond films have much humour too, but in no way so silly and obvious then in OP (I'm not counting TND and DAD here). MR is silly too but has other problems. OP really could have been brilliant, now it's just ok. Anyone feel the same way?
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Comments
Sure, scene for scene, OP packs more silliness combined than FYEO. But the silliness feels right at home in OP. Right from the PTS with Moore's winking to the Cuban soldier, we know we're in for a more campy sort of film. FYEO on the other hand should be more serious than it is. It's totally akward having those ridiculous scenes in an otherwise down to earth spy film.
So to answer the original post, no I don't think OP is plagued by it's silliness. Sure, the Tarzan yell and the "Sit!"...ah what the hell, I'll admit the whole bloody jungle chase is a bit wince inducing, but on the whole the humor compliments the film and makes it feel complete. OP is the the quintessential Moore film: striking the right balance of adventure/intrigue with light hearted fun.
I think the action scenes and stunts (for example, Bond hanging onto the plane) makes up for the silliness.
MRs silliness goes too far but OPs works better. There is a good balance of tension and humour.
OP is my favorite Moore film. The humor is what one comes to expect from Moore Bond films. Like said earlier FYEO humor i found more cringe worthy and out of place.
The 2 moments you highlight are good ones. Moore's humour is all you needed really and not some of the pointless gimmick gags they had in Moore's films.
Of a more serious Moore Bond? There's TSWLM and FYEO.
Octopussy it's what it is... Not perfect (in my opinion) neither my favorite but nevertheless fun to watch, great action and a memorable Bond film.
That said, it is still a highly entertaining Bond adventure, escapist fantasy at its best. And though I prefer more serious fare (even for Moore, as in FYEO), I feel that Octopussy is a perfect execution of the Moore style of Bond movies. It's silly, campy, humorous, but also thrilling and with great action to boot. It's just a reflection of its time, and more significantly, of the tone that the Moore era will always be remembered for.
Spot on! It's my second favourite Moore film behind Spy. Its great the way it is apart from a couple of moments (ie stupid Tarzan) but no way a missed opportunity. Its a great Bond movie.
I do agree with the initial post though that with a bit of judicious removal of stupid moments then OP could really have been an all time high.
Heres a list of stuff I can tolerate as it’s a Rog film and stuff that crosses the line with a ‘K’ for keep and a ‘C’ for cut.
‘Keep you in curry for a few weeks’ – for all people will whine its racist it gets me every time. Priceless delivery from Rog. K
Throwing the cash into the beggars plate and the knife into the door – tiny moments that last a blink of an eye and are enjoyable enough but even if you don’t like them they are gone in a second. K
The camel double take – nothing needs to be said here. Lessons should’ve been learnt from MR. C
The crowd looking back and forth like at Wimbledon – would prefer the film without it but can just about stomach it as Vijay is such a likeable chap. C
The bed of nails and the sword swallower scene – again would prefer to lose it but its not so bad I cant put up with it. The change in the colour of Rogs hair in this scene is far more offensive. C
Zooming the camera on the lab assistants tits – Q’s right it is pretty juvenile and a bit Carry On. C
‘Hiss off’ – not a bad line. I can live with it. K
‘Sit’ – again not too bad a line but feels a bit out of place. Could happily live without it. C
Tarzan yelp – In the top 5 embarassing moments of the series along with the pigeon, the invisible car, the slide whistle over the car jump and CGI parasurfing. C
Croc sub – Although it is classic Rog it’s a bit ridiculous. I wouldn’t mind if it went. C
Checking his watch in the monkey suit – probably the only moment that makes me cringe in the whole East Germany sequence. C
More C’s than K’s I guess but they are all tiny moments that I can largely overlook and don’t spoil my enjoyment of the film. It’s a shame that just a few snips probably amounting to about a minute of the film could really improve it quite a bit.
Trying to convince them of a bomb while dressed up as a clown added to the tension.
A most impressive opening with the Acrostar Jet, some very good and exciting action sequences, such as the Octopussy train journey through West Germany and the knife throwing twins really worked well. The ubiquitous Steven Berkoff makes for a fun villain, and Jourdan isn't really nasty enough but does an adequate job, some of the other minor characters bring an array of different attributes to the screen. It's an easy enough film to evaluate when the truth of the matter is that, despite some decent action bits and pieces, Moore was too old and some of the nonsense humor should never had occured, bit of a dull ending also. Not a release I would want to watch again in a hurry, but there's plenty to get involved in, in it's defense
As OP is the first film I saw in the theater in 1983, I have a definite soft spot for it.
I like the Vijay tennis match because it's a nod to his former career.
The croc sub should go. It's not that far to swim to Octopussy's island and the sequence where Bond fights the yo-yo guy in the water and a real (?) croc interrupts them is just too confusing...
1st Bond movies I really watched...more than once. This was before VCR's.