Is 'For Your Eyes Only' the most boring James Bond film?

1141517192024

Comments

  • NickTwentyTwoNickTwentyTwo Vancouver, BC, Canada
    Posts: 7,547
    I like FYEO a lot, but I did fall asleep during it on my last viewing... although I think that had less to do with the film and more to do with the drinks we were enjoying while watching it...
  • Junglist_1985Junglist_1985 Los Angeles
    Posts: 1,032
    I’m gonna rephrase the original topic:

    FYEO is the most boring James Bond film ranked in the top half.
  • edited November 2021 Posts: 214
    I could never call FYEO boring, it's my fave Roger film of his 7. The song is one of my best Bond songs too.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,795
    FYEO is anything but boring. And the best PTS ever! Well, behind TWINE, that is....
  • I'm quite fond of FYEO as well. It's a great palate cleanser after MR.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,795
    I'm quite fond of FYEO as well. It's a great palate cleanser after MR.

    I've decided to watch MR one more time before I die. Gotta be really drunk with lots of popcorn with real butter on it though...
  • I wouldn’t call it boring myself. It ticks along fairly nicely, there’s the usual great John Glen action sequences, and while I can never remember a thing about the plot or the generic mcguffin, Bond’s relationship with Melina is usually enough to keep me invested.

    Never really understood the love for it though. It’s fine, and it has a few great scenes. But I hate the PTS (I know, middle finger to Mcclory, but was giving Blofeld such a limp sendoff worth it?), it’s got the most forgettable villain of the series, Bibi, and again, I can’t remember a thing about the plot. Bond going after some sort of poundland Lector?

    They did an admirable job of scaling things down after MR, but I think it’s one of Moore’s weaker films, and I’ve never understood why it’s so highly regarded. Give me Octopussy any day. Much better cold war plot where you actually feel the stakes, much more memorable characters, much more Roger Moore sort of humour. That’s easily Moore’s second best after TSWLM imo. I think LALD probably has more going for it too on balance, but I’ve always found that one a frustrating watch.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,795
    That’s easily Moore’s second best after TSWLM imo. I think LALD probably has more going for it too on balance, but I’ve always found that one a frustrating watch.
    TSWLM was okay, but TMWTGG is where it's at, baby!
    B-)
  • slide_99slide_99 USA
    edited November 2021 Posts: 693
    The only problem with FYEO is the underwater action. It's totally pointless and only makes the movie longer. First there's a boring fight with the guy in the deep water suit, then there's an even more boring fight with the guy in the other sub. There's no reason for these fight scenes. After Bond and Melina get the ATAC, the filmmakers should have cut directly to Bond and Melina getting back to the boat.

    Furthermore, the fights present a plot hole because they reveal that the villains know where Bond and Melina are, so why do they go right back to their boat, which has obviously been captured? Just have Bond and Melina get the ATAC, surface, and get captured by Kristatos's men and you have a leaner movie.

    As for most boring Bond movie, my vote goes to Spectre. Not only are the action sequences sterile (seriously, a car chase through an EMPTY CITY? Whose genius idea was that? Isn't the whole point of a car chase to be exciting due to pedestrians and other motorists being in the way?) but the plot builds (slowly) to the silliest reveal of any Bond movie.
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,183
    I think FYEO is boring compared to MR.

    It’s like watching someone who was fun and creative while on cocaine. But as soon as they sober up and go “clean” they become boring. Like Robert Downey jr
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,795
    slide_99 wrote: »
    The only problem with FYEO is the underwater action. It's totally pointless and only makes the movie longer. First there's a boring fight with the guy in the deep water suit, then there's an even more boring fight with the guy in the other sub. There's no reason for these fight scenes. After Bond and Melina get the ATAC, the filmmakers should have cut directly to Bond and Melina getting back to the boat.

    Furthermore, the fights present a plot hole because they reveal that the villains know where Bond and Melina are, so why do they go right back to their boat, which has obviously been captured? Just have Bond and Melina get the ATAC, surface, and get captured by Kristatos's men and you have a leaner movie.

    As for most boring Bond movie, my vote goes to Spectre. Not only are the action sequences sterile (seriously, a car chase through an EMPTY CITY? Whose genius idea was that? Isn't the whole point of a car chase to be exciting due to pedestrians and other motorists being in the way?) but the plot builds (slowly) to the silliest reveal of any Bond movie.
    I'd never seen a car chase at night in a nearly empty city, I liked it for the difference. Plus: Rome....
  • chrisisall wrote: »
    I'm quite fond of FYEO as well. It's a great palate cleanser after MR.

    I've decided to watch MR one more time before I die. Gotta be really drunk with lots of popcorn with real butter on it though...

    No, see, there's your problem with MR. Drunk won't do it. You need to be really, really blitzed on some quality bud. Bong hits, that's the ticket for this one...
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,795
    chrisisall wrote: »
    I'm quite fond of FYEO as well. It's a great palate cleanser after MR.

    I've decided to watch MR one more time before I die. Gotta be really drunk with lots of popcorn with real butter on it though...

    No, see, there's your problem with MR. Drunk won't do it. You need to be really, really blitzed on some quality bud. Bong hits, that's the ticket for this one...
    Well, it's recreationally legal here... but that "see some harm comes to him" line might spook me out stoned.... I could put out the paranoid thing with some beers though... just gotta not work the next day is all.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited November 2021 Posts: 12,480
    I like FYEO a lot. Not boring at all for me.
    Boring would be, at times ... YOLT, TMWTGG, and AVTAK. And some of MR, yes.
  • NickTwentyTwoNickTwentyTwo Vancouver, BC, Canada
    Posts: 7,547
    Come ooooonnnnn.....

    260394886_236684748556510_2186210571637272624_n.jpg?_nc_cat=103&ccb=1-5&_nc_sid=0debeb&_nc_ohc=ufd5rQDfL5sAX8Is0Ay&_nc_ht=scontent.fcxh3-1.fna&oh=ae9c83b8c05b928985f1e61f3ae9bb94&oe=61A18B03
  • edited November 2021 Posts: 3,566
    I wouldn’t call it boring myself. It ticks along fairly nicely, there’s the usual great John Glen action sequences, and while I can never remember a thing about the plot or the generic mcguffin, Bond’s relationship with Melina is usually enough to keep me invested.

    Never really understood the love for it though. It’s fine, and it has a few great scenes. But I hate the PTS (I know, middle finger to Mcclory, but was giving Blofeld such a limp sendoff worth it?), it’s got the most forgettable villain of the series, Bibi, and again, I can’t remember a thing about the plot. Bond going after some sort of poundland Lector?

    They did an admirable job of scaling things down after MR, but I think it’s one of Moore’s weaker films, and I’ve never understood why it’s so highly regarded. Give me Octopussy any day. Much better cold war plot where you actually feel the stakes, much more memorable characters, much more Roger Moore sort of humour. That’s easily Moore’s second best after TSWLM imo. I think LALD probably has more going for it too on balance, but I’ve always found that one a frustrating watch.

    I'll try to explain the love for a few aspects of FYEO, if you're willing to listen. First of all, it's got several bits of Fleming wrapped around this particular somewhat realistic Bond scenario. (The short stories of Risico and FYEO, plus the towing-Bond-&-his-leading-lady-through-the-coral sequence from the LALD novel that was left out of the movie adaptation.) With that much Fleming content, this is a pretty easy movie for many fans to like! Additionally, this one of the few Moore films where the standard Q put-down of, "Oh, grow up 007!" is actually answered affirmatively by Bond's actions. His insistence that Melina NOT follow a path of seeking revenge is based on his own personal knowledge of what following that path does to the revenge seeker; his insistence that he'll buy Bibi an ice cream rather than complying with her amorous intentions is evidence that Bond is trying to act as a responsible adult to the underage sexpot that is Bibi Dahl. I realize that a lot of fans just find her annoying, but that's because Bibi runs counter to the fantasy that Bond can have any attractive female that crosses his path. She's actually a fresh take (and an unusually responsible one) on the overused trope that is Bond's sex life.

    Oh, and the plot: yes, it is a simple reversal of the Lektor plot line, with a fairly amusing twist at the end of the story: when General Gogol is about to claim the mcguffin for Russia, Bond simply throws it off the mountain so that it is destroyed upon landing, with the politically-astute observation for that time: "That's detante, comrade: YOU don't have it...and WE don't have it!"

    Yes, Octopussy is an enjoyable-enough 007 film given the parameters expected of a Moore outing...but FYEO has several points in its' favor as well.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,795
    I like FYEO a lot. Not boring at all for me.
    Boring would be, at times ... YOLT, TMWTGG, and AVTAK. And some of MR, yes.

    'Boring at times Bonds'? AVTAK in some spots, some space stuff in MR, many slow spots in NSNA...
    YOLT is the Lawrence Of Arabia of Bond movies. Never boring. The Man With The Golden Gun is totally wacko & fun at all times.
    SF has some sloggy scenes....
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    There is no Bond movie that is boring for the majority of time for me, no. YOLT ... not so enjoyable. TMWTGG I dislike for plenty of reasons. Boring is difficult to say for me, in any Bond film really.
  • M16_CartM16_Cart Craig fanboy?
    Posts: 541
    Ok, Boring is a really vague word. It's subjective and people rarely articulate why they find something boring.

    It's hard to have a discussion about this because you can't really prove or disprove something is boring.
  • Posts: 1,859
    I'm quite fond of FYEO as well. It's a great palate cleanser after MR.

    This says it all.
  • NickTwentyTwoNickTwentyTwo Vancouver, BC, Canada
    Posts: 7,547
    M16_Cart wrote: »
    Ok, Boring is a really vague word. It's subjective and people rarely articulate why they find something boring.

    It's hard to have a discussion about this because you can't really prove or disprove something is boring.

    Obviously. I think it's pretty simple though to determine if you find the movie boring or not.

    For me, I find Octopussy boring but that's probably it for Bond films.
  • M16_CartM16_Cart Craig fanboy?
    edited November 2021 Posts: 541
    Well, yeah, it's simple to know if you're bored or not.

    But in terms of having a conversation with other people, theres not much to say.

    person 1: "I think this is boring"
    person 2: "Yes, I also agree this is boring"
    person 3: "Well I don't agree it's boring"
  • NickTwentyTwoNickTwentyTwo Vancouver, BC, Canada
    edited November 2021 Posts: 7,547
    M16_Cart wrote: »
    Well, yeah, it's simple to know if you're bored or not.

    But in terms of having a conversation with other people, theres not much to say.

    person 1: "I think this is boring"
    person 2: "Yes, I also agree this is boring"
    person 3: "Well I don't agree it's boring"

    A lot of threads here have this type of title/premise. People still find a way to have a discussion around it.

    The fact that this thread has seventeen pages seems to disprove your point.
  • I don’t find FYEO to be boring at all, in fact it’s my 2nd favorite Moore entry. The film has always felt like a nice throwback to FRWL and OHMSS, and Moore probably gives his most somber performance as Bond in the film.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    Well I am not trying to prove anything. Just saying what I like, don't like, as always. I don't try to force or convince people to share my exact feelings about any movie.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,795

    The crazy PTS, to the kick the car off the cliff... to Bibi tempting Bond & getting an offer for ice cream instead... even the stupid hockey moment... climbing the mountain...
    Man, I am no fan of the disco score or the fake underwater 'bubbles', but this movie is NEVER boring.
  • QBranchQBranch Always have an escape plan. Mine is watching James Bond films.
    Posts: 14,571
    FYEO was the first Bond film I saw, and got me hooked on the series. Consistently averaging out at around 10th/11th spot in fan community rankings and very rarely seen in bottom place would suggest it is not generally considered boring. For me it is a fine film with excellent action and moments of suspense. My third favourite Moore entry after LALD and Spy.
  • DraxCucumberSandwichDraxCucumberSandwich United Kingdom
    Posts: 208
    The set piece stunt work present throughout John Glen’s films are a particular highlight amongst the Bond filmography for me. LTK is probably his masterwork in that regard but the ski sequence from FYEO is a personal favourite
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,183
    Let’s not leave out Arthur Wooster who was the second unit director of the 80s.
  • Posts: 1,078
    I heard an interview with Raymond Benson once, where he said that it was the more grounded approach to Bond in FYEO, along with the resurgence of literary Bond (with the new Gardner books) which led to his renewed interest in Bond which led to his Bedside Companion book. He saw FYEO as a very welcome return to the Bond of old.
Sign In or Register to comment.