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

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  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Hell no. What a crazy thing to say. It has an interesting and believable plot, several great characters, lots of fun and probably more tense action scenes than any other.
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    edited April 2017 Posts: 15,423
    The John Glen era has two great films (maybe three), but they all look tired and dated.

    But, to say For Your Eyes Only is boring? Naaah. It's a Summertime movie you'd enjoy. Moore's last two, though, are exceptionally boring. And this one comes from a huge Moore fan.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,976
    It's an exciting installment that is the polar opposite of "boring."
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,183
    My opinion:

    - John Glenn made three excellent Bond films: FYEO, TLD and LTK; one still great Bond film: OP; and one flawed film: AVTAK
    - Boring? Hell no. FYEO gets better for me with every viewing. The film's best element is its sense of restraint, a much needed refreshment after the spectacle of the 70s Bonds.
    - When viewed in a time capsule, FYEO is a near perfect Bond film.
  • BondJasonBond006BondJasonBond006 on fb and ajb
    Posts: 9,020
    ...most boring James Bond film.

    That's a no-brainer, Skyfall most definitely.

    FYEO is far from being anywhere near boring. If there is at all another Bond film that could be called partially boring, then it's probably Thunderball for it's lengthy underwater scenes.
  • Posts: 1,631
    FYEO is FAR from the most boring entry in the franchise. Far from it indeed.

    As for what film should hold that title, I'd have to go with the last one, the one that it took me 6 tries to get even all the way to the halfway point of the film when it was released on Blu-ray because I kept falling asleep out of sheer boredom with it.
  • I have a love and affection for FYEO. It's far from boring for me.
  • Posts: 1,917
    I appear to be in the minority here, but I'll go along with the original poster and agree in part that FYEO is one of the more overrated and boring films in the series; AVTAK and TWINE outrank it as far as this goes overall, but it's down there on my list.

    I was so looking forward to seeing FYEO on original release as it was the first new Bond to come out after I became a huge fan, spurred on by my enjoyment of MR and feeling a bit let down. It didn't help that Raiders of the Lost Ark, which I saw a few weeks before, upped the ante on action films and Bond wasn't the only game in town anymore.

    A review at the time emphasized the film concentrated on stunts instead of gadgets and that does play a lot into it. Let's throw as many stunts in to distract from the pretty pedestrian plot and not real involving characters. This is a case where the Fleming background doesn't necessarily translate into a better product. Finding out Kristatos was really the villain was one of the biggest non-surprises ever, not helped by Ferrara's overenthusiastic "Very reliable."

    Kreigler and Loque, are like Red Grant split in two - one the big strong side and the other the silent, menacing side. The only really standout character in the film is Topol's Colombo.

    Another good summary was Mad Magazine's parody that took all the big action pieces and compared them to their predecessors in previous films. Though it seems packed with action, none of it really stands out that much or tops anything that's gone previous. I do like the suspense of the ski jump scene. Watching people ski off that thing was stomach-churning. I actually do like Conti's score, which seems to be polarizing as well.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    The MAD parody was excellent.

    Most boring Bond film must be one of the Brosnan films.
  • Posts: 1,917
    The MAD parody was excellent.

    Most boring Bond film must be one of the Brosnan films.

    Yep, it's called The World Is Not Enough. ;)
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    Posts: 15,423
    Most boring Bond film? Skyfall.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited April 2017 Posts: 23,883
    The most boring films for me are TWINE & SP.

    I don't think FYEO is boring. I'm not as big a fan of it as some others on this forum, but I think the film is quite an entertaining adventure and moves along at a decent clip. It's beautiful to look at and the ski sequences are fantastically shot.

    If I have a few criticisms, it's that the dialogue isn't very memorable and a bit pedestrian. There aren't any great lines here. Kristatos isn't all that interesting either and just seems like your average Joe (Topol would have made a better villain than Glover imho). Moore seems a bit emasculated too - almost like his charisma is deliberately snuffed out by the film. I far prefer his take on the character in the first three outings where he balances the Fleming attributes with his natural charm better.

    There's a lot to like in this film though. The pretitles is great fun, and the opening shot of Bond walking towards Tracy's grave is one of the most memorable in the series for me. The aforementioned ski sequences are very entertaining and Bouquet as the single mindedly determined & vengeance seeking Melina Havelock is very enticing and impressive.

    No, not boring at all for me.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,183
    @bondjames

    I agree with you completely. Well said, sir.
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,351
    No, YOLT is.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,976
    Murdock wrote: »
    No, YOLT is.

    Definitely not. It's got a lot to love; I can understand people not caring for the Japanese transition or a rather sluggish second act, but when the movie is delivering, it's a ton of fun (particularly the investigating/interrogating at Osato's, fighting at the docks, the Little Nellie sequence, and the finale).
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,351
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    Murdock wrote: »
    No, YOLT is.

    Definitely not. It's got a lot to love; I can understand people not caring for the Japanese transition or a rather sluggish second act, but when the movie is delivering, it's a ton of fun (particularly the investigating/interrogating at Osato's, fighting at the docks, the Little Nellie sequence, and the finale).

    It honestly just drags for me at this point. It's a slog to watch. It's got some nice scenes sprinkled in but too far inbetween. You get good scene, long slog, good scene long slog. It just repeats itself and it makes me sleepy.
  • Posts: 1,469
    No, not most boring. I watched it recently. I find the film moves along at a pretty good pace, though it does drag here and there, and looks great. I like the grittier, even more serious approach for Bond, despite the few scenes played for laughs and some head-scratching moments, and I think Moore made the most of what he was given to do--a good portrayal. It's always been a sentimental favorite of mine, being the first Bond film that really made an impact on me, but now I probably rate it no higher than maybe 12 (have to update my list). I might even rate it fairly equally with SP, and certainly a few of the Craig films rank higher for me, CR being near the top. In the end, I view the Bond films, whoever has played the character in them, as being what they were for the time, and I find something to like in most of them.

  • Posts: 1,631
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    I agree with you completely. Well said, sir.

    I can at least get some semblance of enjoyment out of TWINE, although I must admit that it's been a while since I've given it a viewing. Not much, mind you, but enough to keep me from turning the dial.

    SP, I will completely agree on. Not only the most boring Bond film, by a considerable margin, but one of the most boring non-Oscar bait films to be released in the past couple of years, I think I could argue.

  • Posts: 1,165
    FYEO is a thoroughly entertaining Bond film. A slower pace to most other Moore movies in the 007 series but a welcome breath of fresh air that allowed Roger to show another side to his talents and gave us his most grounded adventure.

    It is one of the best espionage movies of the 80's, alongside TLD in terms of spy-thrillers (the 80's was dearth of these sort of movies sadly).

    As ever with Bond movies and Bond fandom, everything is purely subjective. For me FYEO is one of Moore's best. In second position to TSPWLM for my Rog rankings.

    The most boring 007 adventure for me was, is and forever shall be DAF. That film always loses me after Amsterdam and I always find a struggle to make it all the way through without it losing my attention.
  • echoecho 007 in New York
    edited April 2017 Posts: 6,304
    If we're picking the most boring film, I vote for TMTWGG. Everything between Lazar and Scaramanga's island is instantly forgettable.
  • talos7talos7 New Orleans
    Posts: 8,216
    I'm going to have to re-visit FYEO. It's been some time since I've watched it. The Conti score makes it almost unwatchable. While I do appreciate the more serious tone, following the over the top MR, and while I won't use the word dull, I have in the past found it, let's say, Lethargic.
  • MooseWithFleasMooseWithFleas Philadelphia
    Posts: 3,369
    If the opposite of over the top is boring, then FYEO is boring. I don't consider things so black and white. It's different, it's grounded, but I wouldn't call it boring. With each passing year/viewing, I have greater appreciation for all of the different styles of Bond. Just because there are no hollowed out volcanoes, space lasers, barrel roll car stunts, doesn't make the film boring. There's too much good stuff here for me to even consider boring as one of the adjectives I'd use to describe FYEO

    -A welcome intro to the 80's. Conti's synth score clearly lets you know the 70s are over and the 80s are here. Drive in the Country is a fantastic fun little track.
    -Fun ski and snow sequences. The bobsled action is quite underrated and fascinating.
    -Topol makes for a likable and dynamic ally
    -A villain swerve, where they did a good job making Columbo seem villainous.
    -A gut-wrenching rock climbing scene. I've seen it so many times and still get tense.
    -Followed by some of the best sneaky sneaky, stealth action as Bond, Topol, Melina, and crew taking over the monastery.

    I would say that I prefer to watch this on a Saturday/Sunday afternoon as oppose to some of the blockbuster OTT entries which are more night time popcorn flicks. Can't put my finger on why, but it certainly isn't because I'm ever bored with it!
  • Posts: 787
    I'm a bit ambivalent about it - maybe the most consistent feeling is frustration, as with other Moore films (and Spectre, interestingly).

    There are some great set-pieces (the rock climbing is outstanding), and Topol is right up there as one of the all-time great allies.

    But then there are all of those awful moments that just drag me right out of the experience so much that I have a hard time enjoying the rest: the Delicatessen moment is godawful. The Thatcher moment threatens to turn everything to parody. Bibi is grating in the extreme. The ice hockey killers. . . why?

    It feels to me like there is a great Bond movie in there waiting to get out, with some good characters, good locations, and a nice shift to a more 'grounded' tone. But it's buried under the nonsense to such an extent that it's tougher to enjoy.
  • BMW_with_missilesBMW_with_missiles All the usual refinements.
    Posts: 3,000
    Is 'For Your Eyes Only' the most boring James Bond film?

    Ummm...Quantum of Solace anyone? I'm not a big FYEO fan, but the PTS alone makes it far from boring.
  • Posts: 1,680
    The most boring Bond films are DAF, TMWTGG & OP
  • MooseWithFleasMooseWithFleas Philadelphia
    Posts: 3,369
    DAF & OP were my bottom 2 at one point. They are steadily rising the ranks. A lot of good humor in here if you ignore or better yet embrace some of the stuff that is 'too ridiculous' for what it is. Both DAF and OP have two of the more interesting plots IMO, but it took some growing on me. Oil rig ending of DAF is still very tame, but the rest has a lot of good stuff!

    At this point I don't think I'd call any Bond film boring.
  • talos7talos7 New Orleans
    Posts: 8,216
    octofinger wrote: »
    I'm a bit ambivalent about it - maybe the most consistent feeling is frustration, as with other Moore films (and Spectre, interestingly).

    There are some great set-pieces (the rock climbing is outstanding), and Topol is right up there as one of the all-time great allies.

    But then there are all of those awful moments that just drag me right out of the experience so much that I have a hard time enjoying the rest: the Delicatessen moment is godawful. The Thatcher moment threatens to turn everything to parody. Bibi is grating in the extreme. The ice hockey killers. . . why?

    It feels to me like there is a great Bond movie in there waiting to get out, with some good characters, good locations, and a nice shift to a more 'grounded' tone. But it's buried under the nonsense to such an extent that it's tougher to enjoy.

    For me, this hits the nail on the head.
  • Posts: 7,653
    I found the SPECTRE experience far more boring after the spectacular PTS nothing really happens and the action scenes are pedestrian in nature compared to most other 077 movies.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,976
    Is 'For Your Eyes Only' the most boring James Bond film?

    Ummm...Quantum of Solace anyone? I'm not a big FYEO fan, but the PTS alone makes it far from boring.

    Are you saying QoS is the most boring? How?
  • BMW_with_missilesBMW_with_missiles All the usual refinements.
    edited April 2017 Posts: 3,000
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    Is 'For Your Eyes Only' the most boring James Bond film?

    Ummm...Quantum of Solace anyone? I'm not a big FYEO fan, but the PTS alone makes it far from boring.

    Are you saying QoS is the most boring? How?

    I just derive no enjoyment from QOS whatsoever. I was actually falling asleep toward the end of my first viewing. I have yet to watch it again.
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