After a great performance in For Your Eyes Only, Roger Moore returned
again in 1983 as 007 in Octopussy, a film which many people have trouble
enjoying.
The Plot is agreeably complicated and you have to watch this movie
twice to really get the jist of it. Russian General Orlov is unhappy
with the way NATO dissarmament meetings are going, so like every other
insane criminal mastermind, he plans to do something about it. With the
help of Kamal Khan (Louis Jordan), he decides to set off a nuclear
weapon inside a United States Air Base. In order to do this, Khan has to
fool jewelry smuggler Octopussy, played by Maud Adams who can also be
seen also in TMWTGG, into taking the device in the air base via her
personal circus.
James Bond intorduces himself to Kamal Khan
Fans of Q will surely enjoy this movie as he can be seen throughout
the film alot. Besides his devices and gadgets, he himself helps Bond in
the heat of the battle. Many people believe that Roger Moore should have
quit by this time, but I enjoyed this movie very much and I didn't find
Roger to look all that bad at all. He still has the charm and wit, and
we see alot of it. Besides the film's humor, great chases and action
also fill up the two hours plus. This is one of the few Bond films where
the opening scene lives up to the climactic end. Both beginning and end
take place in the air and some excellent cinematography make the flying
scenes very enjoyable.
Kamal Khan Explains his Problem with Bond
As a villian, Louis Jordan works fine in my mind. He doesn't have the
mean streak in him like Christopher Lee had so well conquered in TMWTGG
(years of playing Dracula will do that to you!), but he is respectable
in that we can laugh at his stupidity. A human quality that modern day
Bond villians try to smother behind their over-confidence and arrogance.
His sidekick however, Gobinda, is a total moron. Trying to be some
Oddjob-type character from Goldfinger it seems. I was glad to see Moore
kick his ass!
This movie's main downfall definitely has to be it's streched out
plot. Boring at sometimes and equally as slow, confusion and headaches
are quite the norm while watching Octopussy. It can hurt trying to
understand it to the point of perfection, but my advice is to watch the
film first time around trying to enjoy the stunts and Bond action. Then
sit down with a concentrated mind for the second viewing. It should be
much more enjoyable that way.
� 1997 [email protected]
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