[7]

Roger Moore is getting long in the tooth as James Bond, but Octopussy handily bests the last two entries in the franchise, and satisfies on many levels. This time around, Bond is trying to uncover a global jewel-smuggling operation that ends up being a cover for a nuclear attack against NATO forces. The action takes Bond to India for the first time, where he clashes with an exiled Afghan prince (Louis Jourdan) working in league with a war-hungry Russian general (Steven Berkoff). These foes work with a mysterious woman named Octopussy (Maud Adams), who hosts an all-female quasi-religious resort on a floating palace. She’s involved with the smuggling, but unaware of the Russian nuclear connection. She falls in love with Bond and helps him uncover the climactic threat of the film — a bomb set to detonate at a circus in East Germany.

Octopussy balances fun, suspense, humor, and thrills, marking a return to form for the Moore era of Bond films. Highlights include Moore’s getaway in a high-speed mini airplane in the pre-title action sequence, a Most Dangerous Game-like sequence in which Jourdan hunts Moore on elephant through the Indian terrain, and hand-to-hand combat on top both a moving train and an airplane in flight. Desmond Llewelyn, as the curmudgeonly Q, has a larger part this time around, providing an array of new gadgets and gizmos that help Bond save the day. He even joins Bond on part of the adventure. It’s also nice to see the lovely Maud Adams returns for her second role in the franchise (she previously played Christopher Lee’s right-hand gal in The Man with the Golden Gun). Her character is a bit like Pussy Galore’s in Goldfinger, but Octopussy’s all-girl posse double as ninjas, so I think she could take Ms. Galore nine times out of ten. The title song, “All Time High,” performed by Rita Coolidge, is a dated ballad, but there’s no denying the beauty in John Barry’s melodic writing.

Directed by John Glen. With Kristina Wayborn, Vijay Amritraj, Kabir Bedi, Lois Maxwell, and Robert Brown taking over the role of ‘M’.