Review of Octopussy (1983) by M G — 19 Jul 2010

This is the franchise's signature film. The film patiently unwrapped its intriguing developments in pieces that completed the puzzle for its audience at a crisp pace.

I loved the film from the very beginning, with the clown running for his life from one (and then -- what's this? -- TWO? -- oddly dressed men revealed as twins). The bursting of the balloon in the forest during the chase and the placement of the knife in the back of the clown just when it seems the clown might get away, set the stage by generating questions while simultaneously delivering the action to John Barry's effective musical score. The clown himself is then revealed to be an MI6 agent, crawling out of the river with the knife still in his back, falling into the bars of the gate to the diplomat's residence, and then crashing through the window with a Faberge egg rolling out of his outstretched hand to the feet of the British diplomat (the helium balloon still attached to his lifeless body).

John Barry's musical score was also superlatively fitted to the film, enhancing the clarity and impact of each scene. Save the film's title, this is the most mature Bond film, a Bond film for adults of sensibility and greater-than-basic intelligence (as contrasted with the more juvenile plots of The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, Diamond are Forever, You Only Live Twice, Goldfinger, and every Bond film post-Albert Broccoli).

The action sequences move at a crisp pace capable of pumping the blood and bringing a grin to the face. I never realized how difficult it is to get on and stay on a circus train. The stalking of Bond in the Indian jungle was the only flaw in the film. While I love the idea of it, I thought more thought could have been put into making it more exciting (and editing out the Tarzan swing would be an addition by subtraction).

This is not only my favorite Bond film, but one of my favorite films overall.