Review of Octopussy (1983) by Matthew D — 22 May 2017

Why this film recieves the panning it does, I'm not sure. It essentially takes Cold War spy intrigue and dresses it up in an exotic Bollywood storyline. Yes, Moore spends some time at a circus in clown make-up, swings from jungle vines yelling like Tarzan and rides in a toy crocodile, but gimmicks aside.

.. These liabilities never compromise the entertainment value of the film. It's a movie peppered with many death-defying action sequences styled for an Indiana Jones generation while not dispensing with the classic Bond style.

It should be noted too that Moore's lighter touch and gifted comic timing made these films all the more enjoyable even if it did often make the dramatic situations less believable. It is good fun to see the exchanges between Bond and villain Khamal Khan (especially when they match wits in a casino over the film's McGuffin- a faberge egg stolen from the Russian royal family).

Khan is played by Roger's counterpart from across the English Channel- '50s MGM pretty boy Louis Jordan who is one part menace, two parts sleaze- the perfect villainous cocktail in the mix. Elsewhere, we see the return of Maud Adams from Golden Gun who this time is the titular character.

Steven Berkoff plays the megalomaniac General Orlov in an occasionally hammy way but with relish. The sacrificial lamb here is tennis star Vijay Armitraj who succumbs to a deadly, bladed yo-yo early on in the piece.

The camp elements in the first half of Octopussy give way to a more serious second act set in East Germany.where after some spectacular fights on top of a moving train, Bond then has to urgently make his way to a US air force base to diffuse a bomb.

This is one of the most tense situations in a Bond film and I attribute it Moore's acting. Although the scene is hindered somewhat by the fact that Bond is wearing circus clown make up, we invest in the sense of urgency he is expressing because it is uncharacteristic for his Bond to raise such a sweat.

Consequently, we actually believe the worst may happen and we are pleasantly relieved when it doesn't. This is followed by Moore, and Moore and Moore as we are treated to Bond staging a raid on Khamal's palace in a hot-air balloon, pursuing him on horseback, grabbing onto his plane and holding for dear life in mid-air before fending off the villain, rescuing Octopussy by jumping to safety on the edge of a cliff and watching Khamal perish in the exploding plane below.

How can you fault that as entertainment? I feel exhausted just talking about it!