For Your Eyes Only
1981 · Directed by John Glen
Original language: English
- adventure
- action
- thriller
The story
A British spy ship has sunk and on board was a hi-tech encryption device. James Bond is sent to find the device that holds British launching instructions before the enemy Soviets get to it first.
What it’s like
Bright Mediterranean sun and cool blue underwater gloom alternate across this 1981 Bond entry, with Greek harbours, a snowy Cortina ski run and a rain-slicked Cortina-style chase giving it a postcard-glossy surface shot in the early-eighties house style of wide, saturated frames and zoom-heavy action. Its score leans on bright brass and synth stabs, and the underwater sequences carry a muffled, pressurised hush. The mood is brisk and sunny, with a light, wry edge rather than dread: a cool, glamorous adventure that moves briskly between set pieces, with a slightly self-consciously comic streak in its villains and gadgetry. Violence is frequent and stylised, mostly bloodless gunfights, fistfights and a few tense underwater and cliffside danger scenes, with a brief, lightly played sexual innuendo and no real gore. It suits a lazy weekend afternoon, a holiday-mood watch, or a nostalgic rewatch with friends, and fits people who want an easygoing, sun-washed spy caper with a classic Bond swagger and a gentle, playful tone.
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