Octopussy is kind of a weird Bond film when you really look at it. It’s full of dichotomies. Roger Moore has been doing this for a long time, and for some reason, he seems really full of energy in this movie. Like, he looked like For Your Eyes Only was going to be his last Bond film. He couldn’t sell it anymore. But, in this movie, he’s all James Bond about it.
And the Bond girl in this film, the namesake of the movie, as it were, Octopussy herself, isn’t really that great of a character. I mean, when you really think about it, aside from being the head of the organization that runs things, she, as a character, doesn’t do much in the movie. It’s her subordinates and the Russians who are doing stuff. She’s just kind of there.
And speaking of Russians, because of the era that the world was in at the time that this movie was made, Soviets had to be handled very delicately. So, they found a way to make them both the friend, and villain at the same time. A sort of “have your cake and eat it to” mechanic to use the Soviets as the villains and use the plot device that you want, but still keep them appeased so as not to create any political tensions. That’s smart. You have to admire that.
Another thing I noticed was that during a movie with such serious themes, and topical plot lines, especially for when it came out, there was an awful lot of tongue in cheek humor. Now, there’s usually some jokes here and there when it comes to Bond movies. But it seemed like there was a little more than normal in this film. The tarzan yell in the jungle scene is something that most people make a note about. That’s awfully silly for a James Bond movie. It reminds me of the slide whistle during the corkscrew car jump in The Man with the Golden Gun.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t see it, though. It’s still a good movie. It’s still a Bond movie. One of the better early ones, probably. It just has a different kind of feel to it. It’s more action oriented than a lot more of the other Bond films are. He’s hanging off of trains and jumping out of airplanes. And of course, the obligatory chase scene.
So, yeah. Go and see Octopussy. James Bond hasn’t let you down yet. And he isn’t going to let you down with this one. And it is the 80s, so you can start to see the culture shift going on in real time. When you watch the movies in order, it’s crazy to see the culture change over the years. Crazy, but fun. And as always, keep on watching, with a smile on your face…
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