OCTOPUSSY (1983, UK/USA, 131m, PG) ***
Action, Adventure, Thriller
dist. United International Pictures (UIP) (UK), MGM/UA Entertainment Company (USA); pr co. United Artists / Eon Productions / Danjaq / Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM); d. John Glen; w. George MacDonald Fraser, Richard Maibaum, Michael G. Wilson (based on the short stories “Octopussy” and “The Property of a Lady” by Ian Fleming); pr. Albert R. Broccoli; ph. Alan Hume (Metrocolor | 2.35:1); m. John Barry; ed. Peter Davies, Henry Richardson; pd. Peter Lamont; ad. John Fenner.
cast: Roger Moore (James Bond), Maud Adams (Octopussy), Louis Jourdan (Kamal Khan), Kristina Wayborn (Magda), Kabir Bedi (Gobinda), Steven Berkoff (Orlov), David Meyer (Twin One), Tony Meyer (Twin Two), Desmond Llewelyn (Q), Robert Brown (M), Lois Maxwell (Miss Moneypenny), Michaela Clavell (Penelope Smallbone), Walter Gotell (Gogol), Vijay Amritraj (Vijay), Albert Moses (Sadruddin), Geoffrey Keen (Minister of Defence), Douglas Wilmer (Fanning), Dermot Crowley (Kamp), Eva Reuber-Staier (Rublevitch), Jeremy Bulloch (Smithers).
James Bond (Moore) may have met his match in Octopussy (Adams), an entrancing beauty involved in a devastating military plot to destroy détente. From the palaces of India to a speeding circus train in Germany and a mid-air battle on the wing of a high-flying jet, only Agent 007 can stop the nightmarish scheme. This is a mixed bag with some excellent action sequences once again deflated by occasional lapses into childish humour. Jourdan makes for a strong and charming villain, but by now Moore is too old to play 007 and seems to be going through the motions. Adams is good and has strong chemistry with Moore but the whole production feels more than a little bloated with one climax too many. Brown’s first appearance as M. Followed by A VIEW TO A KILL (1985).
