IMHO:
That is not even the best Roger Moore Bond, which of course is Live and Let Die- better plot, stunts, villians, song, humor and chase scenes. And Roger doesn’t look like he is in line for the senior citizen discount like in Octopussy (or worse View to a Kill :rolleyes: ).
Best Bond overall- Goldfinger.
I’d admit in a heartbeat that Octopussy was the best of the Roger Moore movies, mainly because:
[ul][li]Maud Adams is a serious fox.[/li][li]So was that blonde chick.[/li][li]The premise (though cold-war dated) makes more sense than the “megalomaniac industrialist” fiascos of TSWLM and Moonraker.[/li][/ul]
In the case of that last point, the villians in those two films seemed to subscribe to the following world domination plan:
1: Collect underpants.
2: ?
3: Seize control of the world.
Octopussy’s General Orlov had a halfway workable idea and it’s true that the Soviets had enough conventional forces in reserve that they could have squished western Europe in a weekend. It kinda makes those goofy West German nuclear disarmnament-types seem extra ridiculous, since the existence of American nukes was the only thing protecting them Uncle Nikita.
av8mike has it wrong, though. The plot wasn’t to start WWIII. Rather it was to allow the Soviets (or at least the power-mad Gen. Orlov) to grab all of Europe without starting WWIII.
Kamal needed to buy back the fake Fabergé egg (not the original) because it had been swiped by Agent 009 (the clown-dressed agent who gets whacked in the opening minutes) and that threatened to uncover the whole plot.
Or did 009 have the original? Damn, now I’m all confused.
Anyhoo, it was the best Roger Moore movie, but that doesn’t actually say a lot when compared to the crapfests of The Man with the Golden Gun and A View to a Kill.
I think this thread shows one thing for sure:
People have different ideas of what a Bond movie is supposed to be. Some want it to be like the book, some think they should all be like Sean Connery’s, others(me) like it when they go over the top like Octopussy.
Good thing I didn’t title the thread, “Roger Moore is the best James Bond. Discuss”.
Octopussy was the first Bond movie I ever saw (and I had a hell of a time getting my parents to let me see it, what with that title). It’s not horrible, but it’s by no means the best Bond movie. Or even the best Roger Moore Bond movie – I’d go with CalMeacham and say that For Your Eyes Only is the best.
I don’t like them “by the book;” the movies work IMO when they realize that the whole premise is absurd but then run from that. So it’s somewhere in between the ludicrous campy stuff and treating the books as if they were super-sophisticated spy thrillers.
For the record, my favorite Bond movie is Never Say Never Again, which probably discredits me to the Bond purists out there. If I had to pick a “real” Bond movie, though, I’d go with Thunderball – it’s got everything that made the franchise cool, plus it was the 60’s which are infinitely cooler than the 70’s. Goldfinger has cooler bad guys and some clever dialogue and the best Bond Girl, but it also has long stretches which are just flat-out dull.
I used to like Roger Moore just a lil more than Connery, but lately Connery is my favorite. I think Pierce Brosnan doesn’t deserve the criticism he gets, but the scripts have been awful. I don’t want to see Bond getting his butt kicked for thirty minutes on end. Put the modern day cast in a cool “old” plot and it’d rock.
My ranking of the Bonds (taking the overall quality of their Bond Films inot account):[list=1]
[li]Sean Connery[/li][li]Timothy Dalton[/li][li]Pierce Brosnan[/li][li]George Lazenby[/li][li]David Niven[/li][li]Roger Moore[/li][/list=1]
My ranking of the films, based on how entertaining and well-done I think they are overall (at least for today):
[list=1]
[li]From Russia With Love[/li][li]Goldfinger[/li][li]On Her Majesty’s Secret Service[/li][li]Doctor No[/li][li]Licence To Kill[/li][li]The Living Daylights[/li][li]Never Say Never Again[/li][li]Casino Royale[/li][li]For Your Eyes Only[/li][li]The Spy Who Loved Me[/li][li]Tomorrow Never Dies[/li][li]Thunderball[/li][li]GoldenEye[/li][li]The World Is Not Enough[/li][li]Moonraker[/li][li]Octopussy[/li][li]Die Another Day[/li][li]A View To A Kill[/li][li]You Only Live Twice[/li][li]Diamonds Are Forever[/li][li]Live And Let Die[/li][li]The Man With The Golden Gun[/li][/list=1]
I completely agree with the OP. But then, I am heavily biased, as “Octopussy” was the first (and only) James Bond film I ever saw in a movie theater, and I saw it when I was 12.