- Let's just get this out of the way first: this film is titled Octopussy, and it features a female character who delivers the line "That's my little octopussy" during a love scene. Now the good news: that cringe-inducing double entendre is easily the worst part of the film. The rest of it reminds me a lot of the previous Bond entry, For Your Eyes Only, in that it is a perfectly adequate, utterly formulaic movie that is just entertaining enough to occupy two hours. Having recently seen multiple Bond films that couldn't clear even that hurdle, suddenly Octopussy doesn't sound so bad.
- This time around, Bond (Roger Moore) faces off against three villains, a warmongering Russian general named Orlov (Steven Berkoff), the conniving prince Kamal Khan (Louis Jourdan), and a smuggler-turned-guru nicknamed...sigh...Octopussy (Maud Adams). Of these, Octopussy is by far the most interesting, both because Maud Adams is a relatively talented actress and because she is the head of an octopus-themed cult for women that also inexplicably funds a traveling circus. As such, we end up with henchmen (David Meyer, Anthony Meyer) who throw knives and a seductress (Kristina Wayborn) who can rappel down a building using only her scarf. There is also a henchman (Kabir Bedi) who can crush dice in his hand and another who throws a circular saw like a yo-yo, but I don't think they learned those tricks from the circus.
- Some of the more impressive aspects of Octopussy are its filming locations, many of which are real beautiful palaces in India. Generally speaking, Indian culture is treated more respectfully than you might imagine for a film from the early 80's in that all of the Indian characters are played by actual Indians (including the delightful Vijay Amritraj who, alas, did not have the opportunity to become a recurring character). Sure, there is a meal consisting of stuffed goat heads, but it's almost worth it just to see Louis Jourdan choke down something that looks like an eyeball. Otherwise, there is a fun car chase, a really great train sequence, and an exciting bomb defusing scene, complete with Bond in a clown suit. John Barry contributes a strong score, director John Glen includes the usual ridiculous animal reaction shots in an otherwise competent outing, and Rita Coolidge's title song is sadly nowhere near the "All Time High" for the series.
- Featuring the usual roles by Lois Maxwell and Desmond Llewelyn and some new ones by Robert Brown and Michaela Clavell.
- Star Wars fans will rejoice upon seeing Rebel General Rieekan (Bruce Boa) and Imperial General Motti (Richard LeParmentier) hanging out at the circus together. Crix Madine (Dermot Crowley) and Boba Fett (Jeremy Bulloch) are also in this film somewhere, but I didn't spot them.
