For Your Eyes Only [Blu-ray]

One of my all-time favorite Bond movies in a nice package
THE MOVIE
There wasn't much further 007 could go as far as sci-fi wizardry and fantastic characters after the cartoonish MOONRAKER that had seen James Bond propelled into space.
What was called for was a `back to basics' approach that emphasized realism, exotic locations, less gadgetry, down to earth villains and a return to the ruthlessness that Roger Moore had exhibited in movies such as THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN and THE SPY WHO LOVED ME. What better way for the filmakers to return Bond to his roots than to tap into original Fleming source material.
Taking characters and situations from not only the Fleming novel FOR YOUR EYES ONLY, but also the keel-hauling sequence from LIVE AND LET DIE writers Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson wove together a complex and enticing cold war spy drama that included some of the staple setpieces underwater and on the slopes that had served the character so well in the past.
As the late John Brosnan noted in his review of the...

One Of The Best Bond Films
After MOONRAKER's excesses, it was a wise decision to bring Bond back to earth, and back to basics with FOR YOUR EYES ONLY. FYEO features one of the best casts of any of the Bond films, including standout performances from Topol (playing one of the most likeable rogues in all of the Bond films), Julian Glover, and one of the best (and most beautiful) Bond women of all in Carole Bouquet. Lynn-Holly Johnson IS a little annoying as a spoiled young olympic hopeful, but the character is SUPPOSED to be annoying, so she actually was a bit of inspired casting. The story brings Bond back to the style of the films of the 60's, as Bond once again squares off with the Soviets in a race to recover a sensitive piece of computer equipment. Roger Moore gives his best performance as Bond in FYEO, as we finally see him show some toughness as well as his suave sophistication. Humor is present, but not so much as to distract from the film. The pre-credits sequence is a fun bit of...

Disappointing Special Edition DVD can't mar Moore's best
The new range of special edition DVD versions of the Bond films are being released in groups from 1999-2002, and fortunately this fine effort was in the first batch. Others have remarked on what most fans regard as the very best of the Moore Bonds, and I won't dispute them here. From it's nifty nod to the George Lazenby performance in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" to the fine ensemble acting, to the sheer style of the non-traditional ending, FYEO succeeds because it marks one of the few times the producers took special pains to incorporate Fleming into the script. For that effort, a full five stars are well-deserved.

Where this product fails, however, is in living up to the standards this Special Edition series has set for itself. Like other entrants in this series, FYEO has audio commentaries by the filmmakers. As with all the Special Editions, the Ian Fleming Society, perhaps the most 'serious' of the Bond Fan Clubs, provides a narrator who ties...

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