Roger Moore's finest hour (of the 80s...)

Friday night is a time for a well earned beer, something quick and easy for dinner and a cup or two of Kurume's finest drip coffee. It's also the perfect time for a film or two, and tonight's offering was For Your Eyes Only.

Having been raised on a diet of Bond films since birth, I must have seen every film dozens of times. And due to the 1988 FA cup quarter final between Liverpool and Manchester United at the end of the tape, For Your Eyes Only was probably the one that I watched the most. At the time of watching it, it seemed ok, nothing special, but now, with the early 80s a long, distant memory, it can be fully appreciated.



And the verdict? Cracking lickle film. Good, gritty story, and no over reliance on special effects or gadgets. Surprisingly, its the things that should sink it that make it memorable (the hideously dated disco-synth incidental music, the archaic technology on display, the phone call with Margaret Thatcher at the end).

Roger Moore's best Bond film since... well, the last two. In fact, no, hells no, the last 4. Live and Let Die was great, The Man with the Golden Gun was underrated, The Spy Who Loved Me was decent and Moonraker was excellent/poor (depending on your point of view). The next one, Octopussy, wasn't bad either, and A View to a Kill had its plus points.

With today's announcement that Daniel "Layer Cake" Craig will be the next Bond, let's hope that the team brush aside the tosh that was Die Another Day and deliver something in the vein of From Russia With Love, For Your Eyes Only or The Living Daylights. Egotistical toss may pull in more box office dollars, but driven, engaging, realistic storylines will win back the hearts of a disillusioned audience.