Roger Moore’s penultimate James Bond film, Octopussy, is one of the most polarizing entries in the series. The double-whammy critical panning of Octopussy and A View to a Kill led to the unceremonious end of the Moore era. Moore didn’t have a bittersweet swansong to bid the role farewell like Daniel Craig; he just kept making Bond movies until audiences had had enough.
In retrospect, while A View to a Kill is as weak as many contemporary reviews said, Octopussy has a few saving graces. It’s certainly not a perfect movie, but it’s not a complete disaster, either. It has thrilling action sequences, an unforgettable “Bond girl” performance, and Moore is always watchable in the role of 007.
It’s Not As Bad As People Say
Roger Moore’s Tongue-In-Cheek Portrayal Of Bond Is Uniquely Watchable
In both great movies and terrible ones, Roger Moore gives one of the most iconic portrayals of Bond. The first actor to fill Sean Connery’s shoes, George Lazenby, simply did a Connery impression. But Moore made the role his own with a truly unique take.
That take is marked by wacky one-liners and slapstick gags. This tone works best when Moore goes with the zany flow, and he’s more relaxed in the role than ever in Octopussy.
The Climactic Airplane Sequence Is Stunning
The action sequences in Octopussy are a mixed bag, but the movie goes out on a high note in the finale with by far its most thrilling set-piece (and one of the most thrilling set-pieces from the whole series).
Bond fights a bad guy on the outside of a plane high up in the sky. This sequence plays like a Christopher Nolan sequence shot long before CGI could be used to erase safety harnesses.
It Has A So-Bad-It’s-Good Quality
The plot of Octopussy is so absurd and the humor is so on-the-nose and the tone of the whole endeavor is so shamelessly goofy and ridiculous that it’s enjoyable from an ironic standpoint.
Any movie that dresses 007 as a clown and sends him to the circus to be mocked by children belongs in the same so-bad-it’s-good category as The Room and Troll 2 and Plan 9 from Outer Space.
Maud Adams’ Performance Is Controversial But Undeniably Memorable
Maud Adams became one of the rare “Bond girl” actors to return for a second role. After playing Scaramanga’s girlfriend in The Man with the Golden Gun, she was given a more substantial role as the titular villain-turned-lover in Octopussy.
Adams’ portrayal of Octopussy received extremely mixed reviews, with some critics noting her performance as one of the film’s highlights and others complaining that it drags the movie down. Love it or hate it, it’s certainly a memorable turn.
It Captures The Essence Of The Franchise: Fun
What draws audiences to Bond movies – and has made 007 such a reliable box office draw over so many decades – is the promise of pure, unadulterated, uninterrupted fun. Like Star Wars movies, Bond adventures offer sheer, spectacular escapism from start to finish.
Octopussy may not be a particularly smart movie, and it may not be particularly well-plotted or engaging on a dramatic level. But it has fun and spectacle and escapism in spades.
It Is As Bad As People Say
The Action Takes The Slapstick Humor Too Far
The goofy humor let down a lot of the action in Moore’s Bond films. In The Man with the Golden Gun, a breathtaking car stunt is ruined with a ridiculous slide whistle sound effect. In A View to a Kill, a ski chase is ruined with a riff on “California Girls.”
In Octopussy, the slapstick goes too far. The humor invaded so much of the film’s action that very little of it is dedicated to actually thrilling the audience. Bond never seems like he’s in any real danger (except when he’s hanging from the side of an airborne plane).
It Has One Of The Worst Bond Villains
There are a few common picks for the worst ever Bond villain, from Gustav Graves to Max Zorin, and Octopussy’s General Orlov is one of them. This rogue Soviet general is one-dimensional and clichéd at his best and offensive and cartoonish at his worst.
Renowned character actor Steven Berkoff brings his A-game to the role, but even the most talented performer can’t save a misconceived character.
The Plot Is Needlessly Convoluted
Nobody goes to a Bond movie for the plot, but each film still needs a functioning story driven by action with a few emotional beats. The plotting of Octopussy is both painfully formulaic and needlessly convoluted.
There’s a secret agent’s death, a fake Fabergé egg, and an international jewel-smuggling ring before getting to the nuclear terrorist operation that it’s all a cover for. This storyline is a hat on a hat on a hat.
The Runtime Is Too Long
At 131 minutes, Octopussy pushes its luck. Light, escapist action-adventure blockbuster fare arguably shouldn’t exceed two hours. Octopussy only goes 11 minutes over its two-hour allotment, but the stretched runtime does have a psychological effect on the audience.
It feels like it could’ve been trimmed down a little. The screenwriters gave director John Glen too much plot to juggle and it spilled over the comfortable 120-minute mark.
It’s One Of The Silliest Bond Films
There’s always room for a bit of silliness in a Bond movie, like a wacky gadget or a corny one-liner, but Octopussy’s silliness goes beyond the pale – even by the Moore-era standards of Bond’s silliness.
In Octopussy, Moore’s 007 disguises himself as a clown to sneak into a circus and gets ridiculed by a group of kids. He wears a gorilla outfit and does a ludicrous “Tarzan yell” in the midst of a jungle chase.