2 gibbles outta 5

Director: John Glen

Okay. Ready? The only Bond films I have seen prior to this one feature Pierce Brosnan or Daniel Craig. Even though I am a filmy kind of guy (Read: both covered in film and interested in film), Bond has never held much appeal to me. Bear that in mind. Regardless, I do try to watch any given film with the notion that I might not be the target demographic.

Even with that notion planted firmly in my cheek, I have to assume that this was a bad Bond movie. Obviously Mr. Moore was entirely too old for the role at this point, and even with all of the jokiness to the film, it never excuses that he just cannot be believed at any point as a Bondish character, parody or not.

The first half of the film is near intolerable, with the “classic” Bond over-the-topness taken to sort of foolish camp extremes. The second half plays out more smoothly, and Grace Jones is uncomfortably fun to watch, but overall, 131 minutes of the mishmash is a little much. Suggested for Bond enthusiasts (who have probably already seen it) or fans of bad action movies, but the casual viewer probably won’t care.