OCTOPUSSY (1983) // James Bond Review and Whisky Pairing
"Octopussy" Plot
A crafty villain (Louis Jourdan) uses rogue Russian general (Steven Berkoff) in his effort to steal jewels.
Whiskey Lore Review
Like License To Kill, Octopussy might have done better in another era or as a non-Bond film. Since when did James Bond turn into Inspector Clouseau the master of disguises? Before I worked out my mathmatical formula for ranking Bond films, this was my least favorite film - mostly off of the fact they put Bond in a clown suit. At least he saves the day.
After the more serious For Your Eyes Only, this slides back into comedy. Some of it is good enough that it makes you forget that Bond is supposed to be serious, like when his Indian assistant Vijay is playing his flute to the snake and then plays the James Bond theme - catching Bond's curious glance. In fact, Vijay is my favorite character in this movie. Q is at his best and gets a good laugh when he flies in using his British flag hot air balloon. When Bond is sliding down the bannister and shoots the object that is about to nail his crotch, I get a pretty good laugh out of that too. Bringing back Maud Adams was a stroke of genius - still not the most incredible part but she makes it work.
Best of the movie: For the most part, the humor in this hits hard enough, you laugh before you realize this is James Bond you're laughing at. Oh, and the fight on top of the train is awesome - so much so it gets revisited in Skyfall.
Memorable moment: There is a sexy scene when Bond's love interest escapes from the second story by sliding down unraveling her clothes on the way.
Where it goes wrong: Bond playing backgammon in his white suit. A long way from Monte Carlo and Chemin de fer (Bacarrat) and the tarzan yell and clown suit are unforgiveable.
Paired Whisky: Mellow Corn Straight Kentucky Corn Whiskey
I couldn't think of a better whiskey to pair with this movie than one called "Mellow Corn." Hey, I may not like that the series turn such a laughable turn under Moore, but he owned it.
Whiskey Lore Rank: #21 (Score 5.12) > Next Movie
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MUSIC (5): Bond movies get in ruts with music. Something works (like Sheena and Carly with pop hits) and we end up with Rita Coolidge. Nothing against Rita, she had some great songs - but a little too AC for my liking. But as usual, Barry turned it into an enjoyable score.