short takes (2)

August 27, 1981

* Who says Hollywood can think? The latest James Bond movie, For Your Eyes Only, is so true to the standard Bond blueprint they could have phoned it in. But then, people are still pouring in to see it, weeks after is release, making it another hit entry in the most successful movie series ever. The plot derives loosely from a story in Ian Fleming's book of the same name, which is a lot more moody and contemplative than anything in the action-obsessed film version. There's a woman who craves revenge on a villain, and Agent 007 takes over the task, saving the security of the Western world in the process. As these junky epics go, this is a well-made one, moving at a speedy clip under the workman-like direction of John Glen. But if future archeologists ever study it as a typical manifestation of our time -- as well they might -- it's a materialistic and insensitive picture we will have painted of ourselves.