This is probably the only Roger Moore-James Bond movie
that effectively mixes action with substance. The next film,
OCTOPUSSY, would try for the same effect but not quite succeed.
Most of that comes courtesy of Bond's female sidekick, Melina, who
looks like a pretty version of Alanis Morissette. She's out for revenge
on the man who killed her parents, and packs a mean crossbow to
accomplish it. She crosses paths with Bond, who is tracking the
location of a transmitter.
Bond meets two crime bosses, one of which has to be the
killer's boss. It turns out to be the guy masquerading as an Olympic ice
skater's sponsor. The skater, a pretty young thing, seems to be the first
willing female Bond has ever turned down. There she is, lying naked
on his bed as he walks in, but he won't take her up on her request
because she's too young. (He's got standards so high he apparently
won't date anyone who's age isn't in the double digits. Good for you,
James!) He offers her an ice cream instead of his human popsicle.
The Winter Olympics motif makes for some interesting
chases. Not only is thre the obligatory ski chase and a fight on a
hockey rink, but this time there's a chase on the bobsled run. At least
they didn't throw in a luge run and some ice dancing. The climax has
a little more class, as Bond and Melina (wielding her crossbow)
converge on the villain's monastery hideout. Influenced by such a
sacred place, Bond decides at the end of the movie that he's going to
become a monk.
Copyright © 1996 Andrew Hicks
out of 4
