For Your Eyes Only: reviews
Jun. 24th, 1981 08:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
michael_gothard_archiveE-Film Critic
Michael Gothard as the ruthless hitman Locque gives the film a cold core of villainy the main villain perhaps lacks, saying a lot with no dialogue at all.
This is the first Bond film in an age, that's genuinely tough and gritty. This is best represented in Moore's best performance as Bond. Gone are the quips and smugness that ruined his performance in 'Moonraker', and instead we have a toughness, edge and depth that was Connery's trademark. Just watch the scene where he disposes of an assassin by quietly reminding him of who he's killed before his face twists and he boots him off a cliff. It's a remarkable scene and Moore's single-best moment as Bond.
Full review
Ajay Singh
As the vengeful Melina, Glen cast French actress Carole Boquet who gave a strong and magnetic performance, a perfect foil for Moore. Renowned British actor Julian Glover played the villain of the piece, Aris Kristatos giving him great charm and panache over a heart of stone.
Kristatos is nakedly out for anything he can get and doesn’t care what he has to do to achieve his goals. Michael Gothard is silent and sinister as henchman Loque, making the most out of a role with no dialogue.
Full review
DVD Verdict
The role of the Villain's Helper is divided into two characters, with Michael Gothard as Emil Locque (whose looks and evil silence are enough) and John Wyman as Erich Kriegler (whose athletic prowess makes him a worthy 007 opponent).
Full review
The Escapist
As for the bad guys, the main one is Aris Kristatos ... He is a smuggler of various illicit goods, and plans to get his hands on ATAC and sell it to the Russians for money … Julian Glover has quite a bit of charisma, playing his role believably. You could see why Bond initially believed his story that a business rival, Milos Columbo … was the one trying to get his hands on ATAC. However, as the movie gets further along, you see his colder side, showing that he is truly the villain, and that any charm he has is only to further his own goals.
The other main villain is Emile Locque (played by Michael Gothard of the 1973 version of "The Three Musketeers") ... he plays the role of a hitman quite well, despite looking like a less nerdy version of Bill Gates, and never talking. He has an air about him that makes you take him seriously as a villain.
It's a shame he dies halfway through, being replaced with the KGB agent Eric Kriegler (John Wyman of "Revenge of the Pink Panther"). Wyman does all right, but he never seemed as much of a threat as Gothard, especially after a temper tantrum earlier in the movie.
Full review
Surrender to the Void
The casting by Debbie McWilliams and Maude Spector is incredible for the ensemble that is created … John Wyman is very good as the henchman Erich Kriegler who is proven to be a formidable opponent for Bond while Michael Gothard is also good as the mysterious killer Emile Leopold Locque.
Full review
Sticky Trigger Entertainment
His moments with Melina, warning her of the dangers of revenge, carry a thematic weight because it seems like Bond is dropping the act. Similarly, his brutal execution of Locque is easily the darkest moment of Moore's tenure and one of the most gripping. With barely a word of dialogue, Moore communicates the kind of moral toll that a licence to kill may take on a man's soul, whilst also saying that this is personal and for once, he's going to enjoy it. It's his best performance by a long shot and his most interesting spin on the character of James Bond; sadly, this film is the only one where he gets to let it loose.
Highlight: It's a tie between Bond kicking a car off a cliff and Bond climbing up to the monastery.
Full review
Rambles: Tom Knapp
Rather than settling for a single, obvious megalomaniacal villain, For Your Eyes Only gives us two suspicious rivals (Julian Glover as Aristotle Kristatos and Topol as Milos Colombo) and allows us to guess at which is really the bad guy.
Add a sinister assassin (Michael Gothard as Emil Locque), a murderous skier (John Wyman as Erich Kriegler) and a sex-crazed American skater (Lynn-Holly Johnson as Bibi), who is too young for even Bond's broad tastes, and you have a cast who'll keep you watching and guessing throughout the film. Rather than hit us over the head again with plots to rule (or annihilate) the entire world, Eyes provides a more believable, realistic scenario which is a suspenseful pleasure to watch.
Full review
WhatCulture!
Emile Locque played by Michael Gothard is Kristatos’ other henchman. A hired assassin who organises the deaths of the Havelocks as well as killing Columbo’s mistress in a vicious attack using high powered beach buggies to run her down. Locque is most well known for providing Moore with his game changing scene on the edge of a cliff and while his appearance is deceptively placid he is one of the most brutal henchmen of the series so far.
While there is still room for Moore’s trademark quips they are toned down in favour of a Bond more akin to early Connery than the excessive seventies style Bond. Moore shows a side to the character that has rarely been seen until this point giving him a mean, vengeful streak.
This is most evident in a scene where he has a choice to save or kill the lead henchman, Emile Locque, as his car hangs on the edge of a cliff. As Locque has been responsible for the death of two of Bond’s close associates he chooses to kick the car away from the cliff edge providing Locque with a painful death and marking a brutal change in Bond’s approach.
Full review
Michael Gothard as the ruthless hitman Locque gives the film a cold core of villainy the main villain perhaps lacks, saying a lot with no dialogue at all.
This is the first Bond film in an age, that's genuinely tough and gritty. This is best represented in Moore's best performance as Bond. Gone are the quips and smugness that ruined his performance in 'Moonraker', and instead we have a toughness, edge and depth that was Connery's trademark. Just watch the scene where he disposes of an assassin by quietly reminding him of who he's killed before his face twists and he boots him off a cliff. It's a remarkable scene and Moore's single-best moment as Bond.
Full review
Ajay Singh
As the vengeful Melina, Glen cast French actress Carole Boquet who gave a strong and magnetic performance, a perfect foil for Moore. Renowned British actor Julian Glover played the villain of the piece, Aris Kristatos giving him great charm and panache over a heart of stone.
Kristatos is nakedly out for anything he can get and doesn’t care what he has to do to achieve his goals. Michael Gothard is silent and sinister as henchman Loque, making the most out of a role with no dialogue.
Full review
DVD Verdict
The role of the Villain's Helper is divided into two characters, with Michael Gothard as Emil Locque (whose looks and evil silence are enough) and John Wyman as Erich Kriegler (whose athletic prowess makes him a worthy 007 opponent).
Full review
The Escapist
As for the bad guys, the main one is Aris Kristatos ... He is a smuggler of various illicit goods, and plans to get his hands on ATAC and sell it to the Russians for money … Julian Glover has quite a bit of charisma, playing his role believably. You could see why Bond initially believed his story that a business rival, Milos Columbo … was the one trying to get his hands on ATAC. However, as the movie gets further along, you see his colder side, showing that he is truly the villain, and that any charm he has is only to further his own goals.
The other main villain is Emile Locque (played by Michael Gothard of the 1973 version of "The Three Musketeers") ... he plays the role of a hitman quite well, despite looking like a less nerdy version of Bill Gates, and never talking. He has an air about him that makes you take him seriously as a villain.
It's a shame he dies halfway through, being replaced with the KGB agent Eric Kriegler (John Wyman of "Revenge of the Pink Panther"). Wyman does all right, but he never seemed as much of a threat as Gothard, especially after a temper tantrum earlier in the movie.
Full review
Surrender to the Void
The casting by Debbie McWilliams and Maude Spector is incredible for the ensemble that is created … John Wyman is very good as the henchman Erich Kriegler who is proven to be a formidable opponent for Bond while Michael Gothard is also good as the mysterious killer Emile Leopold Locque.
Full review
Sticky Trigger Entertainment
His moments with Melina, warning her of the dangers of revenge, carry a thematic weight because it seems like Bond is dropping the act. Similarly, his brutal execution of Locque is easily the darkest moment of Moore's tenure and one of the most gripping. With barely a word of dialogue, Moore communicates the kind of moral toll that a licence to kill may take on a man's soul, whilst also saying that this is personal and for once, he's going to enjoy it. It's his best performance by a long shot and his most interesting spin on the character of James Bond; sadly, this film is the only one where he gets to let it loose.
Highlight: It's a tie between Bond kicking a car off a cliff and Bond climbing up to the monastery.
Full review
Rambles: Tom Knapp
Rather than settling for a single, obvious megalomaniacal villain, For Your Eyes Only gives us two suspicious rivals (Julian Glover as Aristotle Kristatos and Topol as Milos Colombo) and allows us to guess at which is really the bad guy.
Add a sinister assassin (Michael Gothard as Emil Locque), a murderous skier (John Wyman as Erich Kriegler) and a sex-crazed American skater (Lynn-Holly Johnson as Bibi), who is too young for even Bond's broad tastes, and you have a cast who'll keep you watching and guessing throughout the film. Rather than hit us over the head again with plots to rule (or annihilate) the entire world, Eyes provides a more believable, realistic scenario which is a suspenseful pleasure to watch.
Full review
WhatCulture!
Emile Locque played by Michael Gothard is Kristatos’ other henchman. A hired assassin who organises the deaths of the Havelocks as well as killing Columbo’s mistress in a vicious attack using high powered beach buggies to run her down. Locque is most well known for providing Moore with his game changing scene on the edge of a cliff and while his appearance is deceptively placid he is one of the most brutal henchmen of the series so far.
While there is still room for Moore’s trademark quips they are toned down in favour of a Bond more akin to early Connery than the excessive seventies style Bond. Moore shows a side to the character that has rarely been seen until this point giving him a mean, vengeful streak.
This is most evident in a scene where he has a choice to save or kill the lead henchman, Emile Locque, as his car hangs on the edge of a cliff. As Locque has been responsible for the death of two of Bond’s close associates he chooses to kick the car away from the cliff edge providing Locque with a painful death and marking a brutal change in Bond’s approach.
Full review
