For Your Eyes Only

(John Glen, UK/US 1981, 127 min., 35mm)

Celebrating James Bond. Bond enters the ’80s to the sound of Sheena Easton’s high-charting, synth-heavy pop theme song. Just as Eon Productions did in the late ’60s when they followed up You Only Live Twice with On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, For Your Eyes Only was intended to bring Bond back to its roots and address the critique that the series had become too reliant on gadgets and camp. The plot is comfortably familiar enough, with Bond being assigned to retrieve a lost British war device and prevent it from falling into the hands of the Soviets. The return to a more real-world narrative focused on the Cold War invokes memories of one of the series’ best entries: From Russia with Love.