This and the Spy Who Loved me were Roger Moore's top 2 of his own Bond films... and I can see that.
It's not as over-the-top as Moonraker (which is one of the worst Bond movies ever made), it's not as silly as some of his other outings, although, if you are a Moore fan that hasn't seen this yet, fear not, it still has the Silly Bond moments that are his trope.
It's actually just... solid. For Your Eyes Only is the Roger Moore film that could have been a solid, stand alone movie, removed from the 007 franchise, that still stood up on it's own.
It's a bit darker than the others, it's a bit more realistic, it's a bit more story driven... and yet it maintains the Moore Era silliness that people come to expect out of his films, but with an actual story feel to it.
The Spy Who Loved Me is Moore's magnum opus in the 007 franchise, but For Your Eyes Only comes pretty close to dethroning it.
Even as an unapologetic Connery Bond fan, this is one of the best in the franchise.
A British spy trawler is sunk in the Aegean Sea. Oceanographer Jack Hedley ("Havelock") is tasked with trying to find the ship before a vital piece of tracking hardware falls into enemy hands. Things don't go to plan though, and once the wreck has been located a brutal murder ensues and Roger Moore ("007"), aided by the daughter of the murdered scientist (Carole Bouquet), has to try and track down the stolen kit before it falls into the hands of the Soviets. The adventure elements of this are pretty good as are the gadgets, but the casting isn't up to much. Aside from the star, there is little skill on offer as Topol, an oddly cast Julian Glover as baddie "Kristatos" and the thoroughly peevish ice-skating protegé Lynn-Holly Johnson ("Bibi") all struggle to keep this sluggish plot rumbling along until a really rather half-baked ending. It's got some fine cinematography of Greece and the set-piece action scenes work well enough, but I'm afraid this outing for "Mr. Bond" is not one of his better ones in my book.