For a long time I’ve vaguely assumed that Elektra Natchios, a character introduced by Frank Miller during his run on the comic book Daredevil, was inspired by Melina Havelock, a character in the James Bond film For Your Eyes Only (played by Carole Bouquet).
I mean, they’re both Greek, they’re both assassins, they both use retro weapons, and they’re both avenging their parents’ murder. Each’s commitment to revenge puts her at odds with her nominally anti-revenge but kinda-hypocritical-on-the-subject male love interest and story protagonist. They look something alike (frankly more than comic-book Elektra and later movie-Elektra Jennifer Garner do). And Melina even compares herself explicitly to the original Greek mythological figure Elektra, an avenger-of-a-slain-father after whom Miller’s Elektra is evidently named.
Alas for my theory, Miller’s Elektra made her first appearance six months before the Bond film was released. So Melina couldn’t have influenced Elektra; and given the timing, influence in the other direction isn’t feasible either. So it’s just a coincidence type thing deal. Drat!
FYEO is a workable time waster I guess. The trouble is, the story gives Bond himself no personal stake in what’s happening. It’s just a job. Then, it takes Melina and puts her in the background, even though her storyline is more interesting than the main plot (which involves some kind of cold war macguffin). Then there’s the over-the-hill Moore getting it on with the young figure skater. At that point, either replace Moore with someone younger, like Brosnan, or move the female eye candy to middle age, as they did in Octopussy (bringing back Maud Adams). The pre-credit sequence includes two references to Majesty’s, a gadget-free movie that achieved greatness not repeated since. Reminding viewers of that movie was a very ambitious idea — ‘this movie is going to be like that movie’. It didn’t work out that way, but I admire the ambition. Finally, the notoriously awful music that plays during the action sequences is an inexplicable lapse in judgement. Usually the music is a high point in a typical Bond flick.
Then there’s the over-the-hill Moore getting it on with the young figure skater.
My recollection is that he rebuffs her.