Review of A View to a Kill (1985) by Mark S — 30 Oct 2010

Roger Moore himself hated this film because of his age when making it, and it's true that he was too old to still be playing Bond, but it's surprising just how much fuss was made over it given that he certainly looks no worse than he did in his other two Bond films of the 1980s.

This film has actually aged better than those two, perhaps because of its more modern and violent take on action. This was something else that Moore did not like, but I'd disagree, personally finding the clown-costume/Tarzan-type shenanigans of the previous Bond film more detrimental to the series than Christopher Walken's psychotic villain.

Moore said that Walken machine-gunning people down was not Bond, but off the top of my head I'm sure I can recall classic Bond villain Goldfinger mercilessly shooting soldiers in the back on screen, so such moral viewpoints are certainly debatable.

I think Walken's Zorin is actually one of the most memorable villains of the series, and it is essentially his performance that makes this film more watchable than it otherwise necessarily would have been.

Duran Duran's theme tune was one of the best in years too. Not a bad way for Moore to end his tenure as 007, even if he didn't think so himself.