Review of A View to a Kill (1985) by Jeff W — 12 Mar 2010

'A View To A Kill' is the fourteenth film in the James Bond series, and would serve to be be Roger Moore's last. Despite offering up some great movies as a worthy successor to Sean Connery's portrayal of the character, time stops for nobody. Unfortunately, it showed in this movie, and Moore's age showed during the movie during several of the action sequences.

The plot centers around Max Zorin (portrayed by Christopher Walken), a wealthy industrialist who secretly plots an elaborate scheme to destroy Silicon Valley. If Zorin's plan succeeds, he would corner the market on the then-burgeoning mass-production microchip market. Bond infiltrates Zorin's world, which includes horse breeding, as a wealthy man interested in purchasing part of Zorin's stable. Bond's travels in this mission take him to Siberia, Paris, Berkshire, and San Francisco.

I find this movie entertaining simply because parts of it are so ridiculous. For example, in one scene, Stacey (played by Tanya Roberts) doesn't hear a blimp coming up behind her, and is snatched from the ground to within the blimp's pod. In another scene, Bond gives chase to May Day while driving half of a car. You read that right - half of a car. I am all for suspending my disbelief during certain movies, and those movies include Bond movies, but there ARE limits.

There's a reason Grace Jones didn't see many more high profile acting roles following this movie, and it's because she can't act. Nearly every line of dialogue she uttered came out sounding memorized, not authentic. She was clearly hired more to add an intimidating screen presence, rather than thespian abilities to the movie (and let's be honest - NONE of us watch Bond films for acting clinics). Walken's villainous turn as Zorin is great, and could have been stretched out over other movies if they'd wanted to pursue that.

Duran Duran, who were arguably the most popular band in the world at the time of this movie's release, were recruited to perform the title song. Shades of the song's melody are intertwined throughout the film.

Every so often, the Bond franchise becomes so over-the-top, that it requires a reinvention of itself, and this film was the classic example of the franchise's excesses. If I were to make a list of guilty pleasure films, this movie would be near the top of the list. This film can be fun if it's not taken too seriously, but it's not only not a good Bond movie, it's just not a very good movie. It's almost a parody of a Bond film. Roger Moore was a great James Bond, and he deserved a better send-off than this.