82 replies to this topic

[Simon Beavis]

I mean, sure, Roger is starting to show his age, but Walken was great, he totally steals the show.

[zencat]

I like A View To A Kill. Not my favorite Bond, but I enjoy it and associate it with many fond Bond memories (it was my first Bond premiere). Walken is terrific, and I don't care if Roger is showing his age, he's still Roger.

[ACE]

You know what? AVTAK is one of my least favourite Bonds but I still love it.
Real locations, John Barry score, colourful cast, original action and sequences. AVTAK for me disappoints because it sets up a truly excellent Bond film and does not execute it properly, IMHO.

And yes, will Roger the coffin dodger was too old, he was still suave and Bondian in so many scenes.

"Killing Tibbett was a mistake!".

And,as Roger's wife at the time, Luisa presciently stated, no-one will truly understand what a great job Roger did until it is time to recast him.

So, while it is low on my totem pole, it rides high in my sentiment.

Hell, dammit, I'm a Bond fan.

Cain't rightly help it.

ACE

[MarcAngeDraco]

AVTAK ranks somewhere in the middle of the pack for me.

It has some great moments and some not-so-great. Roger does look too old, but still pulls it off for the most part.

[trumanlodge89]

theres only one bond film i really dislike. VTAK is not it. is it top of my list? no, but its still a really fun movie. and theres lots of great scenes.

[DLibrasnow]

In answer to the question - yes! A lot of people here on CBn love A View To A Kill. For me personally it's in my top 5 of James Bond films. This is also a movie that really has a lot of nostalgic memories for me.

I would refer you to this thread:

http://debrief.comma...?showtopic=6423

[Publius]

One of my least favorite Bond movies.

Roger Moore was annoyingly old (bordering on disturbingly old), something he hadn't been even in For Your Eyes Only and Octopussy. The Bond girl, though a beaut, was definitely one of the least memorable. The plot was too much like that of Goldfinger, minus any of the creative ingenuities. Mayday was an all right henchwoman at best, and Walken, despite being perfect in the role of Zorin, wasn't enough to save the movie. The movie was too US-centric for my tastes, a trap even GF didn't fall into despite being set in Kentucky. Lovely San Francisco probably could have been utilized far better than it was here.

Granted, the title song is without a doubt among the top five, maybe higher, and you can tell the powers that be realized that by virtue of how much it was played. Still, not enough to save the rest of the outing.

Nevertheless, I'll watch it every now and then, regardless of how low it ranks on my list. Then again, I catch TMWTGG every so often, so that's not saying much...

Edited by Publius, 03 December 2005 - 10:30 PM.

[Carver]

Agreed with all of above. AVTAK was one of the very first Bond movies I ever saw, and so it too holds some good memories for me as a Bond fan. Yes, Roger does look way too old in it, and there are other flaws such as Tracy being the most annoying Bond girl, but on the whole it is a very enjoyable film. I rank it above Moonraker and TMWTGG (although both are films I still enjoy), as it does have some genuine quality moments. Plus, as stated, AVTAK has Christopher Walken as Max Zorin. IMO, one of the best villians of the series.

[Qwerty]

Yes, I do. My review is in the coundown thread; even if the film is my least favourite overall.

[Donovan]

I never particularly liked this film. I thought "Octopussy" was great, and was certainly a fan of Roger Moore's Bond. But age was something of a factor and I wasn't impressed with Stacey Sutton as a character or with the actress who played her ("James! Don't leave me!"). Not very interesting chemistry between her and Roger...another big let down after previously co-starring with Maud Adams. At this point in my Bond fandomness, I was turned off by the slapstick shenanigans from earlier Moore pictures. So hearing the Beach Boys' song or watching the fire truck chase took me out of the film. Grace Jones was another strange presence. I can appreciate that she's wild and different and brought something new to the series (even though there's a lot of transparent resemblance to Fatima Blush). She wasn't really a character called May Day portrayed by Jones as much as this was Grace Jones being called "May Day" (if that makes sense). Absolutely hated, and felt a bit cheated, that she turns good at the end. I was already a fan of Chris Walken's after seeing "Brainstorm". But time after time during the film, even the first time I saw it, I was repeatedly disappointed.

Back to Roger's age. I think the production kind of let Roger down by all the harshly-lit outdoor scenes. He looks fine indoors (M's office, Eiffel Tower restaurant, etc). But outdoors, particularly the scenes where he's wearing the white dinner jacket, it's a bit hard to accept him as the athletic character Fleming conceived.

One of the local critics, who absolutely hated Moore as Bond, cracked, "the best thing about this film is it will hopefully be the last time Moore doubles for any stuntmen." Gotta admit, it was kind of embarrassing trying to pass off Moore as the one doing all those action scenes. When Timothy Dalton came in for the next one, I was immediately thrilled with the fact he was believable as this action hero...in large part because you saw him doing so many stunts.

[lefty007]

i just gotta say that i really didnt like A view to a kill. it thought it was a pretty bad movie. What do you all think?

[Righty007]

Welcome to CommanderBond.net, Corey. Why don't you like A View To A Kill? It's one of my favorite Roger Moore Bond films.

[lefty007]

pssh i thought it was boring

[Qwerty]

Welcome to the CommanderBond.net Forums, lefty.

[Flash1087]

AVATK is my third favorite Moore film, behind TSWLM and Octopussy.

[stamper]

Actually, I think the worst AVTAK suffers is not from Roger being too old (he looks ok on DVD), but not enough time was spent on editing the movie, which drags in the second part.

I'm thinking about doing my own reedit of the movie, removing :

- All instances of obvious stunt double

- All Beach Boys songs

- All the Bond girl shrieks and cries of "james"

- Total remove fire truck pursuit and stupid american fat cop (except for the stealing of the truck and the revelation of JB name, needed for the plot).

- Replace the "Operation Grand slam" or whatever scene where it should be (not where it is).

- Totally reorder the last act in order to let Walken shine, by streamlining any action dragging around him (Bond etc).

I just looked at the movie again, and I think it's easy to do. About 15-20 mn lost should do the trick, and make it one fast paced, of the best entries.

Edited by stamper, 28 January 2006 - 06:31 PM.

[Number 6]

Outside of Duran Duran's title track and Walken...ehhhh...NO.

[Scottlee]

I've always loved AVTAK. It has a great score, great villains, great locations, a great ending, plus many more positives. I'd call it my 4th favourite Roger Moore flick in Bond-dom.

[DLibrasnow]

It's in my Top 5...it comes with a lot of nostalgic memories for me.

[Blue07]

It's a great film even though its very much of its time. It has many flaws but then i've yet to see the perfect Bond film.

Plus it has Walken in it! More, More Power!!!! If ever a man was made for Bond villiandom it's him and he is great.

Also Barry's score is exceptional.

[Brett Sinclair]

Great film one of my favorites,sure Roger shows his age but its fun and it has some classic moments.

[stamper]

I like the cut scene in paris where rog quips "from russia, with love". I will get it back in the movie in my upcoming viewer's cut.

[Hitchcock Bond]

AVTAK is not actually as bad as many seem to recall. Apart from the Beach Boys soundtrack during the PTS (which did spoil a very good chase/action scene) there is not many really silly comedy moments, as in MR and OP. Also Bond does not rely on over the top gadgets as in many other films. It is one of the few Bond films where he relies on his own wits and abilities, for instance escaping the car and avoiding Walken by using the air out of the tires, he climbs to escape the city hall fire. Ok this was done by stuntmen, but it would have been just as easy to show various gadgets such as mini oxygen tanks or miniature climbing wires built into belts, watches etc. Of course Roger was looking too old for the role by then, but who can blame him for wanting another big pay check. Actually this would have worked quite well with Dalton. It had less silly humour and I think the dynamic between him and the younger heroine and villain would have worked better. I would put AVTAK in my list of favourites, but it's certainly an enjoyable watch.

[the doctor]

after just watching it again today i have to say its the ending that makes me like it so much, great visuals, as for moore being to old well i dont really care (today was the first time i actually looked for the stunt doubles)

Edited by the doctor, 31 January 2006 - 12:10 PM.

[Scottlee]

Also Bond does not rely on over the top gadgets as in many other films.  It is one of the few Bond films where he relies on his own wits and abilities, for instance escaping the car and avoiding Walken by using the air out of the tires, he climbs to escape the city hall fire.

That's true. He doesn't rely on gadgets as much in AVTAK. Even during the Beach Boys he's using his wits to make good use of an opponent's equipment (rather than pull out the new improved Snowboard Vanquish X-TM23, which is how they might have played it in DAD-world).

[Flash1087]

[quote name='Scottlee' date='31 January 2006 - 23:03'][quote name='Hitchcock Bond' date='31 January 2006 - 11:42'] Also Bond does not rely on over the top gadgets as in many other films.

[Turn]

AVTAK is not actually as bad as many seem to recall.  Apart from the Beach Boys soundtrack during the PTS (which did spoil a very good chase/action scene) there is not many really silly comedy moments, as in MR and OP.  Also Bond does not rely on over the top gadgets as in many other films.  It is one of the few Bond films where he relies on his own wits and abilities, for instance escaping the car and avoiding Walken by using the air out of the tires, he climbs to escape the city hall fire.  Ok this was done by stuntmen, but it would have been just as easy to show various gadgets such as mini oxygen tanks or miniature climbing wires built into belts, watches etc.  Of course Roger was looking too old for the role by then, but who can blame him for wanting another big pay check.  Actually this would have worked quite well with Dalton.  It had less silly humour and I think the dynamic between him and the younger heroine and villain would have worked better.  I would put AVTAK in my list of favourites, but it's certainly an enjoyable watch.

Maybe I was watching a different film, because there were plenty of silly comedy moments that I thought really hurt the film. Maybe there weren't any Jaws romances or floating gondolas or Tarzan yells, but there were a lot of times the comedy didn't need to be included and they threw it in anyway.

Moonraker in particular was a lighter Bond film, so the sillieness is expected there, and in some ways OP is kind of light with some seriousness. In AVTAK, it sticks out like a sore thumb.

It begins in the already mentioned ski chase. Other examples of intrusive humor not helping were the scene where Gogol and Pola find out Bond has switched tapes and the drunk watching Bond haul Stacy down the ladder from San Francisco City Hall.

The fire truck chase is, in my opinion, worse than the gondola chase from MR. They are in the city that set the pace for car chases with Bullitt and instead of getting something to compete with that, we get Bond flailing around like silent film star Harold Lloyd, kicking off cowboys hats in convertibles and shearing off camper tops to reveal sleeping couples all the while with Stacy screaming "James!" every few seconds. All that's missing is a couple of guys carrying a pane of glass across the street.

Then comes the ultimate cheap joke with the cop cars crashing from the raised bridge like some outtake from The Blues Brothers. And it doesn't stop there as the funny cop berates his fellow officers for letting their cars get wrecked and then gets his own car smashed. Sheriff J.W. Pepper come back, all is forgiven.

This all seems out of place because a few minutes later we have mass deaths through a flooded mine and miners being mowed down by Zorin and Scarpine. Then a few minutes later we have Moore being almost castrated by a weather vein while holding onto the mooring rope and a reappearance by the funny cop who crashes again.

Bond movies are supposed to be fun, but AVTAK is so out of balance, wanting to be very serious in some scenes and comic in others in a way few if any other films in the series are.

[TheSaint]

I like the film-saw it opening day. I've mentioned this before, and I'll mention it again...Roger looks older in some scenes because he had had a stomach virus during filming, lost weight, and the clothing looks big on him in those scenes.

[stamper]

All the unfunny scenes you mention above, I will delete for my own viewing cut pleasure.
Trust me, that will make AVTAK a GREAT Moore outing, very dark and suspensful and fast paced, as a Bond movie should be !

[Qwerty]

I will get it back in the movie in my upcoming viewer's cut.