82 replies to this topic

[Orion]

A view to a kill is worth watching for reason
Christopher Walken is Bloody brilliant in everything he does
when i first saw this i wanted Bond to die. Zorin had to win

[rashid12]

But he didn't. thank goodness.

[Publius]

the film would have been a bore if dalton was in it. then again that is a good thing because no one would need to use sleeping pills. and roger unfunny? now that's a joke.

Roger was most certainly unfunny. Which wouldn't be a problem, as evidenced by Dalton, except that he tried. And damn hard. Only to fail most of the time.

"Funny" Bond? Give me Connery any day of the week. Hell, Lazenby and Brosnan could be pretty humorous too.

also whats worng with quiche a touch of style goes along way.

"Quiche" and "style" don't belong in the same sentence.

Although admittedly, it's better than if he had been baking pies and brownies for neighborhood children. Even if that would have been the most "realistic" thing Rog could have done with Bond at that stage in his life.

and old is gold.

Right, so we should scour the nursing homes for the next great untapped talent during the search for Bond #7.

Seriously, there's such a thing as being too old for Bond (Roger in the 80s) as there is being too young (Cavill nowadays). The character should have the appearance of being in his thirties or forties.

roger can certainly teach a thing or two to mr bard dalton about playing bond and not wetting your hankies every second. when you look at dalton you get that feeling that he wants his mother to hold his hand.

Aside from three or four cheesy moments of romantic "tenderness" in TLD, Dalton's performance hardly qualified as warranting hankies. I'd say that was Brosnan's department more often than not.

Hell, not only was Moore's "sweetness" a big part of his claim to fame, he even tried to be emotionally "deep" and "sensitive" on a number of ocassions (FYEO, OP, and of course the quiche nonsense in AVTAK). Then there's Lazenby at the end of OHMSS, for that matter. Truth be told, only Connery was unabashedly detached in that sense.

and there's nothing wrong with a ride on a fire engine to keep you excited. its a bond film, not a documentary.

Again, it's a Bond film, not something out of Disney (or Pixar, in DAD's case). Rampant silliness of a certain caliber doesn't belong. Just like being too "gritty" or "realistic." And while wannabe cartoons like MR are out of whack on one extreme of the scale, AVTAK is perhaps even worse because it has no idea what it wants to be: serious movie with a bunch of people being senselessly offed, or lighthearted fun-for-all-the-family comedy fare.

[rashid12]

Connery funny? in which century, or more better, in which planet? roger never needed to try hard; he's natrually funny. perhaps your idea of funny is watching men wear dungarees. dalton always looked like he would crack up. is that a realistic bond? someone like that in real life would become a liability. atleast roger never acted like he would cry or crack up. everything was taken with a pinch of salt. matter of fact his humor was a form of detachment. baking food isn't something only for feminine men. it just comes to show that roger's bond is more resourceful. hey, maybe he could bake poor, cryboy dalton a pie, or a quiche. and quiche is style. but how would you know that? you like tinothy dalton.
goldfinger-realistic?
thunderball realistic?
thunderballrealistic?
these are the questions you have to ask your self. most bond films, even dr no, had some silliness to them.

Right, so we should scour the nursing homes for the next great untapped talent during the search for Bond #7.

of course, lets try that. i am sure the old men would have more style than this new bond fella.

Edited by rashid12, 13 March 2006 - 12:01 PM.

[Double-0-Seven]

I really like this movie. It's one of my favorite Roger Moore films, and I find it enjoyable every time I watch it.

[Stephen Spotswood]

Sean Connery is who brought humor to the role of James Bond. The Bond of the books was virtually humorless, although Fleming obviously had fun writing them and it shows in the narration, and in the choice of names for secondary characters. But Connery's humor was a gallows humor. Leaving the corpse of a man in a car, and telling an embassy guard to see that he doesn't go anywhere. Shooting a man with a speargun, then saying, "I think he got the point." This did however make it seem as if killing didn't bother Bond, when in the book, he was ambivalent about violence.

[rashid12]

WHAT HUMOUR? in which planet?

Sean Connery is who brought humor to the role of James Bond. The Bond of the books was virtually humorless, although Fleming obviously had fun writing them and it shows in the narration, and in the choice of names for secondary characters. But Connery's humor was a gallows humor. Leaving the corpse of a man in a car, and telling an embassy guard to see that he doesn't go anywhere. Shooting a man with a speargun, then saying, "I think he got the point." This did however make it seem as if killing didn't bother Bond, when in the book, he was ambivalent about violence.

[Publius]

Connery funny? in which century, or more better, in which planet? roger never needed to try hard; he's natrually funny.

As Stephen Spotswood said, Connery's humor was sarcastic and morbid, and came off naturally and incredibly cool. Rog didn't have any of that. He had painfully cheesy "puns" so obvious and easy that, well...a seven-year-old could have written them.

perhaps your idea of funny is watching men wear dungarees. dalton always looked like he would crack up. is that a realistic bond? someone like that in real life would become a liability. atleast roger never acted like he would cry or crack up.

What? How exactly did Dalton or Moore look like they were about to break into laughter?

And don't even bother getting into "real life" when you're arguing in favor of Roger. Yes, he had charm, was lively, and clearly loved the role. Those were his strengths. Being "realistic" was not among them. That was Dalton's domain more than any other Bond. He was believable as a spy, Moore undoubtedly was not.

And for the last time, the only Bond one could argue did not have "sensitive" moments in his movies was Sir Sean. The rest saw "emotional" scenes every so often, some justifiably so (Lazenby), others not so much (to be perfectly honest, the rest most of the time).

everything was taken with a pinch of salt. matter of fact his humor was a form of detachment. baking food isn't something only for feminine men. it just comes to show that roger's bond is more resourceful. hey, maybe he could bake poor, cryboy dalton a pie, or a quiche. and quiche is style. but how would you know that? you like tinothy dalton.

Right, I bet baking delicious pastries is part of every secret agent's survival guide.

And between your poor spelling and grade-school insults, I'm surprised you'd even bother touting the merits of cinematic "style" in this discussion.

goldfinger-realistic?
thunderball realistic?
thunderballrealistic?
these are the questions you have to ask your self. most bond films, even dr no, had some silliness to them.

Of course, and definitely Dr. No (which has whiffs of YOLT, if you ask me), but I still don't like it being an element of the Bond movies. I prefer a healthy balance of realism and fantasy, which for me lies closer to the former's side of the spectrum.

Thunderball, though "epic" in most ways, is not that unrealistic. Goldfinger more so, but still plausible enough to fall within my preferred range, which is more than I can say for the likes of, say, Moonraker or DAD.

Right, so we should scour the nursing homes for the next great untapped talent during the search for Bond #7.

of course, lets try that. i am sure the old men would have more style than this new bond fella.

Because you've seen him as Bond in...

[krypt]

also whats worng with quiche a touch of style goes along way.

Pardon, but what is your experience with cuisine or cooking? I've never heard anyone ever refer to quiche as "style." The quiche bit itself was intended as a joke (the popular book at the time "Real Men Don't Eat Quiche").

At that point in the film on opening night, some audience members laughed while others groaned. Old school Bond fans in the audience asked "Why didn't he just cook up some scrambled eggs? It's Bond's favorite dish in the Fleming novels!"

As for your comments on Dalton, at what points of TLD and LTK are they based on?

[krypt]

WHAT HUMOUR? in which planet?

You don't actually think it was Sir Roger Moore who first brought humor to the Bond film formula do you?

Connery credits Young with the initial idea of bringing humor (which didn't exist in Fleming's novels) to the first Bond films. Over time, Bond's one-liners became cemented into the franchise.

Some classics:

"Shocking, positively shocking."

"She's just dead!"

"He got the point."

Connery laid the groundwork that Moore followed.

Sir Sean Connery once said with his Bond, he let the audience in on the joke ... while Moore let the audience know that a joke was coming.

Edited by krypt, 26 March 2006 - 11:44 PM.

[stuarthr]

I've grown to like AVTAK - I'll never love it but there are bits I enjoy especially Moore's double act with Macnee. When it came out it seemed pretty dire, but it's one thing to go to the movies to watch the latest Bond movie, another to watch a DVD at home years later when it is just one of many when I can enjoy it for what it is.

[I Like Sharks]

A View To A Kill used to be one of my favourite Bond films, partly because it was the last Roger Moore film I saw by about 3/4 years. I don't like it as much as I used to but it's still great in it's own way as the final chapter of the Moore years

Cool stuff:
-Christopher Walken and Grace Jones (excellent villains and younger than their predecessors-interesting contrast to Roger Moore who is a veteran)
-Pretitles sequence (even Calafornia Girls which is fun without being silly)
-Scenes in mine & fight on Golden Gate Bridge.
-Godfrey Tibbet
-That Russian bloke getting chucked into the propeller on the oil rig
-Soundtrack (one of John Barry's finest)
-San Francisco
-Tanya Roberts (not for her acting but shes undeniably one of the sexiest women in any Bond film
-Roger Moore looks too old but giving up when he should have would have been sissy. He's out to prove he can still play the part and succeeds

[BondReader 007]

Nope, not me. My very least favorite film in the series. Christopher Walken, Grace Jones and a great soundtrack and theme song, were the only things good in the film. I feel Sir Roger, (No disrespect intended to a decent actor and wonderful human being) took the roll so he could restock on cigars one last time, simply mailed his performance in. "...there's a fly in his soup." Please! As far as AVTAK in the Bond film series, not only was the dead horse beaten, it was reduced to hamburger! [b]Thank the heavens for Timothy Dalton, the man who I think helped repair if not save the Bond film franchise!

[Stephen Spotswood]

Actually Dalton's Bond looked like he was going to crack-up, if by that you mean burn out. That didn't make Dalton a crybaby Bond though, but one that was that much more dangerous, because he could be bordering on being unstable. When he turned rogue agent in LTK, this unstable quality made it believable. That's consistent with Fleming's character, particularly in Casino Royale where Mathis mentioned that possiblity of burn out, and in Dr No where Sir James Maloney, (Mulrony?) a neurosurgeon on staff as a psychiatrist, mentioned that possiblity to M. M was a crusty old salt, and believed you should work through your pain, as long as you're physically fit. That way he didn't have to guess if you were up to it or not.

Oh yes, quiche usually makes me ill.

Edited by Stephen Spotswood, 10 April 2006 - 09:02 PM.

[bondrocks14]

I liked it for the most part. I however thought Moore looked too old to be believable, but I think the movie started to go slightly downhill after Zorin's horse resort or whatever. That part of the film to me is one of the best in the series. Oh, and I don't like Mayday at all.

[columbo]

To me its not one of the best but surely have some good parts. The first part is better than the sequences in San Francisco. The way Bond escapes Death in the car was soberb !!

[Stephen Spotswood]

RE: "The way Bond escapes Death in the car was soberb !!"

Is that like a sorbet, or a "Soprano's" way of saying superb?

[JKD68]

I saw AVTAK at the theater as a kid & thoroughly enjoyed it. Tanya Roberts is right near of the top of my fav. Bond girls list. The pretitle sequence with the iceberg boat was great.

[Piz Gloria 1969]

It's KGBs agent Klotkoff who went in Zorins oil pump (aka Bogdan Kominowski) 61 b-day today , he was born in Nazi Germany just a few days before their defeat

Edited by Piz Gloria 1969, 22 April 2006 - 03:21 AM.

[Stuff_My_Orders]

I have to say a big NO on this one, AVTAK is sadly a very dull movie and the only good thing about it is:

* Grace Jones - But why did she have to become a good guy all of the sudden? It was a very lame and bad move by the screenwriter. It would have been better if Bond faught with her to the death.

*Roger Moore and Patrick Macnee's scenes together are very good.


BUT THE MOVIE FALLS BECAUSE

* Weak Plot - Why bother with Max Zorin draining Silicon Valley? It would have been more threatfull with giving him a more sinister plan. Killing every first born perhaps And again they never develop things in the right way, Mayday should have remained evil and the angry policeman who chases Bond should have more charisma or would have made a lot more people happy on the cutting room floor.

* Tanya Roberts - No she is NOT underrated she is even worse than Britt Ekland.

* Christopher Walken- Walken is a good actor but his attempt to imitate David Bowie (who was considered for the role and it's obvious it was written with his personality in mind and therefore he would have made a better villan) doesn't feel right. He's a little stiff and boring...and again his plot doesn't feel sinister so not even the DNA-stories or his killing of henchmen make him seem evil and threatening. He's like a parody of a Bond-villan taken seriously.

[MrMoneypenny]

I looooove A View to a Kill. Think about it: great villan, fantastic locations, incredible stunts and probably the best title song ever (sorry Shirley). When it came out in Belgium, one movie critic called it a black and white Indiana Jones, meaning that the movie had great action, but that the overall paste of the film was pretty slow. I did agree with the critic back then, but now, I think the paste of the film just works fine. Okay, okay, it did have the worse Bond-girl of the series, but that wasn't the fault of Tanya Roberts' acting. The part of Stacey was just dull and stupid. Although, now that I think about it, she wasn't the worse: give that title to Denise Richards, who managed to land a very bad part with Dr Chrismas Jones in TWINE and who on top of that couldn't act either. On the other hand, the character of May Day is just one of the best side-kick villans of all 20 Bonds (can't really say 21 just yet!), a character that is pure Grace Jones. I think she's great.

Edited by MrMoneypenny, 27 April 2006 - 10:01 PM.

[Daddy Bond]

AVTAK is NOT my least favorite Bond movie. That distinction goes to the unofficial NSNA. There are many moments in AVTAK I don't particularly like. All around, my least favorite group of Bond girls - by far - not fond of Grace Jones in anything - too much silliness and Moore is getting too old.

With that said there are moments that I do like - fight on the Eiffel tower and Moore stealing the Taxi cab and destroying it - the final fight on the Golden Gate I sorta like - um, I'm sure I can think of more...

[Diamondfire]

I've always found AVTAK fairly amusing, but mostly uneven. The worst thing about this one is Tanya Roberts. I don't think she's unattractive, but she's incredibly shrill and annoying in this. How many times did she shreik "James!"? OMG, leave her in the elevator shaft.

As far as Walken goes, he's my favorite villian if for no other reason than he's a great, entertaining freak.

I also think it has one of the best sexual quips in the series: "I got off eventually."