80 replies to this topic

[Qwerty]

CBn Reviews 'A View To A Kill'
Forum members review the fourteenth James Bond film

[Quartermaster007]

I give it a 6

[The Richmond Spy]

I give AVTAK a 6/10. I believe I have it ranked around 17th out of the 20 official films. To sum it up:

Three Good Things About AVTAK:
1) Villains- Zorin especially, May Day too.
2) Flow- It had the feeling of a Moore Bond film, which I like!
3) Title Song- Duran Duran deliver one of my all time Bond favs.

Three Bad Things About AVTAK:
1) Bad Action Scenes- I'm not too wild for the whole fire engine sequence in particular.
2) Moore's Age- This one is criticized too often, but it cannot go overlooked. In some instances, I don't think he is believable as Bond.
3) The Ending- This is strictly my opinion, but I think the ending sequence with Zorin is too short. I would've liked to have seen more of fight...I just think he goes down too easy.

[Turn]

Three Good Things About AVTAK:
2) Flow- It had the feeling of a Moore Bond film, which I like!

I have to disagree with you on this. I think much of the French sequences flow fine, but once the setting shifts to San Francisco it grinds to a serious halt and becomes the slowest, most boring stretch of any Bond film IMO.

Investigating the pumping station, stalking Sutton, baking quiches and falling asleep in a rocking chair and having coffee sitting around a kitchen table and planning with Chuck Lee are like sequences out of some bad '80s television series. A lot of people think Moore is too old in this film. I don't necessarily agree with that, but some of these sequences give that arguement more weight.

Even the other sequences in the mine don't seem to have that much at stake. Sure the ticking bomb thing is there, but it just doesn't have much urgency behind it.

[DLibrasnow]

I had forgotten that I had written a review of this movie...I gave it a 10 because it's consistently in my Top 5.

[Qwerty]

This is in bottom place for me (out of the official Eon film series). I gave it a five on the poll.

[Scottlee]

I gave it an 8. I have a real soft spot for this one.

[Flash1087]

I've always had a huge soft spot for AVTAK. I dunno why, either; it's almost an unconditional love. But I think it's a good film, ranks in the middle with me. It won't share the company of TSWLM, LTK, and TND on my list, but it'll stay far above TMWTGG.

EDIT: Yeah, see that one '7' vote? That's all me.

Edited by Flash1087, 08 January 2006 - 03:30 AM.

[DLibrasnow]

I gave it an 8. I have a real soft spot for this one.

Me too. I'm sure that has a lot to do with nostalgia too and where I was in my life in 1985. I still remember going with friends and their parents to go see it as one large group one balmy (for the UK at least) evening in the summer of that year.
I already knew the plot having picked up the Starlog Movie Magazine while on summer vacation and just eating up the synoposis and interviews with the cast and crew.
Incidently I would recommend any fans of the movie pick up a copy of the Movie Magazine which is still my favorite coverage of the making of the movie, and the closest to a "Making of..." book for that particular entry in the series (though its technically speaking not a book).

[Qwerty]

Somewhat of an interesting point that this film was one that got alot of reviews in my Countdown series (there were some reviews I did not even include in this article, but they will be added in at a later date).

Fans are vocal about this one; whether they liked it or not.

[DLibrasnow]

Out of the 23 Bond movies there's only one movie that I don't like and even that movie had a great boat chase down the Thames as its precredits sequence. I'm aware of the shortcomings of A View To A Kill, but I love it anyway..
I felt it attempted to reign in some of the fantasy from the previous movie (by downplaying gadgets in having Bond use the air from a tire and dropping the original Halleys Comet idea).
It really is a product of nostalgia though, of long, warm summer evenings long ago.

[Scottlee]

What was that Halley's Comet idea all about? I've never heard of that mentioned in the same breath as AVTAK before.

[DLibrasnow]

The original plan was for Zorin to manipulate Halleys Comet (which was big news in 1985) so that it would come crashing down destroying Silicon Valley.

I am surprised that you were not aware of this Scottlee, it is often cited in interviews, especially in the interviews of Maibaum and Wilson in the aforementioned Starlog publication.

Eventually the writing team of Maibaum and Wilson decided on a more realistic plot that could as they said "almost happen."

[Qwerty]

I think it is mentioned in one or two of the making of and/or about Bond books.

[Scottlee]

The original plan was for Zorin to manipulate Halleys Comet (which was big news in 1985) so that it would come crashing down destroying Silicon Valley.

Well I'm glad they scrapped it, anyway. Sounds ridiculous.

[Harmsway]

I hate this movie. Well, hate is too strong a word (the only Bond movie I really *hate* is TWINE), but I guess I just really dislike. It's just bad enough that I can't enjoy it.

[DLibrasnow]

(the only Bond movie I really *hate* is TWINE),

You are not alone there my friend. It's the only Bond movie I have ever seen only once.

[Tinfinger]

Well, I am in the opposite camp. I love TWINE, and I hate AVTAK. AVTAK's saving grace is its ending.

[Skudor]

Gave it five. It could have been great, but RM's age let it down for me.

[Bond fan since March 2000]

Ok, I'm re-reviewing all 21 Bond films & I started with my least favorite & am working my way to #1. So enjoy!

#15 A View to A Kill, 1985

Has there ever been any fad you loved that's time has past & yet you have problems letting it go. That seems to be what Roger Moore is experiencing here in A View to A Kill, his 007th & thankfully last Bond film. At 57, Moore looks more like he should be in a nursing home than fighting villains on the Golden Gate Bridge. That & a couple other problems keep A View To A Kill from greatness.

After a microchip is found on a dead agent in Siberia, 007 (Roger Moore) must investigate Max Zorin (Oscar winner Christopher Walken) a horse breeding psychopath who plans on flooding Silicon Valley & getting a monopoly on the microchip market. But in his way are Bond & also a geologist named Stacey Sutton (Charlie's Angels star Tanya Roberts) who is stopping at nothing to get back the oil company Zorin stole from her.

A View to A Kill should've been the debut film of Timothy Dalton & not the final curtain call for Roger Moore (although The Living Daylights was better in most ways). Moore does still have that charm he always has as Bond, but his face is so badly distracting it detracts from the movie & instead you focus on how old he looks. But I'd rather still have Moore as Bond at 57 then have Tanya Roberts as the main Bond girl who gives the worst performance a Bond girl has ever given & arguably the worst in any Bond film ever made. There are bad Bond girl performances from Britt Ekland, Denise Richards & Gloria Hendry, but the choice for worst Bond girl is a clear-cut one. The role is badly written on paper & even worse acted by Roberts on screen & has some incredibly annoying screaming to do & if you somehow believe anything about geology that comes out of her mouth, you must be one of the 10 most gullible people on Earth. And being the 30 at the time, it's creepy her sleeping (or showering naked or both) with a 57 year-old Moore.

But these 2 casting problems are almost totally overcome by some of the best villains in any Bond film. No villain has ever stolen scenes in a Bond film the way Christopher Walken does. His Max Zorin is sinister, smart, physical & Walken is just being Walken & having fun all the way. He's probably my favorite Bond villain. His main henchmen is May Day, played by Grace Jones, who is a very strong woman & whose character is quite surprising at the end & believably can kick Bond's , although I (and many others) could have gone without her sleeping with Bond too as we never know if Bond uses a condom. I really don't wanna know what that baby would look like.

All Bond films are supposed to deliver on action & A View To A Kill does starting with a great ski chase in Siberia to the Beach Boys' California Girls. Bond then goes to more tourist attraction locations like Paris where a parachute jump off the Eiffel Tower is followed a car chase in which half of the car is missing & San Francisco where Bond & Zorin have a climatic fight on the Golden Gate Bridge ranking as one of the best fight scenes in any Bond film. The only thing however is there are a few moments when I could too easily see the face enough to know it's the stuntman, most notably when Bond (supposed to be) jumps on top of an elevator going down the Eiffel Tower.

Other notable cast members are The Avengers' Patrick Macnee as an ally of Bonds & Lois Maxwell playing Miss Moneypenny for the final time. The titles by Maurice Binder are very well-done to the title song by popular 80s group Duran Duran, which ranke the 2nd greatest Bond song & one of the greatest songs of all-time. It's done perfectly in instrumental form by John Barry who creates another classic 007 score.

Many Bond fans rank A View to A Kill at the bottom of the Bond canon & while not one of the best, this one has great villains, exciting action & great music to keep us distracted from some of the bad casting choices.

[00Twelve]

His main henchmen is May Day, played by Grace Jones, who is a very strong woman & whose character is quite surprising at the end & believably can kick Bond's , although I (and many others) could have gone without her sleeping with Bond too as we never know if Bond uses a condom. I really don't wanna know what that baby would look like.

No need for contraception. Grace Jones is just a dude.

Just kidding. The kid would probably have been born with 36 cm.-round arms and picking zebra hide out of his teeth.

[Qwerty]

Definitely one of the most evenly split of the polls so far. Keep the reviews and votes coming.

[Sarabanda]

The main thing about this film that put me off is Roger Moore's age. Other than that it doesn't appear to be a very bad film to me. Why is this one often considered the worst or at least one of the worst. I especially liked the atmosphere and the villain.

[Qwerty]

[Moderator's Note: Topics merged]

[Turn]

The main thing about this film that put me off is Roger Moore's age. Other than that it doesn't appear to be a very bad film to me. Why is this one often considered the worst or at least one of the worst. I especially liked the atmosphere and the villain.

Had you have seen this when it was new in the theater 23 years ago, you may have understood better. It just felt tired and uninspired. As huge a fan as I am, I was really turned off. There are few standout moments in the film, one of, if not the worst, Bond woman, lame stunts, too much humor, etc.

I also like Walken, but the rest is just tepid.

[Conlazmoodalbrocra]

I gave it a 9. Utterly thrilling. The perfect opening sequence - tense and exciting. Many knock the 'California Girls' theme, but I find this enjoyable and fitting with the 80s style that Glen was attempting to instill in the movie. Walken's Zorin is supremely portrayed, Grace Jones' May Day surprisingly convincing, Tanya Robertssssssss...well, you know! The final scene on The Golden Gate Bridge is genius, the type of tense scene the Bond films have become famous for, and the type of scene that all films should end with, with both hero and villain one slip away from certain death! Superb! Fair enough, Moore is much too old to be playng Bond, but he pulls it off well considering, and it was genius to partner him with Patrick MacNee's Tibbett, a character of similar age. I think this is the perfect end to Moore's reign as Bond, although I feel Dalton could have pulled it off just as well. Maybe even Brosnan! Ultimate conclusion, a sound film! Don't dare knock it!

[Cruiserweight]

It's a guilty pleasure of mine & it's actually the film that made me fall in love with the series.
10

[sharpshooter]

The film is just tired. This is the worst in the series for me.

[john.steed]

I am one who likes all the Bond films but, saying that, this is one of those in the bottom third for me. The favorite part for me, not surprising, is the appearance of Patrick MacNee. As noted above, Moore and MacNee do well together. I also like the music
I agree with the comments that the movie slows down in the second half. I find the scenes at Stacy's house particularly slow.
So, my grade is 7 out of 10.

[BoogieBond]

This , for me , is one near the low end of the series. Not everything clicks in the film IMO.
Starting with James Bond. As mentioned, Roger looks a little old for 007 in this one. Although he still looks good. Even for a veteran agent (say realistic age of 45, which I think is the statutory age mentioned in Moonraker) he looks a little older. And that stretches the credibility. Rog always looked a lot younger than he was, but it doesn't come off for me in this picture.

The actions scenes I think are good. The plot is OK. Chris Walken is great as Zorin, Grace Jones is fine. Patrick Mcnee also is a great ally for Roger.

But, as mentioned , Stacy Sutton is one of the weaker characters , and the age difference is startling. I was amazed to find she is 30 in this film, she seems a lot younger. Anyway a female lead in late thirties would have been more fitting for Rog at this stage.

Like the skiing sequence, the chase in Paris and the Golden Gate bridge fight. I also like the fight at Suttons house and the Fire Engine chase.

Overall, it feels a little too cosy. And out of Moore's films, the action sequences are better in some of his previous entries IMO. It still entertaining, but as a casual view here and there for me, rather than a favourite.

Edited by BoogieBond, 24 April 2008 - 10:27 PM.