[year/rating] 1985 PG [genre] Spy Action [director] John Glen [starring] Roger Moore Christopher Walken Tanya Roberts Grace Jones

Tagline

Has James Bond finally met his match?

Summary Capsule

James Bond must save the world (and San Francisco!) again, this time from an odd Christopher Walken and an odder Grace Jones

Mutant Meter

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Check out this movie in VHS or DVD, and the soundtrack CD

Kyle's Rating: One of the most maligned Bond installments is actually the most unabashedly fun!
Kyle's Review: A View to a Kill has a lot of knocks against it. It’s Roger Moore’s final outing as James Bond, and he looks like James Bond’s paternal grandfather. He’s old, yes, we have to admit it. Tanya Roberts is Bond girl Stacey Sutton, and she is perhaps the most stupidest action heroine in the history of film (I’m sure there have been worse, but wait until the blimp scene and email me if you don’t injure yourself slapping your forehead). This is quite clearly a film of the 80's, where there is back-projection in certain scenes and the back-projection is awful. A cheapo cover of a Beach Boys’ song somewhat ruins any “street cred” the pre-credits sequence has. Finally, Bond acts really stupid at certain points, and seems to think that a fireman in the United States should know who he is (kinda defeats the whole idea of “secret agent” if so). Disaster!

"It’s Roger Moore’s final outing as James Bond, and he looks like James Bond’s paternal grandfather."

If you’re trying to see what the whole James Bond phenomenon is about, or you want to impress a date with a great spy movie, A View to a Kill is not the place to start. ‘Cause, damn.

But A View to a Kill (wait for it... wait for it...) is totally awesome! It really is, because it’s still James Bond and Moore, who can do the role in his sleep by his 7th and final Bond film (and seems to, on occasion), is still super-British and cool. Well, I don’t know how British Moore’s Bond truly is, but who cares? This is how British secret agents should be: obsessed with sex and blondes, and largely indestructible.

And did you read the summary capsule? Christopher Walken is in this film, as the brilliantly insane villain. From his party demeanor to callously machine gunning his workers to his final laugh, he is beyond memorable. And his love/hate/space oddity relationship with earth oddity Grace Jones would support endless analysis. Walken seems just a little too happy when Grace finds a naked Bond in her bed, you know? Patrick Macnee is in here, albeit briefly, but it’s cool to see the great Steed interact with Bond. And there is a character named Jenny Flex. Wow!

The plot deals with microchips, fixing horse races, Nazi experiments yielding crazed supermen, and all the water in San Francisco. Silicon Valley gets mentioned a lot, and when I first saw A View to a Kill I figured it was made up. What a stupid name! Apparently not, and people who live there have a lot more money than me. Go figure. The plot barely matters; this is a Bond film, after all. James Bond gets to bet on a horse race, wear a cool suit to said horse race (watch for Miss Moneypenny’s subtle My Fair Lady reference!), and blow bubbles with a smokin’ hot Russian agent. He’s the man, and even if he’s armed at one point with a shotgun filled with rock salt and hanging off of a fire engine, we forgive him because he is Bond. Ultimately, it doesn’t seem like the nefarious plot of A View to a Kill should give Bond that much trouble, but everyone has their off days.

Yep, there is palpable hatred against this film. It’s too cheesy (sure), Moore is too old (so?), Roberts is too dumb (yep!), and a blimp?!? (blimps are scary, dude). But it pays to ignore the hate, because there is a lot here to enjoy. Bond has still got it, as he demonstrates in the climatic fight scene on the Golden Gate Bridge. Which is red.

Anyway, the relationships between the bad guys are pretty engrossing, and there is an odd kind of admirable affection between Dr. Carl Mortner (the excellent monocled Willoughby Gray) and his “son” Max Zorin (Walken). The doc’s reaction to the fight on the bridge is heart-wrenching! Speaking of odd, Grace Jones and Christopher Walken together in the same movie create an event horizon of beautifully odd ethereal weirdness, reminiscent of Lou Reed’s little laugh at the 2:39 mark of “Walk on the Wild Side.” And I’ve read countless interviews with professional snowboarders who list the pre-credits sequence of A View to a Kill as sparking their youthful interest in snowboarding. You go, Bond!

A View to a Kill isn’t quite the limpest Bond film there is (Diamonds Are Forever wins the contest easily) but it is rather weak. That said, the worst Bond movie is 200x better than the average hit action film, so the only true fault of View is that it doesn’t compare favorably to the other Bond films, which are so good they should be burned onto one of those golden discs and sent into space to communicate our sexual appetites to alien species. Moore gets a nice send-off after going above and beyond his original task of filling Sean Connery’s shoes, and Moore can rest assured that his eyebrow-raising antics and penchant for wooing the ladies with witty quips helped mold one particular child of the 80's (thanks, Roger!). And it’s Christopher Walken as a villain in a James Bond film. Walken’s delivery of the line “I’m happiest in the saddle” is one of the greatest things I’ve seen in my life.

Did I mention the Duran Duran theme song? Wow! So if it’s for the first time or just to see that your memories may not be up to par, check out A View to a Kill to see what the 80's superhero Bond was all about. Pierce is the man, yes, but he stands as tall as he does because he stands on the shoulder of the great Roger Moore, who I guess stands on the shoulders of George Lazenby and Sean Connery. Timothy Dalton is in there as well, I guess between Roger and Pierce. Hmm, that’s a weird way to end. Oh well. Watch out for blimps, people!

Hang in there! "My career! It's... the end!" Bubbles have never been so happy

Didja Notice? [some sources: IMDb]

• Patrick Macnee portrayed British super agent John Steed in The Avengers and The New Avengers. When Moore and Macnee are unpacking, Moore hands Macnee an umbrella. Macnee often used an umbrella as a weapon on The Avengers as Steed.
• Dolph Lundgren has a small part as a KGB bad guy; a role he probably got because he was Grace Jones’ boyfriend at the time.
• Maud Adams appears in a crowd scene. She got the uncredited role because she was visiting San Francisco while the movie was filming, and Moore convinced her to be in a crowd scene. This makes her the only actress to appear in 3 Bond films (excluding actresses in recurring roles), after The Man with the Golden Gun, and Octopussy.
• The opening sequence of this film is the first time 007 is depicted on a mission inside Russia.
• First Bond film to not say the title of the next Bond film during the ending credits.
• When Bond first talks with Chuck Lee near the boat, a horn makes the first notes of The James Bond Theme.
• The recorded conversation between Max Zorin and Bob Conley in the dock warehouse does not match the actual conversation.

Is It Worth Staying Through End Credits?

Sure, just to hear all the great Bond music. And today you can pretend it’s the 1980’s again and as a Bond fan you have no idea of the greatness (Dalton and Brosnan) that is to follow the departing Moore. Then you turn off the movie, glance at your film library and smile relievedly!

Intermission! [some sources: IMDb]

The disclaimer, "Neither the name Zorin nor any other name in this film is meant to portray a real company or actual person" was added after producers discovered a real company run by a person name "Zoran."

David Bowie was the original choice for Max Zorin.

Christopher Walken became the first Academy Award-winning actor to star in a Bond film.

The Rolls Royce seen in the film is actually owned by producer Albert "Cubby" Broccoli, who lent it to the production. Another Rolls, a virtual duplicate of Cubby's, is used when Zorin and May Day push it into the lake. That Rolls has no engine though.

The title song was written and recorded by Duran Duran and was the only James Bond song to reach #1 in the USA.

A deleted scene presented on the DVD shows Bond being bailed out of a Paris jail by "M" following his taxi chase of May Day. The scene shows Bond collecting his personal effects, including the wristwatch with garrote wire from "From Russia With Love", an ink pen filled with acid, and a cigarette lighter that's a flame thrower.

The BBFC requested cuts to the film in 1985 for cinema exhibition, and this cut version was subsequently released on both video and DVD in the UK. Two kicks to the crotch were removed, and the image of a nude woman in the opening titles was altered to mask her nudity.

Groovy Quotes

James Bond: Hello. My name is James St. John Smythe. I'm English.
Stacey Sutton: I never would have guessed.

Jenny Flex: Welcome, sir. I'm Jenny Flex.
James Bond: Of course you are.

James Bond: Well my dear, I take it you spend quite a lot of time in the saddle.
Jenny Flex: Yes, I love an early morning ride.
James Bond: Well, I'm an early riser myself.

[The morning after Bond sleeps with May Day.]
Max Zorin: You slept well?
James Bond: A little restless but I got off eventually.

James Bond: My name is Bond, James Bond.
U.S. Police Captain: And I'm Dick Tracy and you're STILL under arrest!

Pola Ivanova: In my dressing room, later, did you know I was an [Russian] agent with orders to seduce you?
James Bond: Why do you think I sent you three dozen red roses... ?

[Zorin is going to kill Bond]
James Bond: My department knows I'm here. When I don't report they'll retaliate.
Max Zorin: If you're the best they've got, they're more likely try and cover up your embarrassing incompetence.
James Bond: Don't count on it, Zorin.
Max Zorin: [laughs] Ha ha, you amuse me, Mr. Bond.
James Bond: It's not mutual.

Max Zorin: [to Scarpine] Time to flood the fault.
Bob Conley: But May Day and my men!
Max Zorin: Yes. A rather nice coincidence.

[Hovering over Silicon Valley in their blimp]
May Day: Wow! What a view!
Max Zorin: To a kill!

DVD Review

It’s great! Who actually watches all those DVD extras? (Kyle) tried to watch them, like the making-of documentary and the Duran Duran music video, but it gets boring after a while. Who cares? If you like that sort of thing, though, it’s wonderful it have it all at your fingertips. Meanwhile, the film looks fantastic in nice crisp widescreen! Ah, what a view! To a kill!

If you liked this movie, try these:

• The Living Daylights
• The Avengers (just to see how bad it could have been!)
• Die Another Day