A View to a Kill (James Bond) (1985)

A viewer below mentioned how the scene where Roger Moore carries Tanya Roberts out of City Hall reminded him of a time when heroes were heroes. I could not agree more. "A View to a Kill" is not the best film out there, I admit, but to me, it is more than just a movie. It marks the end of the genre of the classic Hollywood hero. There are heroes today, but those actors also do comedies, dramas, and other types of movies. Roger Moore is the truly the last cinematic hero. Some of his films are not perfect (nobody's are), but his name alone is associated with action and adventure. You see his name in the credits, and you know that you're in for some sort of spectacle. For me, Roger Moore belongs up their with the likes of Errol Flynn and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Guys like Pierce Brosnan and Nicholas Cage are good, but I know they're acting. Moore was a natural. He was the last actor that you believed WAS the character. They don't make them like that anymore. That's why I love "A View to a Kill." Not so much for its content, but for what it is.

When I first saw this film on its initial release I didn't know what to make of it. It seemed like it got its inspiration from GOLDFINGER and Ian Fleming's Bond novel MOONRAKER. However, it was like a jumble of everything thrown up in the air and played out in the order in which they landed. Actions just seem to turn on a dime in this film. For example: Bond is being chased down an ice-covered slope by Soviet troops in Siberia all to an exciting John Barry score. This is an excellent scene. A gattling gun mounted on a Soviet helicopter blows the ski mobile right out from under Bond. He picks himself up, grabs the runner from the ski mobile and begins to ski board down the slope this time to the musical accompaniment of the Beach Boys' "California Girls." What happened to John Barry's score? The scene and all its dramatic tension are destroyed, yet it seems to work much better today, 21 years latter.

The film looked a bit sloppy. The stunt doubles are not always matched to Roger Moore very professionally. His hair colour seems to go from brown to straw to red. In one scene when Bond is chasing May Day through Paris in a borrowed taxi, there is one camera shot where you can see that it is definitely not Roger Moore. The fight scene where Bond and Sir Godfrey wrap up some of Zorin's guards in the warehouse has to rank at the bottom of the series. The editing couldn't even salvage it.

However, your heart kind of went out for Roger in this one. He didn't have a good outing in this picture and it being his last Bond film, he perhaps deserved better. There were a few memorable scenes that do make this film a good one. After Bond is chased into the woods on horseback and is captured, Bond tells Zorin that there will be retaliation if they kill him. "You amuse me Mister Bond," says Zorin with indifference. "The feeling's not mutual," responds Bond. After that scene I was hoping that Bond would really put this fellow out of his misery. The one image that remains with me from this film is when Bond carries Stacey on his back climbing down the fire truck ladder rescuing her from the burning City Hall. As corny as that scene may have looked it hearkened back to a time in films when heroes really were heroes. Roger did a fine job during his tenure.

After Bonds have come and gone through the years A VIEW TO A KILL somehow still entertains more with each passing year.

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The extras are very good. I like the cut scene in the police station. The music video is outstanding.

A VIEW TO A KILL is Roger Moore's last James Bond film and it is one of his best. It is the pinnacle of Roger Moore's irony and contradiction to the James Bond established by Sean Connery and brought to fruition by George Lazenby. Here Roger Moore gives greater depth to James Bond than we have ever seen making his performance one of the most endearing. Guy Hamilton established this approach with GOLDFINGER and honed it with his excellent THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN, which was a mixture of action and absurdity at its best.

A VIEW TO A KILL is the most luxurious looking Bond movie. Zorin's magnificent palace and stables are the type of cinematic refinements found in GOLDFINGER, THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN, MOONRAKER and OCTOPUSSY. Zorin along with Scaramanga, are the best villains of the series. Zorin's a real psycho. May Day, Zorin's right hand, gives a real twisted performance right out of the outrageous 80's.

The opening pre-title sequence is one of the best. Bond is being chased down an ice-covered slope by Russian troops in Siberia to an exciting John Barry score highlighted by the Beach Boys' "California Girls" while he escapes on a ski mobile runner turned ski board. This is an excellent scene full of action and laughs. The Beach Boys' "California Girls" was a stroke of genius. John Barry really knows how to score a Bond movie!

The getaway in a mini sub disguised as an iceberg was another stroke of genius. I was on the edge of my seat. Duran Duran's opening main theme is the best of the series. It was even better than Lulu's THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN. Maurice Binder's main titles were his best since THE SPY WHO LOVED ME.

This film is just so great. Roger Moore looks young at heart in this one. I never saw him move better. I think these are the most stunts that he ever did in any Bond movie. The fight scene in Zorin's warehouse was one of his best. I like the way he lays out the guard on the conveyor belt and gets automatically wrapped like a corrugated carton.

The steeplechase scene was also great and real suspenseful. I didn't know that Roger could ride a horse like that. When he breaks away into the woods that was really well filmed just like the similar scene in MOONRAKER.

The Eiffel Tower scene where Bond is chasing May Day through Paris in a stolen taxi, is one of the greatest scenes in the series. It was so amusing. When Bond's taxi gets cut in half I thought he was done for. However, he keeps up with her and manages to crash a wedding on a moving barge. Crazy stuff! This kind of thing is what made the 80s so great!

Q had some of his best scenes in this film. The microchip briefing in M's office was good and reminiscent of MOONRAKER and OCTOPUSSY. I liked Q's surveillance machine. That was very innovative. It was also good to see Bond, Moneypenny and M all at the races. General Gogol had some good scenes too. I like when he puts the cassette in the player in his car and it starts playing the Japanese Spa music. That was really funny.

The underwater scenes in this film were excellently filmed. I was holding my breath when Bond taps the tire of the sunken Rolls for air. That was very innovative. Zorin's San Francisco pumping station was also done well. When Bond was underwater I thought for sure he was going to get sucked in by those propeller blades.

The sets in this movie were great. The interior of Zorin's airship was very reminiscent of GOLDFINGER and DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER. Zorin's mine was one of the best sets from the entire series. Just like SPECTRE, Zorin eliminates undesirables just like they were terminated similarly in THUNDERBALL and YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE.

Stacey was the best Bond girl since Mary Goodnight. You really feel for her. I almost thought Bond was going to leave her in the elevator shaft the way she was screaming. Bond saves her just in time. She was also great in the fire engine chase and the ultimate battle between Bond and Zorin on top of the Golden Gate Bridge.

This film has it all: action, suspense, humor, laughs, terror, set designs, great underwater scenes, car chases, an great John Barry score and one of Roger Moore's best performances.

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All in all, I'd have to say that this was a below-average Bond film. The girl, Stacy Sutton (Tanya Roberts) threatened to singlehandedly bring the entire movie down herself. She is easily the least interesting off all the Bond girls (a geologist who works at city hall? Pul-Leeeze!), and she did a very poor acting job to boot.

Still, I can't help having a lot of fun every time I watch this. Stacy aside, all the characters are interesting (Zorin, MayDay, Jenny Flex). This film goes all over the place: the Eiffel Tower, aristocratic England, diving scenes, horse races, mining scenes, the Golden Gate Bridge, and finally a blimp (emblazoned with the famous "Zorin" logo of course)!

It's so off the wall that it works. Roger Moore is hitting on girls a third of his age (of course from the looks of it he was 93 when he made this one), there's action all the time, and a far-fetched but interesting plot.

There are many better Bond movies than this, but somehow this is one that I like to watch quite a bit. I really can't defend my liking this, I just do!

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A View to a Kill is my all time favorite Bond movie. I think Roger Moore gives a great performance in his last Bond film. ...The pre-title ski scene is magnificent, probably my favorite out of all.

The best thing out of this whole movie is Max Zorin's main method of transportation is by blimp, a very interesting aircraft. Very interesting when involved in the finale action scene. Also I must say i was very fond of Zorin's head of security, Scarpine, played by Patrick Baucheau.... One last thing about this movie is that I think it has the best music out of all the Bond films especially what they play during action scenes.

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