A View to a Kill (1985)

Plot Outline: James Bond discovers that there is a world's surplus of microchips and someone is hoarding them for an unknown reason. His search leads him to Max Zorin, a wealthy industrialist who has set his sights on destroying California's Silicon Valley in order to further his own microchip production.

The Review: Roger Moore's final outing as 007 is one of my favourites. It's not the best of plots for a Bond film, in fact it's probably one of the worst. I mean how much fear can you generate from destroying Silicon Valley, as opposed to the world? However the plot is probably the only thing low-key here. The sense of the ridiculous that was brought to the fore in Octopussy has been wiped away and instead we're given a glimpse at what the Bond films could become now that the Cold War is over: Bond squaring off against psychotic individuals who have megalomaniacal desires other than to destroy Earth. The stunts are big here and certainly were designed to give Moore a big send-off: a parachute jump from the Eiffel Tower, Bond hanging from a rope from a blimp as it flies across San Francisco and an all-out snow chase with skis, snow boards and skidoos are some of the highlights. But the best scene (and I feel that it's the most climatic Bond Vs main villain showdown) is the fight at the top of the Golden Gate Bridge between Bond and Zorin. It's excellent and although there is some dodgy-looking rear projection, it still comes off as a great dramatic fight. The music score is one of the best and most riveting of all of the Bond films too. John Barry certainly pulled out of all of the stops for this. The majority of the praise I give to this film though is for Christopher Walken. He is superb as Zorin. Walken truly has an on-screen presence in any film and he certainly lends it to this in a big way. He is evil but in a calm and collected way - for instance his nervous laugh. But on the other hand the rest of the cast aren't particularly great. Moore is way past his best and looks far too old to be portraying Bond, especially when he comes off more like an old pervert, trying to seduce younger women. He tries his best here but it seems like one film too many for him. Tanya Roberts is a horrid Bond girl and although she looks good, she is just so one-dimensional and lacks any screen presence (in fact whenever she's on screen, everyone else around her seems to be sucked into her talentless persona). Grace Jones is also horrid as the muscular henchwoman who battles (and beds) Bond (I wonder how much Moore got paid to do that!). As a heavy she is fine, but it's when she's not killing spies and instead wearing revealing dresses that don't fill me with any desire whatsoever. It's also the last outing for Louis Maxwell as Miss Moneypenny too which is sad to see.

Final Verdict: A View to a Kill represents the best and worst of Moore's time as 007 and his farewell is much more impressive than his debut. You'll get mixed reviews regarding any Bond film and this usually ranks as one of the worst in the series. But for reasons pretty much unknown to me, I like the film and it's one of my favourite Bonds. Certainly not a bad way to introduce anyone to the world of 007.

Rating: