A View to a Kill (1985)

That was an excellent one.

In other words,this film is a surreal ride.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Admittedly, "A view to a Kill" certainly starts off with a bang, but, alas, it's all downhill from there, as the project quickly deteriorates into a talk, talk, talk fest, illuminated by lots of boring, and downright irritating, television-style close-ups.The movie's advertising phrase catchwords, "Bond As Never Before", is certainly right on target. Never has Bond looked so old and haggard, as played here by an aging Roger Moore. Even his photo on the cover of the M-G-M DVD has necessitated being touched up! (Look at it through a magnifying glass and you'll see what I mean!). The movie's advertising catch phrase, "Bond As Never Before!" was right on target. It turned out to be Roger Moore's final performance as James Bond. A shame! Less TV-style close-ups and more medium and long shots could have maintained the illusion that Bond was still as chipper as ever! "Moneypenny" is also looking old and weary!On the credit side, a lot of money has obviously been spent on actually shooting the movie. There are certainly some good stunts and a small fortune has undoubtedly been spent on crowds of extra players and filming scenes on real locations.

This is considered by many people to be one of the worst, if not the worst Bond films, but I disagree. This was another entertaining entry in the Bond series with enough stuff to keep you interested. Sir Roger Moore considers this the worst of the Bond films he has done, but I feel that that title belongs to "The Man With The Golden Gun."Of course, this film is known for having a 57-year-old Roger Moore in the role. Yes, he did look a lot older, and it was time for him to step aside, but I'll at least give him credit for still managing to do the action scenes.Christopher Walken, one of my favorite actors ever, brings all the right over-the-top qualities to the mega-maniacal Max Zorin, who wants to destroy Silicon Valley and gain a monopoly of microchips. May Day, played by Grace Jones, however, is really creepy. The less said about her, the better.As is usual with Bond films, this film delivers plenty of action. The fight in the Eiffel Tower, the chase through the streets of San Francisco, and especially the climax on the Golden Gate Bridge are fun to watch.The theme song by Duran Duran is one of my favorites. It still to this day remains the only Bond song to top the Billboard charts. However, Tanya Roberts' Stacey Sutton character is pretty whiny and annoying and ultimately forgettable.This was a decent film and a fine closing to Roger Moore's run as James Bond. It's far from perfect, and it's far from the best of the series, but it's also not the worst.RATING: B-

I usually rank my James Bond movies based on the level of evil of the main villain… Therefore my favorite James Bond movies include "You Only Live Twice" (with Donald Pleasance as Ernst Stavro Blofeld), "Goldfinger" (with Gert Fröbe in the titular role), "The Man with the Golden Gun" (with Christopher Lee as Scaramanga) and "License to Kill" (with Robert Davi as Sanchez). However, this "A View to a Kill" made me realize that a fantastic main villain isn't enough in order to guarantee a great James Bond flick. Christopher Walken also depicts a terrific Bond villain in this movie, but the film as a whole nevertheless remains one of weaker and least memorable entries in the entire franchise. The plot is largely uninteresting, the supportive cast is wooden and many of the traditional James Bond ingredients are missing, like a nice variety of Q's hi-tech gadgets and obligatory quotes. That being said, "A View to a Kill" still provides nearly two full hours of campy entertainment and a handful of impressively staged stunt sequences, including a grotesque chase on skis at the beginning, a crazy parachute pursuit through the crowded streets of Paris and a climax high on top of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Oh, and of course this particular film also features one of the catchiest and recognizable title songs, courtesy of Duran Duran. The plot deals with microchips-technology. The deranged industrialist Max Zorin implants chips in his racing horses in order to give them electrical impulses when reaching the finish line and win the races. But that is just the least disturbing part of his fiendish activities, as he also plots to neutralize California's Silicon Valley – the heart of American technology – through an immense flood caused by a self- inflicted mining disaster. The sub plot that I personally found the most fascinating sadly isn't elaborated properly, namely that Max Zorin himself is, in fact, the psychopathic result of controversial genetic experiments on pregnant women by a Nazi-scientist during World War II. It becomes quite clear in this film that the regular players are getting pathetically too old for their roles, not just Roger Moore as Bond but also Miss Moneypenny and even Q, and this has a noticeably negative impact on the chemistry between them and the supportive cast members. For instance, there isn't any plausible chemistry between James Bond and the four women that he sleeps with in "A View to a Kill" and most of the time he actually just resembles a sad old playboy. The most remarkable character, next to Max Zorin, is undoubtedly his eerie and super-flexible black female accomplice May Day, depicted by the natural born frightening Grace Jones. She's as evil and relentless as her master, although I personally really didn't like the plot- twist regarding her persona at the end of the movie.

Possibly the most underrated Bond film ever, and it comes right at the lowest point in the franchise.Christopher Walken, Grace Jones, Dolph Lundgren, Tawnya Roberts...almost enough to make you forget about Roger Moore! But come on, the opening ski scene is fantastic, the action is diverse throughout...skiing, horseback, BASE jumping, fire truck racing, mine chases...this film has it all! Plus half is set in San Francisco? BONUS! Not to mention one of the most kick ass Bond themes ever, and a great opening credit sequence to go with it.This is a great great Bond film, and now it's a matter of waiting for the next Daniel Craig one to arrive