Heavily underrated, I think A View to a Kill is a highly enjoyable and very entertaining Bond film. It was Moore's last outing as 007, and, despite being 57 by the time the film was shot, he was able to give a charismatic and witty portrayal as Her Majesty's finest agent. He is as comfortable with the humorous parts of the story as he is with the serious segments. I had a smile on my face all of the time he was at Zorin's palace in France pretending to be an aristocrat interested in horses, with Patrick McNee ( most known for his role in the TV series The Avengers) as his reluctant( and hilarious) servant. Nobody but Roger could deliver lines such as " May I escort you to the chopper" ( when he is chattering with Miss Sutton) and make them sound good.
As for the serious parts, Bond really shows his aversion towards the villain, instead of smiling and making ingenious remarks. Zorin is to be taken seriously; the result of a genetic experiment by a Nazi doctor, he has grown up to be an extremely intelligent, but unbalanced computer tycoon. Driven by a lust for absolute power, he will stop at nothing to make his evil plans come true...even if they mean killing thousands of people. Christopher Walken delivers an outstanding performance. Zorin is cold-blooded and deathly calm for the most part, manipulating even his girlfriend Mayday, but his mental illness is hinted at in some scenes, such as the shoot-out inside the mine, when he laughs hysterically when killing the disarmed miners.
A View to a Kill is also a magnificent action spectacle. The ski chase that opens the film is stunning, but the rest of the movie features equally impressive, well edited action sequences. The real highpoint of the film is the scene where Bond confronts Zorin on the top of the Golden Gate. Though the pace is sometimes slow and the entire KGB subplot simply doesn't make sense, I think the positives clearly overcome the negatives.Bond movies are not meant to be thrillers, they are just escapist entertainment. And in that sense, most of them are excellent.
The main concern many people have with A View to a Kill is the fact that it bears a strong resemblance with Goldfinger. There is no denying that the two movies are in similar lines: both are concerned with a leading industrialist who has masterminded a plan which will grant him enormous profit, while at the same time damaging an strategic economic activity( gold has been replaced by microchips this time). In both movies Bond discovers the villain's plan by coincidence. There is a blonde female lead here , too. But it has to be said that every Bond movie borrows heavily from the rest, and the basic structure, style of dialogue and characters have remained (basically) the same for 40 years. There's nothing wrong with that, and it's what Bond fans like me expect from every new Bond outing.
Despite the sometimes slow pace, a dull Bond girl( why the heck was Tanya Roberts cast?) and the usual plot holes every Bond movie has, A View to a Kill is a recommended viewing for Bond fans.The perfect way to spend two hours in a Saturday afternoon
As for the serious parts, Bond really shows his aversion towards the villain, instead of smiling and making ingenious remarks. Zorin is to be taken seriously; the result of a genetic experiment by a Nazi doctor, he has grown up to be an extremely intelligent, but unbalanced computer tycoon. Driven by a lust for absolute power, he will stop at nothing to make his evil plans come true...even if they mean killing thousands of people. Christopher Walken delivers an outstanding performance. Zorin is cold-blooded and deathly calm for the most part, manipulating even his girlfriend Mayday, but his mental illness is hinted at in some scenes, such as the shoot-out inside the mine, when he laughs hysterically when killing the disarmed miners.
A View to a Kill is also a magnificent action spectacle. The ski chase that opens the film is stunning, but the rest of the movie features equally impressive, well edited action sequences. The real highpoint of the film is the scene where Bond confronts Zorin on the top of the Golden Gate. Though the pace is sometimes slow and the entire KGB subplot simply doesn't make sense, I think the positives clearly overcome the negatives.Bond movies are not meant to be thrillers, they are just escapist entertainment. And in that sense, most of them are excellent.
The main concern many people have with A View to a Kill is the fact that it bears a strong resemblance with Goldfinger. There is no denying that the two movies are in similar lines: both are concerned with a leading industrialist who has masterminded a plan which will grant him enormous profit, while at the same time damaging an strategic economic activity( gold has been replaced by microchips this time). In both movies Bond discovers the villain's plan by coincidence. There is a blonde female lead here , too. But it has to be said that every Bond movie borrows heavily from the rest, and the basic structure, style of dialogue and characters have remained (basically) the same for 40 years. There's nothing wrong with that, and it's what Bond fans like me expect from every new Bond outing.
Despite the sometimes slow pace, a dull Bond girl( why the heck was Tanya Roberts cast?) and the usual plot holes every Bond movie has, A View to a Kill is a recommended viewing for Bond fans.The perfect way to spend two hours in a Saturday afternoon