A View to a Kill (1985) Review

 "Does anyone else wanna drop out?"

-Max Zorin

The British government contracts a microchip company to design an EMP-hardened microchip, but an identical chip is recovered from the Russians.  James Bond (Roger Moore) is sent to investigate the owner of the company, Max Zorin (Christopher Walken), and discovers far more than corporate espionage.

What Works:

Far and away the best part of this movie is the music.  The title song by Duran Duran is an absolute classic and one of the few Bond theme songs I hear on the radio very often.  Electric guitar is also incorporated into the score, which gives even the silliest action sequences a sense of awesomeness.  

The final showdown on the Golden Gate Bridge is an iconic Bond moment.  It's always a lot of fun seeing Bond fight an axe-wielding Christopher Walken.  The aforementioned score makes the sequence even more awesome.  It's easily the best action sequence of the film.

I love the relationship between Bond and fellow agent, Sir Godfrey Tibbett (Patrick Macnee).  Bond poses as an ultra rich man and Tibbett poses as his driver.  Bond is absolutely insufferable to Tibbett and it's some of the funniest stuff in the movie.  They have great chemistry and I only wish Tibbett had lived longer.

Finally, May Day is truly a memorable henchmen.  Grace Jones gives a very interesting performance, but her physical work is excellent.  I don't know if I love all of dialogue delivery, but her facial expressions are some of the best acting in the movie.  Her defiant glare to Zorin just before she dies always gives me chills.

What Sucks:

Can you imagine Christopher Walken getting to actually play a good Bond villain?  Just think about it.  The possibilities are endless.  Instead, we get a mostly subdued performance, but Zorin is no Hugo Drax.  It's almost like they didn't know what to do with Walken.  They needed to let him be the cartoon character that he is.  He is one of the most wasted Bond villain actors.

Stacey Sutton is one of my least favorite Bond girls of the entire series.  She does pretty much nothing helpful the entire movie.  She delivers some exposition, but Tanya Roberts simply isn't believable in the role.   The rest of the time she spends screaming for Bond to help her.  She might be slightly more useful than Mary Goodnight, but is much more annoying.

Roger Moore was 57 at the time they filmed this movie.  Or, as he puts it, "I was only about 400 years too old for the part."  I love Roger Moore, but Octopussy should have been his last outing as Bond.  He was too old to make the action sequences believable and the stunt doubles are a lot more obvious than usual.  He was also too old for the romance scenes, which come off as more than a little cringey.

Finally, the action isn't as spectacular as it usually is.  Most of the action sequences are forgettable, the horse racing sequence is kinda dumb, and the opening snowboarding sequence is ruined by the Beach Boy's song they play over it.

Verdict:

A View to a Kill is definitely a lower-tier Bond movie.  The music kicks ass, the 3rd act is fun, and both Sir Godfrey Tibbett and May Day are memorable characters.  However, Christopher Walken is woefully misused, Stacey Sutton is unbearable, the action is mostly unmemorable, and Roger Moore shouldn't have been the lead.  It's still fun, but it could have been much better.

 6/10: Okay 

#1. Octopussy

#2. The Spy Who Loved Me

#3. From Russia with Love

#4. Goldfinger

#5. Moonraker

#6. On Her Majesty's Secret Service

#7. Live and Let Die

#8. Dr. No

#9. For Your Eyes Only

#10. Thunderball

#11. You Only Live Twice

#12. A View to a Kill

#13. The Man with the Golden Gun

#14. Diamonds Are Forever