The 007 Files: A View to a Kill

Roger Moore’s tenure as James Bond, spanning seven films and twelve years, comes to an end with 1985’s A View to a Kill. His time as 007 has divided series aficionados for years as the movies took an undeniable turn for the silly and cartoonish at times. As I explained in my posting for the first Moore feature, 1973’s Live and Let Die, Moore was the first Bond I really knew. I viewed more of his 007 flicks as a child than the Connery ones.

Upon revisiting all his films as Bond, I would say that they run from the truly great (The Spy Who Loved Me) to the solid (For Your Eyes Only) to guilty pleasure fun (Octopussy) to the mediocre (Live and Let Die, The Man with the Golden Gun) to the pretty bad (Moonraker).

A View to a Kill falls towards the bottom of the Moore entries. It’s better than Moonraker and on par with his first two, Live and Let Die and Golden Gun. There are definitely some positive aspects to the picture, but a lot left to be desired, too.

In the opening sequence, we get 007 on the slopes (again), which felt a little tired.

The title credit sequence perks things up considerably with one of my very favorite Bond theme songs, Duran Duran’s terrific title track. This song was a huge hit and deviates from the typical ballad to a great pop song. The track also has the distinction of the only Bond theme I’ve ever seen performed live!

The film does offer us some memorable villains, but more because of the actors who play them. Christopher Walken is Max Zorin, a psychotic microchip tycoon with plans to destroy Silicon Valley and take over the entire market. Walken was already an Oscar winner (for 1978’s The Deer Hunter) when he took on this role and getting him must have been quite a get for the Bond producers. Like many of you, I suspect, I find Walken to be great in just about everything and his performance is predictably solid. Singer/model/generally strange individual Grace Jones plays Mayday, Zorin’s henchwoman. She has some good moments as well. Zorin also has a tricked-out blimp, too!

Speaking of villains, check out this clip from the film. Notice the Russian henchman standing in the background for this brief scene who has zero lines? It’s Dolph Lundgren, who only six months later would enter film history as Ivan Drago in Rocky IV!

While the villains provide some positive elements, I cannot say the same for our Bond girl this time around. Geologist Stacey Sutton, played in a weak performance by Tanya Roberts, is one of the more forgettable Bond gals we have seen.

It’s the plot to destroy Silicon Valley that becomes the main plot narrative, but we have to sit through a slow and protracted first half to get there. The only saving grace in the first hour is some nice interplay between Moore and Patrick Macnee as Bond’s ally who must pose as 007’s servant. Macnee is best known for starring in the popular British series “The Avengers”. There’s also a neat little sequence at the Eiffel Tower.

For the most part, however, A View to a Kill‘s first act is dull. There are improvements in the second act as we see more of Walken, which helps. His character is written as a true wack job and he seems to take real joy in his work, including wiping out most of his crew in the climax. We also get a decent chase sequence with Bond commandeering a fire truck and being chased by police through the streets of San Francisco. The final climax taking place in a mine shaft and the Golden Gate Bridge has its moments as well.

Still, most of A View to a Kill feels like Bond on autopilot. Getting off on the wrong foot with an unremarkable first half, the second half is considerably better. Yet there’s still not much here to improve of what we’ve seen in other 007 flicks. The action scenes are well-done like they always are, but nothing truly separates them.

And there’s also the small matter of Moore. In later interviews, Moore would admit that he probably shouldn’t have done the picture and that he was getting too old for the role. He was right in retrospect. At 57 years of age when the picture was released, he was simply (in the words of Lethal Weapon‘s Roger Murtaugh) “getting too old for this shit”. Mr. Moore may have been better off leaving after Octopussy, which I believe would have been on a high-note (even though many would disagree with that).

Keeping with that theme, Lois Maxwell would make her final appearance as Miss Moneypenny, having appeared in all 007 films up to that point.

So how do I regard Roger Moore as Bond? Well, clearly a mixed bag. The quality of his films varied considerably. His strengths always lied in humor and his fine ability at one-liners. He knew he’d never be have the mix of charm and danger that Connery possessed. Moore knew he’d have to make the role his own and that he did. By doing so, he carried the franchise for twelve years with box office success. View was a financial success, even though it didn’t match the numbers of predecessor Octopussy. 

Yes, he’s no Connery, but this beloved series simply wouldn’t have continued without the considerable contributions of Moore. And as I’ve mentioned, we got one bonafide classic out of him, The Spy Who Loved Me.

Unfortunately, strong villain aside, Moore doesn’t go out on a strong note with A View to a Kill. With his realization that it was time to hang up the tuxedo, the Bond producers wouldn’t wait long to introduce us to a new Bond just two years later. And that, my friends, is where we’ll pick up in the next post.

Here are the facts:

Film: A View to a Kill

U.S. Release Date: May 24, 1985

Director: John Glen

Screenplay: Michael G. Wilson and Richard Maibaum

Bond: Roger Moore

Main Bond Villain: Max Zorin (Christopher Walken)

Main Bond Girl: Stacey Sutton (Tanya Roberts)

Theme Song: “A View to a Kill” – performed by Duran Duran

Budget: $30 million

Worldwide Box Office: $152.4 million

My James Bond blog series will return in “The 007 Files: The Living Daylights”