After a very extended six and a half year lay-off between 007 entries, 1995’s Goldeneye brought Pierce Brosnan into the mix and returned the series to huge box office numbers and general critical and audience acclaim. Bond was back in a big way and so was the film schedule that fans had become accustomed to. The 18th picture, Tomorrow Never Dies, would follow Goldeneye two years later and continue Mr. Brosnan’s successful run as the British superspy.

The well-received Goldeneye would provide its follow-up with the largest Bond budget by an enormous margin. While Brosnan’s first entry set the record at $58 million, the budget for Tomorrow Never Dies would balloon to $110 million. Clearly, the series producers knew that Bond needed to compete with the other high-profile action pictures of the era that were budgeted at similar numbers.

The picture opens at a weapons bazaar along the Russian border that 007 infiltrates in grand fashion, culminating with Bond battling a baddie in an airplane he commandeered. It’s a nice start.

Not so solid is the film’s theme song, performed by Sheryl Crow. She’s a good musician but her vocal abilities just don’t translate too well to a Bond composition. This is one of the more forgettable theme songs in the franchise.

The plot of Tomorrow Never Dies is pretty straightforward. The bad guy is media and cable kingpin Elliot Carver (Jonathan Pryce), a demented man who causes worldwide catastrophes in order to boost his ratings and solidify his empire. This includes sinking a British submarine along Chinese waters in an attempt to start World War III between the east and west. The plot itself is one of the movie’s problems. It’s a little silly and Pryce goes a bit too over-the-top. He’s a fine actor (check him out as a jilted sales customer in Glengarry Glen Ross), but he really hams it up here.

Bond is put on the case and it turns out he had a relationship with Carver’s wife, Paris (Teri Hatcher). He is told by M (Judi Dench, great as always) to use his previous dalliance with Paris as a way to infiltrate Elliot’s inner circle. As M puts it, if he must with Paris… “pump her for information”. 007 is sent along on his mission and picks up a new whip with the BMW 750, tricked out to the max.

Bond’s relationship with Paris is written differently than nearly all previous female encounters. We are given the impression that Bond was in love with Paris. At first, Mrs. Carver resists 007’s advances, but it turns out she’s a desperate housewife after all and she succumbs to his charm once again. The problem with this plot line: we never really understand why 007 fell hard for her of all women, especially since we know he’s had hundreds (thousands?) of these conquests in the past. This might be the producers attempt to make James more sensitive and less misogynistic, but it didn’t really work for me. Hatcher is fair in the role. However, the last time 007 really showed he was capable of real love is 1969’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. In that film, the story line was more believable. Heck, we even got a montage scene with 007 and the future Mrs. Bond horseback riding and stuff while falling for each other. Here, the Bond/Paris love connection seems forced.

Turns out Paris is not the main Bond girl though. That honor goes to Colonel Wai Lin (Michelle Yeoh), a Chinese superspy who helps 007 out on his mission. Her character does provide some fine moments in the picture, including when Bond learns she’s got just as many sweet gadgets as he does.

Of course, Tomorrow Never Dies has its share of large scale action set pieces. One of the best is Bond putting the BMW 750 to good use. A special feature of the vehicle: it can be operated by remote control and 007 puts that to good use.

Joe Don Baker makes a brief and welcome return as Bond’s CIA contact. The late Vincent Shiavelli (who you may recognize from the 1990 Patrick Swayze hit Ghost) is memorable as one of Carver’s assassins.

Journeyman director Roger Spottiswoode, maker of films as varied as 1972’s Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid and 1989’s Turner and Hooch, is behind the camera here. He does a respectable job. One quibble: there’s a few uses of slow motion in the action scenes that seems out of place. Bruce Feirstein, one of four co-writers for Goldeneye, gets sole writing credit here.

One major improvement over Goldeneye: the score by David Arnold. While Brosnan’s first adventure had a mediocre musical score, newcomer Arnold fares much better with a soundtrack that hearkens back to John Barry’s classic compositions.

Tomorrow Never Dies is what I’d describe as a standard entry in the franchise. Most of the action works well and we certainly see the huge budget on the screen. I wasn’t a big fan of the villain and that was a drawback. The gimmicky plot hinders things a bit too. Still, it moves along and is highly watchable. Yeoh adds some nice moments, even if the character of secondary Bond girl Paris Carver seems unbelievable.

Audiences would continue to respond to Brosnan in the role with their dollars. Worldwide, Tomorrow Never Dies would earn slightly less than Goldeneye. In the States, however, it would earn $125 million, an improvement over its predecessor.

Here are the facts:

Film: Tomorrow Never Dies

U.S. Release Date: December 19, 1997

Director: Roger Spottiswoode

Screenplay: Bruce Feirstein

Bond: Pierce Brosnan

Main Bond Villain: Elliot Carver (Jonathan Pryce)

Main Bond Girl: Colonel Wai Lin (Michelle Yeoh)

Theme Song: “Tomorrow Never Dies” – performed by Sheryl Crow

Budget: $110 million

Worldwide Box Office: $333 million

My James Blog blog series will return in “The 007 Files: The World Is Not Enough”

007 fans would experience a very long wait to see 1995’s Goldeneye, which kicks off the Pierce Brosnan era in Bond world. Before, the biggest gap between pictures was a two and a half year wait between 1974’s The Man with the Golden Gun and 1977’s The Spy Who Loved Me. Following the release of 1989’s Licence to Kill, financial difficulties from parent company MGM would tie up the series. The result? A nearly six and a half year wait between Licence and Goldeneye.

During that prolonged time period, a lot of questions were raised. Would the Bond series be relevant in the 1990s or would audiences see the character as a Cold War era relic? After all, the Berlin Wall came down and Communism basically ended during the long break. Would James Bond’s character, with his sexual proclivities and often cavalier attitude, translate to the nineties?

Another potential issue: 1989’s Licence to Kill was the lowest grossing 007 flick (when factoring inflation) in the franchise’s history. MGM’s problems led to scrapping a third Timothy Dalton installment that was to be called The Property of a Lady. The fact that the series had ended on such a soft financial note, especially in the United States, led to legitimate questions regarding Bond’s box office drawing power.

All these questions were talked about incessantly leading up to the release of Goldeneye. Pierce Brosnan, the “Remington Steele” star who was cast in 1986 but had to drop out due to TV commitments, was finally available to assume the 007 mantle. His casting was met with praise, even with so many unsure whether the series would remain successful.

First impressions mean a lot and the opening sequence of Goldeneye is fabulous, as we see Brosnan’s Bond in an awesome free fall to infiltrate a chemical weapons warehouse. This scene is set in 1986 and continues with 007 witnessing the murder of agent 006 Alec Trevelyan (Sean Bean). The opening sequence concludes with a very nifty plane stunt.

This leads to title credits and theme song and here’s one with immense talent behind it: Tina Turner singing from a song written by Bono and The Edge. Unfortunately, it’s a pretty standard and uninspiring track.

Goldeneye picks up nine years later with a fun car chase sequence, involving a memorable secondary villain, Xenia Onatopp, played by Famke Janssen (who would move on to the X-Men series a few years later). The character of Onatopp is a sadist who gets turned on by shooting her weapons and murders some victims while in sexual situations with them.  The car chase also allows the return of the sweet Aston Martin, too!

The plot involves the stealing of a helicopter that can withstand an EMP (electro magnetic pulse). The plans of the baddies are eventually revealed as destroying the city of London and collapsing the world financial market. That main bond villain turns out to be the thought to be dead 006 himself Alec, now known as crime syndicate head Janus. This provides an interesting story for the villain, as he’s a former colleague and friend of 007. Bean, a fine actor, is quite good in the role. As mentioned before, Janssen certainly makes an impression and Alan Cumming (also in the X-Men flicks) has some humorous moments as a demented computer geek.

The main Bond girl is Natalya (Izabella Scorupco), a computer programmer who is the only survivor of an attack by the villains. Scorupco, while not one of the classic Bond gals, certainly holds her own with 007 and has she has good rapport with Brosnan.

Some of the secondary characters work. Joe Don Baker, who portrayed a villain in The Living Daylights, is back here as a totally different character. Here, he plays a CIA agent and his dialogue with Bond (referring to him as “Jimmy” and “Jimbo”) provides some decent comic relief. Robbie Coltrane shines in his scene as an ex KGB agent who helps out Bond. In Coltrane’s scene, his mistress (shown singing a terrible Karaoke version of “Stand By Your Man”) is played by Minnie Driver, two years before she became famous in Good Will Hunting. 

As for the series characters we expect to see, Samantha Bond (no relation) is the new Moneypenny and like Caroline Bliss from the Dalton films, she’s seen briefly and doesn’t make too much of an impression. While almost everything is new for 90s Bond, we do get the welcome sight of Desmond Llewelyn back as Q. The six year absence has noticeably aged the actor, but he’s terrific as always and has some great lines in his main scene (the lunch line in particular).

And, last but not least: M. Goldeneye begins the seven picture run of the incomparable Judi Dench as Bond’s boss. The character has changed. She doesn’t particularly care for 007 and his ways. M seems to think Bond is a Cold War relic who’s overstayed his welcome, much like many were wondering about the franchise itself. Dench’s M provides a real spark here.

The real star of Goldeneye is the action sequences. A personal favorite: 007 chasing baddies with a tank.

Pierce Brosnan is impressive in his debut. It helps that he just looks like James Bond should. He doesn’t have quite the menacing demeanor of Connery (and Dalton, as he started showing in Licence to Kill) or quite the comedic sensibilities of Moore. His Bond works somewhere in the middle because he’s capable of all those qualities to a certain degree. It’s a happy enough medium.

We have a lot of new people joining the series here. Director Martin Campbell provides a steady hand and he would return to the series later in a major way (we’ll get there soon). We also have four new screenwriters joining the mix. The James Bond compositions are usually first-rate (mostly due to John Barry), but this film’s score by newbie Eric Serra is disappointing. Another quibble: some occasionally poor special effects work (not something we’re used to with this franchise).

Goldeneye works for the most part and is a welcome return back. The writers seem to be purposely trying to get all the old Bond trademarks in from time to time while making it clear that it is a new Bond. Particular evidence of this is M’s referring to Bond as a dinosaur. Also, a humorous scene where an apparent villain wants Bond to immediately give up information. He responds: “No one takes the time to do a sinister interrogation anymore!” The self-referential jokes are handled pretty well.

Despite all the worries about the series coming back, they were quickly alleviated. Goldeneye was a smash hit, earning over $350 million worldwide, including $106 million in the U.S. Keep in mind that Licence to Kill, six years prior, made only $32 million domestically.

The makers of Goldeneye were successful in introducing Brosnan and reintroducing the character to the old and a new audience after the extended layoff. They do a commendable job. It’s worth noting that Goldeneye is the first Bond title to not be derived in one form or another from the works of Ian Fleming. However, Goldeneye was the name of Ian Fleming’s estate in Jamaica so it’s a nice little nod to the 007 author.

The film is a bit overlong (not uncommon, some things never change). I must confess that there were times where I had the feeling of watching all the Bond trademarks being systematically checked off. Some of it worked better than others. Goldeneye is unquestionably solid, but I didn’t find it quite as entertaining as other entries I admired. In the words of Winnie Cooper from “The Wonder Years”, I liked it. But, I didn’t really like it, like it.

Lastly, no blog post of the movie can be written without at least a passing mention of the video game. The N64 first-person shooter game was a smash success as well and is widely considered one of the greatest video games of all time. The film isn’t one of all-time best Bonds, but it’s fun enough while it lasts and has some truly great moments.

Here are the facts:

Film: Goldeneye

U.S. Release Date: November 17, 1995

Director: Martin Campbell

Screenplay: Michael France, Jeffrey Caine, Kevin Wade, and Bruce Feirstein

Bond: Pierce Brosnan

Main Bond Villain: Alec Trevelyan (Sean Bean)

Main Bond Girl: Natalya Simonova (Izabella Scorupco)

Theme Song: “Goldeneye” – performed by Tina Turner

Budget: $58 million

Worldwide Box Office: $352.1 million

My James Bond blog series will return in “The 007 Files: Tomorrow Never Dies”

Licence to Kill, the 16th installment of the 007 franchise and Timothy Dalton’s second and final outing as Bond, is perhaps the most underrated film in the series history. For many years, Bond lovers considered 1969’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service the under appreciated picture of the bunch. That movie has since gained a reputation among a number of aficionados as one of the best. This, by the way, is not a sentiment I share. For my thoughts on that particular picture, my blog post is available on the site. Licence to Kill was a major commercial disappointment in the United States. It presented a much more intense 007 than we had seen before. It came out in a very crowded 1989 summer and got lost in the shuffle of blockbusters like Batman, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Back to the Future Part II, and more. And it was the last Bond outing for an extended period of time due mostly to MGM’s financial difficulties. With all that negative energy surrounding Licence to Kill, it doesn’t alter what I took away from it… this is in the upper echelon of 007 pictures.

Let’s get the theme song handled first. It’s a pretty standard tune by Gladys Knight and it’s not among the Bond themes you’ll be humming along to later.

Onto the positive and there’s a lot of it. The film opens with Bond’s ally Felix Leiter getting married in Miami. Felix and Bond get word that the biggest and most wanted Latin American drug kingpin Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi) has been spotted in town. So they have to make a quick stop before the wedding to capture him. They nab him after an exciting action sequence.

Unfortunately, Sanchez isn’t kept in custody for long and after his escape, he enacts revenge on Felix and his new bride. That bride is played by Priscilla Barnes, who you may know as Terri from TV’s “Three’s Company”! She doesn’t make it too long in the picture and while Felix is not killed, he is fed to a hungry shark… and once again, the shark does not have a giant laser beam attached to its frickin head.

All of this messing with Felix and his bride makes Bond pissed off. Like, more pissed than we’ve ever seen him before. He makes it his mission to track down Sanchez and his army of bad guys, much to the chagrin of M. When M confronts Bond in Miami and tells him that the Americans will take care of the Sanchez case, 007 resigns. And unlike all other entries in the series to that point, this mission for Bond is strictly personal, adding a new and exciting dimension.

This eventually leads to Bond going undercover and befriending Sanchez, gaining access to the inner circle. Along the way, he teams up with CIA informant Pam Bouvier (Carey Lowell), who serves as our main Bond girl.

The casting is first-rate across the board. Davi’s performance as Sanchez is terrific. I wasn’t timing it, but it seems like Sanchez has more screen time than any other Bond baddie I’ve seen before. He’s a well-written character and Davi shines as he’s given ample time to develop the character.

Carey Lowell is a solid Bond girl and her interplay with Dalton works well. As Davi’s girlfriend Lupe, Talisa Soto is given a few good moments. As Leiter, it’s nice to see actor David Hedison in the part, as he also played the character sixteen years earlier in Live and Let Die. This makes him the first (but not last) actor to play Felix more than once. As one of Sanchez’s sadistic henchman, we see a young and intense Benicio Del Toro! Even Desmond Llewelyn’s Q gets much more screen time than normal and he shines in a few scenes, as he always does.

Much like Dalton’s other entry, The Living Daylights, the plot incorporates current events into the story. While Daylights made use of the Russian/Afghan conflict in the 1980s, Licence to Kill focuses on the Latin American drug trade that was in the headlines at that time. Sanchez, in many ways, is a Noriega-like figure.

There is no doubt that Licence to Kill is a more somber and downbeat Bond adventure than normal, especially after the run of Roger Moore pictures. It’s also one of the most violent. The film seems influenced just as much by other 80s action flicks like Lethal Weapon and Die Hard than earlier 007 adventures. Some of the deaths here are brutal… Benicio Del Toro’s fate is a prime example. So is the fate of this character who Sanchez thinks double crossed him.

The screenplay, by veterans Michael G. Wilson and Richard Maibaum, is one of the best we’ve seen, period. The characters are well-developed and the plot is quite inventive, as Bond sets up elaborate schemes to fool Sanchez into trusting him and distrusting other associates.

John Glen’s direction (this is his fifth Bond flick in a row) is rock solid per usual and the action scenes are dynamite. The climactic chase is one of several examples:

While I’ve gone out of my way (deservedly) to praise the production design of Ken Adam in earlier films, Peter Lamont’s work here is marvelous. The sets for Licence to Kill are fantastic. You’ll want to live in Sanchez’s home after seeing it.

There are minor quibbles, including a love triangle between James/Pam/Lupe that feels a little forced. Wayne Newton is cast as TV evangelist and while his character is unnecessary, he does provide a bit of comic relief for a mostly intense experience.

As for Mr. Dalton, my appreciation for him grew with this movie. He doesn’t have the Connery “It” factor, but he’s a good actor and his performance in Licence to Kill is solid. I couldn’t help but wonder after watching it whether he would have continued to grow into the role.

That, however, is a moot point. While Licence to Kill would do decent overseas business, it would not fare well in the United States, grossing just $32 million in the summer of 1989. Adjusted for inflation, it has the distinction of being the lowest grossing 007 film in the U.S. of all time.

This to me is a shame. The financial failure of Licence to Kill is based on many factors, including that crowded summer marketplace. Strangely enough, I suspect that it may also be due to the audience’s unwillingness to accept a Bond this dark and brooding, especially coming so soon after the light and humorous (and financially successful) Moore films. 

Upon viewing Licence to Kill for the first time in many years, it almost seems like a template for the wildly successful Daniel Craig movies that would come nearly two decades later. That’s a high compliment.

MGM, the studio behind Bond, would experience financial problems shortly after this film’s release. This would mean no James Bond movies for a whole six years, by far the longest gap between pictures. Because of that, Licence to Kill marked a whole lot of “lasts” in the series. The long lay-off caused Dalton to resign from the role (though it’s unclear as to whether producers would have asked him back). This would be director Glen’s final effort after directing all five 007 movies released in the 1980s. Maurice Binder, who did the title credit sequences in every single Bond film through this one, passed away in 1991. It would be the swan song for Robert Brown, who assumed the role of M after Bernard Lee’s death. And last but certainly not least, Licence to Kill is the final film to be produced by Albert “Cubby” Broccoli. He is the man more responsible for the success of the 007 franchise than anyone in its history.

For those who haven’t seen Licence to Kill, I highly recommend it. To those who greatly admire the Daniel Craig entries, I think you’ll admire this one, too. Every aspect of this picture is first-rate. This is the most under appreciated 007 feature in the series history and as its audience expands though time and people discover and rediscover it, I hope its reputation grows.

Here are the facts:

Film: Licence to Kill

U.S. Release Date: July 14, 1989

Director: John Glen

Screenplay: Michael G. Wilson and Richard Maibaum

Bond: Timothy Dalton

Main Bond Villain: Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi)

Main Bond Girl: Pam Bouvier (Carey Lowell)

Theme Song: “Licence to Kill” – performed by Gladys Knight

Budget: $32 million

Worldwide Box Office: $156.2 million

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

The brief two-film Timothy Dalton era in the 007 franchise begins with 1987’s The Living Daylights. It was an interesting road to get to the casting of Dalton in the role. With Roger Moore correctly assessing that he was too old to continue playing Bond after a 12 year run, producers first were keen to hire Sam Neill (of Jurassic Park fame) to take over the part. This was nixed when the main boss, producer Cubby Broccoli, vetoed the idea. The Bond makers then moved to a highly touted TV actor, Pierce Brosnan from “Remington Steele”, who was coming to the end of his contract with NBC. When producers moved to hire Brosnan, NBC decided they weren’t done with “Remington Steele” yet and re-upped his contract, making him unavailable as Bond.

This left Mr. Dalton, who producers had their eye on since he was considered for 1969’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Dalton at the time (correctly) deemed himself too young for the role. Eighteen years later, the circumstances were right and Dalton became the fourth actor to play 007.

Wee see right away that a decision was made to change the tone of the Bond franchise from the Roger Moore entries. This Bond is more down-to-earth, far less comedic, and grittier.

The opening sequence is quite entertaining, with the “00” agents on a training mission that turns all too real and leads to the death of some fellow agents. It gets the film off to a fine start and introduces us to Dalton as 007 for the very first time.

For the title track, A-ha (of “Take On Me” fame) do the honors, sticking with a more pop-oriented theme started in the last feature with Duran Duran’s great “A View to a Kill”. This song is not nearly as catchy, but it’s OK.

The plot involves Bond helping a KGB defector, General Georgi Koskov (Jeroen Krabbe), who actually turns out to be the film’s main villain. Koskov’s girlfriend, Kara Milovy (Maryam d’Abo), also ends up getting double crossed by him and turns into Bond’s main love interest. Aiding Koskov in his dastardly plans is Whitaker, a nutty American arms dealer played well by Joe Don Baker. The story eventually turns to Afghanistan, where Bond teams with the Mujahideen to battle the Soviets baddies. Obviously, The Living Daylights is very much of a movie of its time. We do not see Congressman Charlie Wilson help out Bond at any point, it should be noted.

Because this a basic reboot of the franchise, we have a new actress playing Miss Moneypenny, Caroline Bliss. This ends the run of Lois Maxwell, who played M’s secretary in every previous 007 film. Bliss is not on screen long enough to make any real impression. Robert Brown returns as M and Desmond Llewelyn is, of course, back as Q. This time, he hooks James up wit a nifty little gadget that blows stuff up based on 007’s whistle commands.

While a lot of new faces exist in the picture, it’s Bond veterans behind the scenes, with screenwriters Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson back, John Barry doing his typically marvelous work as composer, and John Glen returning for his fourth directing job in a row. There’s another welcome return: the Aston Martin, the most iconic 007 vehicle by far. The tricked out car is featured in an exciting car chase sequence.

With his extensive background in shooting second unit for previous Bond features before taking over as director, John Glen excels most in populating his entries with extremely well-choreographed action scenes. The Living Daylights is no exception and there’s plenty of them. The climactic sequence with Bond battling villains on an airplane is a prime example of Glen’s mastery at action.

Neither Krabbe as the main villain or d’Abo as the main Bond girl will be remembered as among the most memorable in the series, but both do a good job in their roles. John Rhys-Davies, who you may know from the Indiana Jones and Lord of the Rings franchises,  does a nice job as the head of the KGB who is a 007 ally.

It is definitely worthy of note that The Living Daylights is the final film to be scored by John Barry, whose contributions to the music of Bond are incomparable. He would contribute to the scores  twelve of the first fourteen films and compose and write many of the famous themes we know today, from “Goldfinger” to “Diamonds Are Forever” to “A View to a Kill”.

All in all, The Living Daylights is a solid entry in the series. It’s certainly not great and it’s a little overlong, a fairly common occurrence in Bond world. More than anything, the return of a more grounded and serious Bond is a welcome sight. The tone of the film actually feels closer to the Daniel Craig pictures than anything that came before it.

This brings us, lastly, to Timothy Dalton. So… how is he? In my opinion, he certainly doesn’t possess the dynamic screen presence of Connery nor the comedic timing abilities as Moore. Simply put, he’s adequate. Unlike George Lazenby, Dalton is a classically trained actor and he’s got acting chops. However, he doesn’t bring a notable identity to the role.

The good news is that The Living Daylights is a satisfactory enough film that it doesn’t matter much. Audiences would agree, propelling it to great box office numbers at nearly $200 million worldwide. It earned $51 million in the United States, just barely outgrossing its predecessor, View to a Kill. 

I saw The Living Daylights as a kid and hadn’t seen it since and was quite pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. It is by no means a Bond classic, but it’s pretty darn good and gets the brief Dalton tenure off to a nice start.

Here are the facts:

Film: The Living Daylights

U.S. Release Date: July 31, 1987

Director: John Glen

Screenplay: Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson

Bond: Timothy Dalton

Main Bond Villain: General Georgi Koskov (Jeroen Krabbe)

Main Bond Girl: Kara Milovy (Maryam d’Abo)

Theme Song: “The Living Daylights” – performed by A-ha

Budget: $40 million

Worldwide Box Office: $191.2 million

My James Bond blog series will return in “The 007 Files: Licence to 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”