Right, OK so now that I've got a bit more time on my hands just now, with it being the festive holidays and being off college (I'm studying photography by the way!) I thought its time to do another post.
So this one is on another Bond film and this time its Roger Moore's swansong, A View to a Kill, which saw the aged actor, take on the role of the world's most famous spy one last time. But after over 30 years is it any good???? Well let's take a look and find out....
And yes the usual warning applies:
SPOILERS WILL BE AHEAD!!
STORY
Right so to start with a look at the story of the film it begins with Bond (Moore) on a mission in Sibera where he has to retrieve a microchip that originated from the Soviet Union. On returning to England, Bond has Q (Desmond Llewellyn) analyse the chip and Q discovers that it is designed withstand an electromagnetic pulse and was made by government contractors, Zorin industries.
Bond then pays a visit to the Ascot racecourse to observe the company's owner, Max Zorin (Christopher Walken) and after watching Zorin's horse in a race winning, they noticed that the horse was hard to control. This leads Bond's associate, Sir Godfrey Tibbett (Patrick Macnee) who is a racehorse trainer and also an MI6 agent, that the horse had been drugged although the tests proved negative.
Bond soon meets with a private detective, Achille Aubergine (great name!) who informs Bond that Zorin is holding a private horse sale soon however their meeting is soon interrupted as Aubergine is assassinated by a masked assassin that turns out to be Zorin's bodyguard, May Day (Grace Jones). Bond then chases May Day up the Eiffel tower but she soon dives off the tower and escapes in a speedboat, driven by Zorin.
Bond and Tibbet then attend the horse sale, where Bond meets a beautiful woman named Stacey Sutton (Tanya Roberts) who rebuffs Bond's advances but he does find that out Zorin has written her a cheque for five million dollars. At night, Bond and Tibbett sneak into Zorin's lab and they discover that he is implanting adrenaline inducing devices into the horses.
Zorin soon meets with Bond in person but runs an ID check and discovers that Bond is a secret agent and then afterward he has May Day kill Tibbett. Zorin then invites Bond to participate in a horse race but it soon turns hostile and Bond tries to evade Zorin's men but he is captured, knocked out and placed in a car with the dead Tibbett which is then dumped into the water, where Zorin and May Day assume that Bond has drowned (although he hasn't as he uses the car's tyres for oxygen to stay under water long enough before he escapes).
Afterward Zorin is confronted by General Gogol (Walter Gotell) and we find out that Zorin was a former KGB agent but he has now gone rogue and Gogol is angered that he killed Bond without permission. After this Zorin during a business meeting onboard his zeppelin, announces his plan to flood and destroy Silicon Valley to give himself and his investors the monopoly over the microchip industry.
Bond then soon meets up again with Stacey as he rescues her from an assassination attempt by Zorin's men as Stacey after tells Bond that Zorin was after her family's oil business, which he attempted to buy. Bond and Stacey then travel to San Francisco city hall where they check out Zorin's plan but they are soon met with Zorin and May Day who set fire to the building and trap Bond and Stacey, however they soon manage to escape.
After this Bond and Stacey then infiltrate Zorin's mine where he plans to detonate explosives along the lakes that surround Silicon valley, which would leave the valley permanently submerged and thereby destroy the microchip industry for Zorin to take over. And its up to Bond to find a way to stop Zorin from carrying out his plan.....
THOUGHTS
As Roger Moore's final Bond film, A View to a Kill is something of a letdown although it still has its entertaining moments here and there it still sees Moore's era end on a dissapointing note. The film itself has some real lacklustre moments and a rather daft plot but I will get onto them a bit later in my review in the flaws section.
The film is also not helped much by the simple fact that Moore himself by this stage, at the age of 58, was far too old to keep on playing the role and this is something even Moore had acknowledged in an later interviews that he was "400 years too old" to play the part by then.
PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES
As for the film's performances, well they are a bit hit and miss in most regards as the quality of the cast is a bit mixed.
And to start off with looking at the cast we have Roger Moore who in his last role as Bond, does another good job in the part but by then he was clearly too old to be playing the role by then and you could start to lose count of the many wrinkles in his face! Its also a bit of a stretch to assume at this stage Moore's Bond could seduce all these young ladies who were most likely over half his age!
Regardless of this though, Moore still has some fun moments in the film such as the scene where he chases May Day after she kills the French detective that Bond met with in Paris. And during the sequence, Bond jumps onto a boat and crashes into a wedding in progress and he lands on the cake, ruining it, he picks up a piece and he says to the couple "Congratulations!".
Then there is the scene where Bond having snuck into Zorin's lab with Tibbett, later manages to sneak back into his quarters and then jumps into May Day's bed as she enters her room, the two of them soon get it on and as they two of them embrace Bond says to her "I see you are a woman of very few words" and May Day says to him "What is there to say?!". And the next morning, Bond meets with Zorin who asks him "You slept well?" and Bond says "A little restless but I got off eventually!".
Another amusing scene is when Bond first lays eye on Stacey and Tibbett asks him "Another wealthy owner?" and Bond says to Tibbett "Who knows? But she certainly bares closer inspection!". And Tibbett wearily says to Bond "We're on a mission" and Bond replies "Sir Godfrey, on a mission, I am expected to sacrifice myself!".
Then later there is the scene where Bond fights off Zorin's men who have come to kill Stacey at her house and he takes her shotgun and shoots one of them, who doesn't die leaving Bond puzzled. And Bond asks Stacey "What's this thing loaded with?!" and Stacey says to him "Rock salt" and Bond exclaims "NOW you tell me!!".
Another good moment from Rog is when Bond and Stacey travel to San Francisco and go to the city hall where they are soon confronted by Zorin and May Day. And Bond warns Zorin " My department knows I'm here. When I don't report they'll retaliate" and Zorin says "If you're the best they've got, they're more likely to try and cover up your embarrassing incompetence". Then Bond says "Don't count on it, Zorin!" and Zorin laughs saying "You amuse me, Mr Bond!" and Bond angrily says to him "Its not mutual!".
Christopher Walken does pretty well in his role as the villainous Zorin and he manages to make his character quite sinister as he kills his victims with a smile.
Walken has some good scenes also that include the one where he first meets Bond, who says to him "I take it you ride" and Zorin says "I'm happiest in the saddle" and Bond then tries to apply a bit of pressure by discreetly referring to May Day's killing of the private eye Bond met with with a fish hook. So, Bond says to Zorin "A fellow sportsman. So, what about fishing? Fly-casting?!" and Zorin realising he's been rumbled makes an excuse and says "I'm neglecting my other guests. Enjoy yourself, you'll find the young ladies stimulating company".
Then there is the scene where Bond is captured by Zorin and about to be drowned along with the dead Tibbett in Tibbett's car. And in the scene when Bond sees Tibbett is dead, Zorin says to him "You lost, 007" and Bond says "Killing Tibbett was a mistake" and Zorin smiles and says "Then I'm about to make that same mistake twice!".
Another good moment for Walken is when Zorin holds a business meeting with some of business partners who are out to destroy Silicon valley but one of the tycoons present refuses to have any part of the plan, so May Day escorts the tycoon out of the meeting and ejects him from the zeppelin and the tycoon falls hundreds of feet to a watery grave. And Zorin after says to his partners "So, anyone else want to drop out?!". And in the next moment we see the Zeppelin fly over the Golden gate bridge and May Day says to Zorin "Wow! What a view..." and Zorin says "To a kill!".
And lastly there is the scene where Zorin confronts Bond and Stacey at San Francisco's city hall and he says to one of the office workers, Howe "You discharged her, so she and her accomplice came here to kill you. Then they set fire to the office, to conceal the crime but they were trapped in the elevator and perished in the flames". And Howe says "But that means I would have to be...." and Zorin completes the sentence "Dead!" and he shoots Howe and he turns to Bond and says "That's rather neat, Don't you think?!". And Bond sarcastically replies "Brilliant. I'm almost speechless with admiration!" and Zorin says "Intuitive improvisation is the secret of genius".
Grace Jones next up does OK in her role as May Day, Zorin's ruthless bodyguard and lover, who seldom says much but is lethal with it. although Jones's performance is not overly great her unusual, quirky appearance makes her quite a unique Bond villain.
Jones has some good moments in the film though that include the one where Bond sneaks into her room and he lies in her bed waiting for her. And Bond says to her " May Day, where have you been? I've been waiting for you... to take care of me, personally" and May Day get's undressed and get't into bed with Bond. And Bond says to her "I see you're a woman of very few words" and May Day mounts on Bond and says to him "What's there to say?!".
Then there is the moment where May Day kills Tibbett and in the scene Tibbett takes his car to a car wash and as it goes through the wash, we suddenly see May Day appear in the backseat and she then proceeds to kill off Tibbett. Its definitely one of the film's more sinister and memorable moments.
And then later there is the scene where May Day (SPOILER!) is betrayed by Zorin who leaves her to die in the mine but she teams up with Bond in order to escape. And in the scene, May Day realises that Zorin has double crossed and she says "And I thought that creep loved me!". And in the next scene May Day sacrifices herself as she rides a mine cart carrying the explosives that meant to detonate under Silicon valley out of the mine and she yells back to Bond "Get Zorin for me!".
Tanya Roberts next up however is the weakest link in the cast as her performance as Stacey Sutton must rank as one of the worst Bond girl performances in the whole series and its a typical case of a character starting out as appearing to be sassy and tough but is soon reduced to a damsel in distress and a shrieking one at that later keeps shouting "JAMES!! JAMES!!".
Still, Roberts has the odd decent moment here and there such as in the scene where Bond first meets Stacey and he takes over a bottle of champagne to her and tries to work his charm on her (unsuccessfully). And Bond says to her "Hello. I thought you might like to join the party. By the way, the name is James St. John Smythe. I'm English" and Stacey says "I never would have guessed!".
And lastly there is the scene where Bond fights against Zorin's men who set up an ambush on Stacey and Bond shoots Stacey's shotgun, which is loaded with something other than bullets. And Bond asks her "What's this thing loaded with??" and Stacey says to him "Rock salt!" and Bond says in surprise "NOW you tell me!".
Patrick Macnee however fairs much better as Tibbett, Bond's associate who is unfortunately later killed by May Day.
Macnee has some good moments too but the one I liked best was when Tibbett is busy cleaning his car and Bond tells him to get into town and trace a cheque although they are under the watchful eye of Zorin and May Day. And in the scene Bond says to Tibbett "Be quick. If those guards we laid out identify us, we'll have to most fast" and Tibbett says to Bond "What shall I say if they ask where I'm going?" and Bond says "Just tell them you have to get the car washed". So Tibbett then takes the bucket of sudded, dirty water that he used with the sponge and he throws it back onto the car!
As for the other cast members well to save time I won't quote any dialogue or scenes but will quickly them.
Desmond Llewellyn does pretty well once again as Q although he isn't given a great deal to do her except monitor Bond later on using a rather feeble looking robot, which appears earlier on and in the film's final scene when (SPOILER!!!) Bond is in the shower with Stacey.
Lois Maxwell also does what she can with her role as Moneypenny as she only really appears in a couple of scenes and by this time time she was clearly too old to be playing the role herself as she was the same age as Roger was!
Walter Gotell too puts in another good turn as the KGB General Gogol, who is always something of a morally grey character who sits on the fence when it comes to British-Soviet relations. And Gotell has an amusing scene where he sends a beautiful female spy to steal a tape from Bond but he tricks her into taking the wrong one, which she takes it to Gogol's car it plays Chinese music!
Robert Brown also reprises his role as the new M, taking over from the late Bernard Lee, and he does pretty well as Lee's replacement and would soon go on to appear in both of Timothy Dalton's films.
And last of all David Yip (best known for his role in the 80s BBC TV series, the Chinese detective) does ok in a minor role as Chuck Lee, an FBI agent who briefly works with Bond.
DIRECTOR AND MUSIC
As for the director, John Glen, this was his third Bond film feature and he does a decent job here with the action but there are some minor issues with the pacing as some scenes feel a bit slow such as where Bond and Tippett infiltrate Zorin's lab and where Bond is met by the Russian agent. So I think its safe to say that Glen had directed better Bond films than this one as this must probably rank as his weakest out of the five he did in the 80s.
The music score however by the regular composer, John Barry, is excellent and its a score that has his usual mix of dramatic themes and lush orchestration. It is also backed up by one of the very best Bond title songs in the whole series, "Dance into the fire" by Duran Duran, which is a great song in its own right and its so good its a shame it doesn't belong to a better film!
FLAWS
As for flaws....yesssss...A View to a Kill does have a few.
And to start off one of its main problems is that it suffers from being very cheesy in places and having some cringeworthy moments particularly the one where James Bond pretends to be a financial times reporter called James Stock! James Stock.....yep that shows a total lack of imagination I think! I mean surely the writers could have come up with something better than this!
Another example is Bond tries to woo Stacey and she brushes him off but later in the film he saves her life and then Bond offers to cook for her so he makes her a quiche! I mean when the hell did Bond ever show off his cooking skills before this film??? Never! This scene almost reduces Bond from a spy to just a fatherly figure to Stacey in this scene and when they finally get it on at the end, it almost feels like witnessing a moment of incest!
I also had a problem with the uncomfortable mix of violence in the film, particularly in the scene in the mines, Zorin guns down his own men before he leaves and he does it laughing. It just feels a bit excessive and unecessary for Zorin's character to do that although I guess it just highlights what a sadistic git he really is. But as a violent scene I just felt like it didn't belong in the film itself.
Then there is of course Stacey's character who for the most part is pretty useless in the film and she is reduced to a damsel distress as it goes on as I already mentioned. And there is one really stupid bit in the film where Stacey fails to notice as she flees from Zorin's mine, Zorin's zeppelin come behind her as Zorin himself grabs her to take her hostage. I think somehow you would in reality have noticed the noise of something as big as that come up to you!
I also felt the intro sequence to the film was pretty stupid also as Bond is in Siberia and he tries to evade Russian enemies and at one point Bond uses a makeshift surfboard to escape from them and he is accompanied by The Beach Boys song "California Girls". Its one of the stupidest moments in the Moore era and that is saying something in itself! Not to mention in the next scene, Bond makes it back to his covert sub, which is manned (or womanned!) by a hot girl, who again is probably 30 years younger than Bond is! So at this point any already limited existing credibility has totally gone out the window.
And lastly I felt the earlier subplot in the film regarding Zorin artificially enhancing his horses to make them faster felt a bit irrelevant next to the main plotline of Zorin wanting to take over the whole microchip industry. It was used as a way of introducing Zorin himself but when you think about it, it really had little or nothing to do with his main plan so looking at it that way, the drug enhanced horses is just a red herring (although aren't they horses?! I joke). So basically this means the first half of the film itself is pretty pointless.
Anyway that's it for the flaws.
SUM UP
So to sum up, A View to a Kill was a disappointing end to Roger Moore's era as James Bond, it has some entertaining moments and a pretty sinister villain in Zorin as well as a good performance from Walken, not to mention a top score by John Barry and a great title song by Duran Duran. But the film's inconsistent pacing, plot problems and lack of a decent Bond girl in Stacey Sutton drag it down, not to mention the simple fact that Roger by this time was far too old to be playing a character such as James Bond.
So, while A View to a Kill is entertaining in places overall its a letdown and its a pity Roger Moore's era didn't end on a higher note.
Right well that's it for now and I will be back soon with another review in a day or two.
Until then its bye for now!
No comments:
Post a Comment