A VIEW TO A KILL has a couple of things going for it— first it’s got Christopher Walken as the villain, Walken IS a Bond villain if ever I saw one. It’s also got Patrick MacNee who was Steed in the amazing AVENGERS TV series from England, and it’s also a time when Roger Moore looked at the dailies and realized he was too old to be cuddling with Tanya Roberts.
Originally David Bowie was going to be the villain, and when he declined it was offered to STING, and when he declined it went to Walken and he’s the best thing about the movie.
It’s set in San Francisco for the most part and after rewatching this I think the weakest part of the movie is Tanya Roberts. I don’t know why they think a 20 something looks good with a 50 something. Bond should have been given more dignity but like most things Hollywood produces they have a formula and they follow it even if it doesn’t make sense.
Roger Moore was a decent replacement for Sean Connery in his first three outings, but after THE SPY WHO LOVED ME the movies were train wrecks. This one is probably the best of the later half of them but Moore is looking every bit of his 57 years. Plastic Surgery doesn’t work kids.
Moore is finished but a new BOND will return in THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS
BOND: Moore seems tired, it’s time to move on. **
VILLAIN: Walken is the best villain in the Moore series. ***
THEME SONG: Woo hoo— Duran Duran! At least they embraced good 80s music ****
HENCHMAN: Grace Jones was kind of a big star for a while, the same way Dolph Lungren (who appears in this as his film debut because they were dating) was, without much substance. **
OVERALL BOND RATING: **1/2