Binge-watching Bond part 14: 'A View to a Kill'

Grace Jones, under-utilized as May Day

Even though I wouldn't go so far as to say I dislike it -- 1985's A View to a Kill is full of missed opportunities.

Despite having Christopher Walken and Grace Jones ideally cast in villain roles, the movie strips him of his eccentricity and doesn't showcase her remotely enough. Meanwhile, Roger Moore, while still handsome at 58, is clearly way too old to be playing this role.

Throughout the film, it's absurdly obvious how little of the action he's actually in. Stunt doubles are barely disguised and in far too many cases blatantly seen. This takes you out of the movie almost from the beginning and it never quite recovers.

The plot is a rip-off of Goldfinger, except this time the villain, Max Zorin (played by Walken) wants a monopoly on the world's microchips instead of a gold -- a very 1985 conceit to say the least.

Bond is saddled with a gorgeous but not particularly compelling leading lady in Tanya Roberts, and some action scenes that seem really out of place in a 007 film.

Take for instance a car chase involving a firetruck down the streets of San Francisco. At one point Bond climbs out on to the fire engine's ladder, which is loose. Is he trying to reattach it? It's unclear. From the looks of it he simply goes out there because the audience wants to see him flail about.

There are fun elements in this movie. An early sequence where Moore poses as a pompous horse investor while infiltrating Zorin's mansion is amusing enough, and Jones has a spectacular presence as a most unconventional "Bond girl." But the slack pacing and tonal miscues -- a random Beach Boys musical reverie in the middle of a tense chase -- doom the movie to be at the bottom of most Bond fans' lists.

Moore himself has been very vocal that he regrets making the film and didn't appreciate it's nastier edge and tone. The film has more abrupt, less stylized violence than its predecessors and I think that it would suit the darker Bond that was about to come along -- Timothy Dalton -- but with an aging Moore, it feels out of place and a little pathetic.

As a swan song, it's a bit of a letdown for Moore, although there is something sort of poignant and classy about his performance here. There's one moment in particular that speaks to the charm of his version of 007. He goes to Roberts' bedroom with the goal of seducing her, but finds her -- albeit scantily clad -- asleep. Instead of attempt to rouse her for some routine Bond romance, he tenderly covers her in a blanket and exits.

He deserved a better film after 12 years as 007, but his legacy as a delightful and debonair James Bond was already secure.

Still, after viewing this sort of hit-or-miss movie, it's clear the series needed to take a totally new turn with its next star and story. Coming up next -- the divisive Dalton era.

My rankings so far:

1) From Russia With Love
2) The Spy Who Loved Me
3) Goldfinger
4) For Your Eyes Only
5) Live and Let Die
6) Dr. No
7) On Her Majesty's Secret Service
8) Octopussy
9) You Only Live Twice
10) Diamonds Are Forever
11) Thunderball
12) Moonraker
13) The Man with the Golden Gun
14) A View to a Kill

Liz's take: This is the first Bond film that for me felt quintessentially '80s. From the title song and casting to the credits -- it's a really interesting time capsule in that way. I had a hard time with this one, because unlike the other Roger Moore films it's not quite totally campy or totally legit, it's a little bit of both.

I did not like that this one's action sequences weren't as impressive as some of the others. I love Grace Jones as a Bond girl, but I found Tanya Roberts disappointing. It was sort of the "Denise Richards syndrome" that we'll see later in The World Is Not Enough, where you have an actress trying to play smarter and savvier than they really are and it's kind of painful. Jones on the other hand is effortlessly cool and badass. It was nice to see a female henchwoman for once.

One of the things I really liked about the movie was Christopher Walken, he's just so good at playing a charming crazy person. Roger Moore shows his age, but I am really sad to see his tenure in the role come to an end. Even in his older years, he's still very handsome, suave and very Bond.

I liked it but I didn't love. There were enough individual elements I liked but they didn't coalesce in the way I thought that they should. An ideal 007 film should have great action, a great villain, a great Bond girl, epic scale -- and personal stakes too. My favorite Bond films have been the ones where either he or the heroine has a personal investment in the story and this didn't have that.

Liz's rankings:

1) On Her Majesty's Secret Service
2) For Your Eyes Only
3) Goldfinger
4) Dr. No
5) Live and Let Die
6) The Man with the Golden Gun
7) The Spy Who Loved Me
8) Octopussy
9) Moonraker
10) A View to a Kill
11) You Only Live Twice
12) From Russia With Love
13) Diamonds Are Forever
14) Thunderball