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Ranking James Bond Films: #16 – “A View To Kill” (1985)
Roger Moore knew he was too old to play Bond, but dammit if he didn’t give it one final go.
“The recovery of a microchip from the body of a fellow British secret agent leads James Bond to mad industrialist Max Zorin, who is scheming to cause massive destruction, in Sir Roger Moore’s final outing as James Bond 007.”
Director: John Glen
Writers: Michael G. Wilson, Richard Maibaum, Ian Fleming
Cast: Roger Moore, Christopher Walken, Tanya Roberts, Grace Jones, Patrick Macnee, Lois Maxwell, Desmond Llewelyn, Bernard Lee
Release Date: May 24, 1985
IMDB
A View To Kill felt like a sendoff. Not in a bad, “Let’s get this over with” way. Roger Moore knew he was too old to play Bond, but dammit if he didn’t give it one final go. It is curious that the producers and Bond executives decided to keep Moore for one more ride after Connery returned with Never Say Never Again. It would have been an opportunity for a clean slate following legal issues, but they stayed the course instead.
First-time viewers of A View To Kill will be shocked to see that Christopher Walken plays the malevolent Max Zorin. He only goes about 75% Walken. Zorin lives in the realm of expensive horses, a landscape that Bond has yet to touch. The villainy plot has an air of originality, but it comes with a giant map to emphasize the point.
The Duran Duran theme song and May Day (Grace Jones) are two genuinely memorable things from A View To Kill. The villain’s right-hand consultants are not often women, and when they do happen, not many are as dangerous as May Day. She is on the short list of side characters that 007 doesn’t want to mess with.
Oh, and if a voice sounds familiar, look at Tanya Roberts’ IMDB. She plays Stacey Sutton in A View To Kill, but she is most known for Midge Pinciotti from That ‘70s Show.
STANKO RATING: C
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