Movie Review # 377: A View To A Kill (1985)

Ladies & gentlemen, today, we are reviewing the one 007 film that was released at the mid-point of the 1980s. Not only that, but the 007 film that we will be talking about today happened to be the last one that Roger Moore played James Bond in. How sad that we had to let him go, just like with George Lazenby, and Sean Connery. Oh well! Anyway, let’s talk about the 1985’s A View To A Kill!

Plot: While in Siberia, agent Bond (Roger Moore) discovers a dead body that was trapped under ice. This happened to be the dead body of 003. When examining the body, 007 discovers a microchip that happens to be connected to a government by the name of Zorin Industries. Will Bond be able to prevent the leader (Christopher Walken) of Zorin Industries from leading an all out attack on US soil?

Friends, I’m delighted to tell you all that this happens to be one of the better Bond films. Heck, 007: A View To A Kill may likely rank almost up there with one like Live & Let Die, For Your Eyes Only, and 007 films like those. Why? Well, for starters, this property of the James Bond series seems to have much more excitement to it. Let me show you what I may be talking about. Imagine if perhaps you weren’t a fan of the first season of the TV show 24, because it might not have had as much action as one expected (although even that first season actually did, but we’re only talking from a hypothetical standpoint). Now, picture, since then, the future season of 24 having much more excitement, and acting much grittier those times around. And not to mention possibly better stories as well, In this case, one can say that 007: A View To A Kill is one of those movies, in it’s library, to accomplish something like this. This James Bond movie seems to be much darker, more intense, a little more violent, and leaves the audience on the edge of their seats more. In all honesty, I’m not sure if the PG-13 was around at this point, or not. What I will say, however, is that you may find yourself surprised that this movie was only rated PG, while other films like The Longest Yard (the old version from 1974), or 1983’s Flashdance were rated R. Now, if the PG-13 rating was not yet invented during the 1980s, then it’s likely understandable as to how this only got a PG rating. As for Roger Moore, he definitely goes all out for his final performance as James Bond. Why he quit playing Bond after this, I wish I knew why. Thyme again, we can ask the same question about Sean Connery, or even George Lazenby. A younger Christopher Walken does a really great job as Zorin, the antagonist of this film. Tanya Roberts, and Grace Jones also make great performances as Stacey Sutton, and May Day, respectively. So yeah, definitely overall great performances! Additionally, something that we can say especially about Zorin is that he may yet be one of the best, if not the best, of the villains in these films. He is smart, manipulative, conniving, and makes schemes that are diabolical overall. Because of this, he is one of the best developed villains that MGM could have made for a 007 film. In addition to all of this, people can learn some interesting facts about about fault lines. Hmmm! Talk about possibly using clips like that for a potential science class! Finally, this movie provides valuable messages about why working for evil people is never a good idea in the first place. Granted, some of us know that working for such people will have certain negative consequences somewhere down the road. However, this movie also shows the aspect that evil people can NEVER be trusted. It helps come to show why serving God is the ultimate better way to go! Now, I’m not saying that a message like that comes up directly in this film. Still, people can certainly read through the lines with a message like that while watching this movie at certain points. Anyway, the only thing that could have possibly made this film slightly better is that there probably could have been certain aspects of the climax that could have been altered.

And that’s my review for 007: A View To A Kill. Sure, it may hit quite be 100% perfect. Nevertheless, there are some great sequences, and some valuable lessons to learn from this film. All in all, this movie was a great way for James Bond actor Roger Moore to go out with a bang. Now, can the next three actors do well with carrying the James Bond torch like Connery, Lazenby, and Moore did? I guess we shall see.

Final Grade: A