Screen Vistas: BONDATHON: A VIEW TO A KILL

James Bond 14 represented the end of an era. It was the final film of Roger Moore’s tenure. This departure came way too late. His overly mugging performances enabled the creative team to indulge the franchises weakest aspects and lose sight of nearly everything that made the character interesting. Another problem with Moore’s inclusion at the end of his run is director John Glen. This is his third Bond and his darker, more direct style coupled with more mundane plot lines are at complete odds with the spirit of the Moore-era. The stupid, soul crushing spirit.

The prologue is a good example of this. It’s a rather grim one that finds Bond in Siberia recovering a microchip from a deceased 003 (it’s behind a locket with a family photo) only to be spotted by Soviet agents. During the ensuing ski-chase the soundtrack is invaded by The Beach Boy’s singing “California Girls.” Why does this happen? Because it’s a Roger Moore Bond film, that’s why!

From there we transition into the opening credits. Which are yet again by Maurice Binder. By this point Binder’s title sequences had become even more repetitive and predictable than the films themselves. But here he mixes it up by painting black light patterns and words on the girls. It’s often a garish effect but it is striking. The accompanying theme song by Duran Duran is a bit muddled. I was not surprised to learn that it was the last song the band wrote before they broke up. It feels like two songs stuck together. Lyrically it can’t decide if it wants to meet you “with a view to a kill,” or to simply “dance into the fire.” Fortunately John Barry’s epic symphonic orchestration of the melody fairs much better (attached below)

Back in the plot, that microchip turns out to be very important to national defense and it's manufacturer Max Zorin may be double dealing with the Russians. Time for Bond to investigate! It should be mentioned that Zorin is played by Christopher Walken. That’s right, Oscar winner Christopher “More Cowbell” Walken was a bond villain! After a long stretch of completely forgettable baddies, Walken is the perfect antidote. He’s not quite as gonzo as we know him now, but is clearly having a blast, particularly as he does Judo with his hench-woman May Day (Grace Jones) or when unveils his evil plan aboard his personal blimp. It’s not the writing that makes Zorin memorable, it’s 100% Walken.

In the last review I complained that stylistically, Bond films felt trapped in the past particularly after the action movie really started to come into it's own in the early 80's. This film starts to rectify the issue. Cinematography by the returning Alan Hume feels a bit more dimensional then in his last few efforts and there are some subtle dolly moves that help make the film feel more modern as well.

More important in this regard, are the action scenes. The quality of these scenes very wildly, but they are more dynamically filmed than previous efforts. There’s a great mini-chase where May Day parachutes off the Eiffel Tower and Bond frantically follows her in a car that is first turned into a convertible by a parking gate and then into a mini by a passing truck. It’s as good as these gimmick scenes get. Unfortunately there are some very lame chases near the end in San Francisco, including one where Bond climbs onto the ladder of a speeding firetruck for no real reason. It also doesn’t help that by this point Moore was closer to 60 than 30, meaning it was getting harder and harder to believe that it was Bond saving the world and not a highly trained stunt-team.

Apart from a few of those action scenes and Walken as Zorin, there isn't a whole lot to recommend here. The film's have become little more than products, and very silly ones at that. The franchise wasn't in great shape when Moore came on, but at least there where possibilities. Instead the films became lowest common denominator, tone deaf affairs alternating between great stunts, gruesome kills, and terrible jokes. Hopefully the two Timothy Dalton films will be better. A View To A Kill is a forgettable swansong. Best described as "The one with Christopher Walken."

Grade: C+

Here's an excerpt of John Barry's score for the film. This orchestration of the Duran Duran song is truly gorgeous...until the 80's guitars kick in at the 3 minute mark.

Enjoy these other Bondathon entries:

Dr. No

From Russia With Love

Goldfinger

Thunderball / Never Say Never Again