my AVTAK review

alabamabondfan · March 2007

I'm still going through all the Bond movies and AVTAK is the latest one I've watched. I've heard quite a bit of negative talk about AVTAK so my expectations were LOW.

I was pleasantly suprised with this movie. Part of it was probably the fact that I generally like anything Christopher Walken is in. I thought he was simplistic in his portrayal but I still liked it. I didn't get bored with it like I did Octopussy, Moonraker and TSWLM. I thought Roger Moore was quite good in this one. Maybe a little understated compared to the over the top portrayal in some of the his other films. I guess my only big-time complaint with AVTAK was that the ending was terrible. I'm not sure how I would have changed it but I just didn't enjoy the ending.

So far I really like almost all the Connery movies better than the Moore movies, with the exception that I hated YOLT and loved LALD.

I've come to the conclusion that my enjoyment of Bond movies may be as random as to what mood I'm in at the time. I'm sure in future viewings I'll like some that I dislike now and vice versa.

Looking forward to the Dalton and Brosnan movies.

DAWUSS · March 2007

I remember watching a little bit of AVTAK once, starting with Bond shooting (I think it was) salt pellets out of a shotgun...

taity · March 2007

DAWUSS wrote:

starting with Bond shooting (I think it was) salt pellets out of a shotgun...

Nuhuh, rock pellets from memory.

AVTAK - to me I just sigh whenever I see it. There was so much potential yet it seemed ruined. A great performance by Walken is then balanced by an over the top one by Jones. If her acting had been a little better she could have been a great villian. Stacy's character was good, the acting was pathetic. Location work was pretty good througout, as were the action scenes.

JennyFlexFan · March 2007

HAHAHA! So you kind of liked AVTAK! By ending, do you mean Bond and Stacey in the mansion or by the Golden Gate Fight? I think that fight is one of the best ever.

And taity and DAWUSS are both partially right. They were shooting rock salt pellets.

Moore Not Less · March 2007

taity wrote:

AVTAK - to me I just sigh whenever I see it.

You are not the only one. I should say there are quite a few around here who sigh whenever they see it.

I sigh that it was not written for an older Bond. I sigh whenever I watch the Paris car chase sequence and notice that it isn't Roger Moore Bond driving. I sigh when Sir Godfrey Tibbett (the excellent Patrick Macnee) is killed by May Day (Grace Jones can hardly act but she's an effective henchwoman). I sigh when Fiona Fullerton briefly appears as Pola Ivanova and wonder why she was not cast as Stacey Sutton instead of Tanya Roberts.

Strangely enough, I do not sigh at the Beach Boys or "What a view"..."To a kill". Maybe there's something wrong with me?......Don't answer that.

Despite all the sighing, I highly rate Christopher Walken as Max Zorin. And I really enjoy the sequences at the water pumping station and the Golden Gate Bridge. The cinematography and locations are good, as is John Barry's score. The title song by Duran Duran is very good.

Loeffelholz · March 2007

It's a swell movie. And Roger Moore is okey-dokey by me.

Tee Hee · March 2007

Loeffelholz wrote:

It's a swell movie. And Roger Moore is okey-dokey by me.

Loeffs, did you bump your head?

) Or have you finally come into the light?

Loeffelholz · March 2007

Tee Hee wrote:

Loeffs, did you bump your head? ) Or have you finally come into the light?

Perhaps it's the excess of Moore pathos I've been encountering lately. Why fight it?

AVTAK is swell. Moore is okey-dokey.

No smileys were exploited during the making of this post.

Krassno Granitski · March 2007

Loeffelholz wrote:

Tee Hee wrote:

Loeffs, did you bump your head? ) Or have you finally come into the light?

Perhaps it's the excess of Moore pathos I've been encountering lately. Why fight it?

AVTAK is swell. Moore is okey-dokey.

No smileys were exploited during the making of this post.

I believe you need to update your favorite movie list.

Loeffelholz · March 2007

Krassno Granitski wrote:

I believe you need to update your favorite movie list.

No; it's still solidly my least favourite Bond film. But that doesn't mean it can't also be swell.

Tee Hee · March 2007

Loeffelholz wrote:

Tee Hee wrote:

Loeffs, did you bump your head? ) Or have you finally come into the light?

Perhaps it's the excess of Moore pathos I've been encountering lately. Why fight it?

AVTAK is swell. Moore is okey-dokey.

No smileys were exploited during the making of this post.

You do realize that you have just boosted JFF's morale don't you? This will be perceived as a resounding victory for the Moore fan base, of which I also am a part.

I must say it's unlike you Loeff's not to stick to your guns, despite any amount of Moore pathos.

Loeffelholz · March 2007

Tee Hee wrote:

You do realize that you have just boosted JFF's morale don't you?

Well, of course JFF's morale has always been of paramount concern to me.

Tee Hee wrote:

This will be perceived as a resounding victory for the Moore fan base, of which I also am a part.

And no community deserves it mo(o)re. Like fans of the Chicago Cubs, haven't they suffered enough?

Tee Hee wrote:

I must say it's unlike you Loeff's not to stick to your guns, despite any amount of Moore pathos.

That's because you're (understandably) mistaking this for sincerity. It's much more difficult to tell without smileys, isn't it?

Sir Roger's films are all 'in the can,' and I've said my peace about them. If he still posed a threat to future series entries, it would be different...but, as it stands, what's left for me to say?

Nothing...except: He's okey dokey by me. And his swan song was swell.

Tee Hee · March 2007

Loeffelholz wrote:

And no community deserves it mo(o)re. Like fans of the Chicago Cubs, haven't they suffered enough?

)

I see you took out the bit where you concede to the Moore fans to make us feel better. Well, I appreciate your charity, but we would feel the same way with or without you!

I must admit, even without smilies I still find it hard to take you seriously Loeffs.

) As usual I was able to detect you were talking tongue-in-cheek. Nice try pal.

alabamabondfan · March 2007

JFF,
The mansion ending with Q's robot was pretty stupid but I was referring to the Bridge sequence. I guess it looked great back then but I just didn't enjoy it now. Overall, I did enjoy the movie more than I thought I would.

taity · March 2007

JennyFlexFan wrote:

HAHAHA! So you kind of liked AVTAK! By ending, do you mean Bond and Stacey in the mansion or by the Golden Gate Fight? I think that fight is one of the best ever.

Yes the fight, really well done. And dispite some bad rear projection, it was very well done with the different models and everything. As for the end, well it ends the movie, I suppose. I would rate it as being highly memorable like DN or TB.

I dont have a strong dislike of AVTAK, but I do feel that if certain elements were done completely differently that it could have been a much better movie. Compare this to GoldenEye where it doesnt really have much room for improvement.

blueman · March 2007

Oh, I'm pretty sure both GE and AVTAK could be improved upon...vastly improved upon. No really, vastly vastly improved upon.

But that's just me.

JennyFlexFan · March 2007

blueman wrote:

Oh, I'm pretty sure both GE and AVTAK could be improved upon...vastly improved upon. No really, vastly vastly improved upon.

But that's just me.

How dare you criticize my TOP TWO Bond films?

However, thank you Loeff, I'm glad that you think that AVTAK is a "swell" film, it really makes my day!

Even your sympathy for the Moore crowd! I think you may be turning over a new leaf.

Krassno Granitski · March 2007

blueman wrote:

Oh, I'm pretty sure both GE and AVTAK could be improved upon...vastly improved upon. No really, vastly vastly improved upon.

But that's just me.

You are not alone. I agree with you.

Dan Same · March 2007

Loeffelholz wrote:

It's a swell movie. And Roger Moore is okey-dokey by me.

If you honestly think that about AVTAK, then you must really love OP!

In regards to AVTAK, it's my least favourite Bond film and is the only Moore film which if it were on TV, and I missed it, I wouldn't particularly care. My three biggest problems with it are that Moore is too old in it, it provides ammunition for anti-Mooresters

and it's an absolute rip-off of GF; IMO the greatest Bond film of all time. I wouldn't be so unforgiving of it if it weren't that not only did it basically replicate GF but, IMO, it did an absolutely horrible job. X-( (AVTAK also signalled IMO the start of Bond's dark age which ended with LTK.)

cosmo_kramer · March 2007

After watching AVTAK again for the first time in awhile, I must say, I have developed a soft spot for it. Zorin is easily a top 5 villain, the score was great, including the title song, the ending was climactic, as was the fire engine chase in downtown San Francisco. I think had this movie been made in 1981 or so, it would have been a lot better received, since Roger wouldn't have looked like Grandpa Bond, and the action could have been a little more intense. But I guess they had no choice. Might as well squeeze out one more film with a familiar face. But after seeing the film again, this time with more of an open mind, I decided to move it up to 15 on my list.

As for the copying Goldfinger argument, who cares! It happens all the time in the series. I don't see anyone complaining about a train fight sequence, yet it happened thrice in the series, in the course of 15 years. Or 007 being involved in a ski chase sequence, which has happened countless times post-Connery. Or the fact that TSWLM copied muct of YOLT's plot outline, and yet was a generally more well received film.

Redone plot elements are going to show up a lot. It's just a matter of how obvious they are. As for the whole AVTAK-GF thing, I never really noticed until I heard it being brought up.

Moore Not Less · March 2007

Dan Same wrote:

My three biggest problems with it are that Moore is too old in it, it provides ammunition for anti-Mooresters and it's an absolute rip-off of GF; IMO the greatest Bond film of all time. I wouldn't be so unforgiving of it if it weren't that not only did it basically replicate GF but, IMO, it did an absolutely horrible job. X-( (AVTAK also signalled IMO the start of Bond's dark age which ended with LTK.)

In hindsight, Roger Moore should really have quit after OP, but he didn't. He signed up for AVTAK almost a year in advance of filming, so the producers and writers knew they had a 57 year old Bond well in advance. But they chose to ignore that, which made Roger look older. It also didn't help that he was ill during part of the filming.

As for AVTAK being an absolute rip-off of GF. Well, I just don't see it. There's no gold painted bodies, no Aston Martin DB5, no laser, no Pussy Galore, no Oddjob etc, etc, etc.

In Bond box office terms, AVTAK to LTK was something resembling a dark age, but not for me. It's true that none of those films are in my top five, but none of them are in my bottom five either.

taity · March 2007

Moore Not Less wrote:

As for AVTAK being an absolute rip-off of GF. Well, I just don't see it. There's no gold painted bodies, no Aston Martin DB5, no laser, no Pussy Galore, no Oddjob etc, etc, etc.

I think its something more in the plot and the locations. Both involve a multi gazzilionaire wanting to destroy an American industry for their own gain. While thats been done in other Bonds (TWINE) its something about the location work thats similar. Goldfinger in Switerland, View shot in France. Goldfinger in America, View in America. Also, Goldfinger's cheating at golf is morphed into Zorin's cheating at steaplechase.

Krassno Granitski · March 2007

Moore Not Less wrote:

In hindsight, Roger Moore should really have quit after OP, but he didn't.

Personally I feel he should have quit after FYEO and left after his strongest portrayal of Bond.

In Bond box office terms, AVTAK to LTK was something resembling a dark age, but not for me. It's true that none of those films are in my top five, but none of them are in my bottom five either.

LTK to GE (somewhat) were definitely highlights to me and the best string of consecutive movies since the first 4 films. Since I don't work for the film studio, who gives a $%$@ about box office, I just want a legitimate Bond film.

Moore Not Less · March 2007

taity wrote:

Moore Not Less wrote:

As for AVTAK being an absolute rip-off of GF. Well, I just don't see it. There's no gold painted bodies, no Aston Martin DB5, no laser, no Pussy Galore, no Oddjob etc, etc, etc.

I think its something more in the plot and the locations. Both involve a multi gazzilionaire wanting to destroy an American industry for their own gain. While thats been done in other Bonds (TWINE) its something about the location work thats similar. Goldfinger in Switerland, View shot in France. Goldfinger in America, View in America. Also, Goldfinger's cheating at golf is morphed into Zorin's cheating at steaplechase.

Indeed, there are a number of similarities between the two films, but they are not blatantly obvious and do not amount to an absolute rip-off. Similar as (not an absolute rip-off) does not mean the same as (absolute rip-off). It certainly has never occurred to me while watching AVTAK that I was actually watching GF2.

taity · March 2007

Its safe to say that there are similarities, but its alos safe to say that it isnt as close as YOLT and TSWLM.

Dan Same · March 2007

Moore Not Less wrote:

As for AVTAK being an absolute rip-off of GF. Well, I just don't see it. There's no gold painted bodies, no Aston Martin DB5, no laser, no Pussy Galore, no Oddjob etc, etc, etc.

True, but the plot (villain wants to sabotage the supply of a particular product in order to increase the worth of their own) is almost identical. Also, both villains cheat, both villains fall to their death, both villains reveal their plan to a group of criminals before killing one criminal individually and both films feature a henchwoman who turns. They are not identical but I think that their similarites can not be ignored. (At least by me. I can not think of AVTAK without thinking about how disrespectful it is to the memory of GF.

)

Moore Not Less wrote:

Similar as (not an absolute rip-off) does not mean the same as (absolute rip-off).

To be honest, I hate AVTAK so much (and love GF so much) that I was probably exaggerating.

Yes, AVTAK is not an absolute rip-off, but nor do I think that it is merely similar. IMO AVATK was the worst Bond film of all time (including NSNA), and while there are some differences between GF and AVTAK, IMO they are pretty minor, and the film is far too terrible to make up for the similarities.

(Alot of people talk about how similar TSWLM is to YOLT. Personally I can't see it as not only did TSWLM IMO have an identity of its own but TSWLM was also IMO an absolute masterpiece and the sixth greatest Bond film of all time.)

Moore Not Less · March 2007

Dan Same wrote:

IMO AVATK was the worst Bond film of all time (including NSNA), and while there are some differences between GF and AVTAK, IMO they are pretty minor, and the film is far too terrible to make up for the similarities.

I can understand why you (and many many others)regard GF as far superior to AVTAK. GF is a classic, it's my second favourite Bond film behind TSWLM. AVTAK is in the middle to lower rank.

I can't understand why you regard NSNA as superior to AVTAK. Come to think of it, I can't understand why anyone regards NSNA as superior to any other Bond film. The word bad really flatters it. I felt genuine sympathy for Sean Connery the last time I tried to watch it. About thirty minutes was as much as I could take before switching it off.

It has to be said that Sean and Roger Moore did not exactly bow out on an all time high. A shame because they both deserved a better send off.

Absolutely_Cart · December 2014

This is a tough movie to assess. It has it's share of merits and faults both.

Zorin was great. The writing was "meh". The story feels like a re-hash of Goldfinger. The final action scene with the airplane and the golden gate bridge was great. The writing was mediocre. The movie had pacing lulls. The first half-hour about horses was irrelevant filler. May Day was interesting but under-used. I enjoyed Moore's performance (I found the skiing scene hilarious), but the movie was not written with him in mind. Stacey Sutton was way too young for Moore and they should have casted an older woman, but Hollywood tends to have a one-size-fits-all standard for women.

5/10 - not bad ; not good either.

my AVTAK review

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