I actually enjoyed A View to a Kill

Railer 505Railer 505 Albany, NYPosts: 61MI6 Agent
Putting in the Beach Boys song California Girls in the pre-credit sequence, keeping Roger Moore as James Bond even at the age of 57, as well as the silliness of Christopher Walken spraying bullets through the mine with his UZI may have tainted this film, but I still think that it was underrated. There is just simply a lot of positive factors that are overlooked, like the drugged horses, fire engine chase, and who can forget the Golden Gate Bridge.

So did you guys enjoy this film or do you agree with most of the critics?
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Comments

  • emtiememtiem SurreyPosts: 5,948MI6 Agent
    Well, just because it's one of the weakest Bond films doesn't make it a bad film, and there's lots to enjoy in any Bond.
  • Tilly Masterson 007Tilly Masterson 007 UKPosts: 1,472MI6 Agent
    It wasn't bad, it's certainly not the worst Bond film!

    Moore did look past it, but still managed to pull it off convincingly. {[]
  • Railer 505Railer 505 Albany, NYPosts: 61MI6 Agent
    I did think though that by the time you see Christopher Walken spamming SMG rounds around the mine as it floods that EON needed to start making changes... which they did with The Living Daylights (which I'm still trying to rip onto my computer I haven't been able to find it).

    I did notice additionally that in the climax on the Golden Gate Bridge when you look at the cars travelling across the bridge that they are travelling unrealistically fast, thus revealing how it was done either by computers or a miniature model.
  • LoeffelholzLoeffelholz The United States, With LovePosts: 8,998Quartermasters
    emtiem wrote:
    Well, just because it's one of the weakest Bond films doesn't make it a bad film, and there's lots to enjoy in any Bond.

    Gotta agree. Though it's my least favourite Bond film (by far), the simple fact is that Bond films really follow no rules but their own, and there are a couple of classic moments. May Day's leap off the Eiffel Tower is one, and another is...

    ...er...

    Well, I'm sure there's another one somewhere ;% It's a Bond, and I give it a fond look every now and then, warts and all.

    Continuing proof the wide, expansive diversity of the BondiverseTM is the fact that, for every thread condemning this era of Bond---and this film in particular---there are always brand new threads popping up in its defence. There must be two dozen of these!
    Check out my Amazon author page! Mark Loeffelholz
    "I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
    "Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
  • Mr MartiniMr Martini That nice house in the sky.Posts: 2,707MI6 Agent
    Railer 505 wrote:

    I did notice additionally that in the climax on the Golden Gate Bridge when you look at the cars travelling across the bridge that they are travelling unrealistically fast, thus revealing how it was done either by computers or a miniature model.

    I'm guessing you've never been to San Francisco? ;)
    Some people would complain even if you hang them with a new rope
  • Hugo DraxHugo Drax Leeds, United Kingdom.Posts: 210MI6 Agent
    A View to a Kill is not the best Bond film, but I too enjoy watching it. Comments about Roger Moore's age have become platitudinous, but although this probably was a film too far for him, it's still good to see him playing Bond. That rationale is also why Diamonds Are Forever is one of my guilty pleasures. Connery may look a little worse for wear, but it's still good to see him back as 007.

    A View to a Kill has its highlights: the Eiffel Tower jump, the ski chase, the ending on the Golden Gate Bridge, Mayday. It is an enjoyable film, but judged overall, it isn't one of the better entries.
  • FelixLeiter ♀FelixLeiter ♀ Staffordshire or a pubPosts: 1,286MI6 Agent
    I always rather enjoyed it but did find after several viewings that some things were terrible and blindingly obvious.
    Moore's age never really was one of them, as I find that only bothered me in Octopussy.
    Relax darling, I'm on top of the situation -{
  • DAWUSSDAWUSS My homepagePosts: 517MI6 Agent
    A thread about AVTAK and there's no JFF rushing in to add to the discussion about this film? :p
  • bigzilchobigzilcho Toronto, ONPosts: 245MI6 Agent
    One question, Railer 505.

    What exactly was silly about Christopher Walken gunning down his own men? This is one of the best moments in the movie, made more so by Walken's incomparable laughter. IMO its one the great villian scenes in the entire series.

    Zorin is psychotic...therefore...he kills his own men. It is a completely logical extension of his character. Too violent? Perhaps, but it is one the few moments in the film that has any real sting.

    Silly is not a word I would use to describe this scene. But when it comes to AVTAK, there is not one scene that Bond-fans can agree upon as being out-and-out terrific.

    AVTAK is one of the ugly ducklings in the series. Flawed it may be...but its still a Bond film...and there are nuggets to be found throughout, if one is looking. (Patrick Macnee and Walken, for example).


    "You lost, 007."
    "Killing Tibbett was a mistake."
  • Krassno GranitskiKrassno Granitski USAPosts: 896MI6 Agent
    bigzilcho wrote:
    "You lost, 007."
    "Killing Tibbett was a mistake."
    "I'm about to make the same mistake twice" :))

    It's a flawed film, but certainly not the worst (DAD). Despite his age Moore gives one of his best performances as Bond
  • Dan SameDan Same Victoria, AustraliaPosts: 6,054MI6 Agent
    edited July 2008
    I'm going to have to disagree with Krassno as I do consider AVTAK to be the worst Bond film of all time. In fact, it is one of only three Bond films (the others being TLD and DAD) which if it was on television, and I was home, I probably would not watch it. AVTAK (along with TLD and DAD) have IMO virtually no redeeming features whatsoever.

    I think that AVTAK is a terrible, terrible film. But I do think it has three things going for it: it has Christopher Walken, it doesn't have my three least-favourite Bonds and it's a Bond film. Even the worst Bond films are better IMO than many unimpressive non-Bond films.
    "He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back—that’s an earthquake. and then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you’re finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory." Death of a Salesman
  • Krassno GranitskiKrassno Granitski USAPosts: 896MI6 Agent
    Dan Same wrote:
    I'm going to have to disagree with Krassno
    Wouldn't be the first time.{[]
    Rogers performance has grown on me, acting opposite Christopher Walken, he really shines. Moore is angry about his friends death. For once he finally appears to be a threat, unlike any of his other performances.
  • dougie007dougie007 FalkirkPosts: 45MI6 Agent
    Sssshhh - don't tell anybody, but I like AVTAK! It's almost like admitting you vote Tory!!
    A genuine Felix Leiter - illuminating

    Live & Let Die - 1973
  • dougie007dougie007 FalkirkPosts: 45MI6 Agent
    Dan Same wrote:
    I'm going to have to disagree with Krassno
    Wouldn't be the first time.{[]
    Rogers performance has grown on me, acting opposite Christopher Walken, he really shines. Moore is angry about his friends death. For once he finally appears to be a threat, unlike any of his other performances.

    What about TMWTGG - giving Miss Anders a right good slapping for not giving him the answer he was looking for. What about FYEO when he kicks the car off the cliff. Roger can be a threat when he likes.
    A genuine Felix Leiter - illuminating

    Live & Let Die - 1973
  • Krassno GranitskiKrassno Granitski USAPosts: 896MI6 Agent
    dougie007 wrote:
    What about TMWTGG - giving Miss Anders a right good slapping for not giving him the answer he was looking for. What about FYEO when he kicks the car off the cliff. Roger can be a threat when he likes.
    Slapping a girl around doesn't count. I'll give you the car...although old Rodger was against that scene.
  • harryfielderharryfielder Posts: 2MI6 Agent
    edited July 2008
    I love all Bond films....

    Aitch,
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,467MI6 Agent
    You'll get 'close to an explosion' alright if you post topics in the wrong thread Mr Fields... :D The mods don't like it. Do a search for The Spy Who Loved Me...!

    Are we allowed to use that photo? EON forbid us from using photos from the films.

    Interesting stuff anyhow, did you get to see Roger Moore around? Or was he kept apart from the extras? They used to show the making of that scene on Open University in the early hours of the morning...
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • JarvioJarvio EnglandPosts: 4,241MI6 Agent
    edited July 2008
    IMO, AVTAK = Best villain, most memorable locations.

    Now something like DAD on the other hand, = worst everything. (except maybe villain, that goes to elliot carver of TND).

    AVTAK is sorely underrated...
    1 - LALD, 2 - AVTAK, 3 - LTK, 4 - OP, 5 - NTTD, 6 - FYEO, 7 - SF, 8 - DN, 9 - DAF, 10 - TSWLM, 11 - OHMSS, 12 - TMWTGG, 13 - GE, 14 - MR, 15 - TLD, 16 - YOLT, 17 - GF, 18 - DAD, 19 - TWINE, 20 - SP, 21 - TND, 22 - FRWL, 23 - TB, 24 - CR, 25 - QOS

    1 - Moore, 2 - Dalton, 3 - Craig, 4 - Connery, 5 - Brosnan, 6 - Lazenby
  • Dan SameDan Same Victoria, AustraliaPosts: 6,054MI6 Agent
    Jarvio wrote:
    AVTAK is sorely underrated...
    You're right about that. :v That fact that somebody, anybody, likes this film means that it is underrated. :))

    BTW, where on earth is JFF? I really miss his pro-AVTAK rants. :'(
    "He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back—that’s an earthquake. and then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you’re finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory." Death of a Salesman
  • harryfielderharryfielder Posts: 2MI6 Agent
    edited July 2008
    Very freindly site, I must pop back8-)

    Aitch,
  • HardyboyHardyboy Posts: 5,906Chief of Staff
    Harryfielder, where is that picture from? Frankly, it looks like an early scene from THE INCREDIBLE HULK, but if it is indeed a catch from SPY we will have to remove it--we're under legal restrictions from EON to not use their images.
    Vox clamantis in deserto
  • Dan SameDan Same Victoria, AustraliaPosts: 6,054MI6 Agent
    edited July 2008
    Harryfielder, I may have missed something, but according to IMDB, you weren't in either The Persuaders or TSWLM and neither Jerry Judge nor Jack Ross were in TSWLM either. ?:) 8-) (The only Ronnie Woods I could find also wasn't in TSWLM.)
    "He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back—that’s an earthquake. and then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you’re finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory." Death of a Salesman
  • JarvioJarvio EnglandPosts: 4,241MI6 Agent
    Dan Same wrote:
    Jarvio wrote:
    AVTAK is sorely underrated...
    You're right about that. :v That fact that somebody, anybody, likes this film means that it is underrated. :))

    BTW, where on earth is JFF? I really miss his pro-AVTAK rants. :'(

    Me too, I can't fight this battle alone
    1 - LALD, 2 - AVTAK, 3 - LTK, 4 - OP, 5 - NTTD, 6 - FYEO, 7 - SF, 8 - DN, 9 - DAF, 10 - TSWLM, 11 - OHMSS, 12 - TMWTGG, 13 - GE, 14 - MR, 15 - TLD, 16 - YOLT, 17 - GF, 18 - DAD, 19 - TWINE, 20 - SP, 21 - TND, 22 - FRWL, 23 - TB, 24 - CR, 25 - QOS

    1 - Moore, 2 - Dalton, 3 - Craig, 4 - Connery, 5 - Brosnan, 6 - Lazenby
  • jamesm123jamesm123 LondonPosts: 184MI6 Agent
    AVTAK yes a great film, maybe as it was the 1st Bond i caught @ the movies & have a soft spot. i must say i would have liked to seen T.Dalton playing Bond starting with FYEO. i love Rog but he was obviously long in the tooth for Octopussy & AVTAK.
    Anyways, history is history and i have both films in my collection. I love e'm both. Lets admit, when the gun barrel comes up you go with it!!!
  • Railer 505Railer 505 Albany, NYPosts: 61MI6 Agent
    Very true, I must say he was a creative character. But it was Roger Moore's line of reaction to the film (which he very much disliked) saying that: "Whole slews of sequences where Christopher Walken was machine-gunning hundreds of people. I said 'That wasn't Bond, those weren't Bond films" kind of made me admit how silly they were. But yeah Zorin was a psychopath but I just thought that with Bond films he could be more creative. I will say I did enjoy the spamming of UZI rounds in the mine shaft as it flooded, but still.
  • zaphodzaphod Posts: 1,183MI6 Agent
    dougie007 wrote:
    Dan Same wrote:
    I'm going to have to disagree with Krassno
    Wouldn't be the first time.{[]
    Rogers performance has grown on me, acting opposite Christopher Walken, he really shines. Moore is angry about his friends death. For once he finally appears to be a threat, unlike any of his other performances.

    What about TMWTGG - giving Miss Anders a right good slapping for not giving him the answer he was looking for. What about FYEO when he kicks the car off the cliff. Roger can be a threat when he likes.

    I'd have to respectfully disagree. Roger never looked comfortable or convincing for me with action or menace.
    Even in the much referenced scene Kicking the car off the cliff Roger lacks the required physicality to pull it off and looks awkward. As a Martial Artist myself it's clear that his supporting leg is unstable and his balance poor. If he had done that in 'real life' the outcome would have been that he would have fallen over, and the car would have remained where it was. I mention this as I don't expect any Bond actor to be a fully fledged unarmed combat expert (although Lazenby was, and Sean has a Judo Background) But I feel that any of them would have been better able to perform that scene with conviction. You could argue that the general public don't notice such things, but at some deeper level things like this either strike us right or phony and that viewers pick up on the difference.
    I agree though that AVTAK is not the very worst film as that honour must be shared with DAF where Sean seemed to Dial it in, or TMWTGG where the awful Martial Arts scenes are the least of the problem...
  • Moores Left EyebrowMoores Left Eyebrow Posts: 27MI6 Agent
    I didn't mind 'AVTAK' at all. I don't buy all this 'Moore is old, therefore the film is crap' talk.

    There's a memorable villian in Zorin.
    May Day was a really interesting character, and certainly different to any of the Bond Girls we had seen in previous films.
    Tanya Roberts for a bit of 'eye-candy'.
    Memorable scenes in the mine and who could forget the parachute pursuit from the Eiffel Tower? Also the ending on the Golden Gate Bridge & the Fire engine chase in San Francisco?

    Like i mentioned in another thread, i feel AVTAK gets some hard press, purely for Moores age. The story itself is alright. Not the best of the bonds, but certainly not the worst, although i'm aware everyone has their own opinions.
  • JarvioJarvio EnglandPosts: 4,241MI6 Agent
    I didn't mind 'AVTAK' at all. I don't buy all this 'Moore is old, therefore the film is crap' talk.

    There's a memorable villian in Zorin.
    May Day was a really interesting character, and certainly different to any of the Bond Girls we had seen in previous films.
    Tanya Roberts for a bit of 'eye-candy'.
    Memorable scenes in the mine and who could forget the parachute pursuit from the Eiffel Tower? Also the ending on the Golden Gate Bridge & the Fire engine chase in San Francisco?

    Like i mentioned in another thread, i feel AVTAK gets some hard press, purely for Moores age. The story itself is alright. Not the best of the bonds, but certainly not the worst, although i'm aware everyone has their own opinions.

    I'm in complete agreement with you.
    Nice to have another AVTAK supporter B-)
    1 - LALD, 2 - AVTAK, 3 - LTK, 4 - OP, 5 - NTTD, 6 - FYEO, 7 - SF, 8 - DN, 9 - DAF, 10 - TSWLM, 11 - OHMSS, 12 - TMWTGG, 13 - GE, 14 - MR, 15 - TLD, 16 - YOLT, 17 - GF, 18 - DAD, 19 - TWINE, 20 - SP, 21 - TND, 22 - FRWL, 23 - TB, 24 - CR, 25 - QOS

    1 - Moore, 2 - Dalton, 3 - Craig, 4 - Connery, 5 - Brosnan, 6 - Lazenby
  • dougie007dougie007 FalkirkPosts: 45MI6 Agent
    dougie007 wrote:
    What about TMWTGG - giving Miss Anders a right good slapping for not giving him the answer he was looking for. What about FYEO when he kicks the car off the cliff. Roger can be a threat when he likes.
    Slapping a girl around doesn't count. I'll give you the car...although old Rodger was against that scene.

    All I was trying to say is that the fact that he gave her a slap across the chops, was unexpected for a Roger Moore film and quite shocking for a Bond film in general. Anybody agree?
    A genuine Felix Leiter - illuminating

    Live & Let Die - 1973
  • Dan SameDan Same Victoria, AustraliaPosts: 6,054MI6 Agent
    dougie007 wrote:
    All I was trying to say is that the fact that he gave her a slap across the chops, was unexpected for a Roger Moore film and quite shocking for a Bond film in general. Anybody agree?
    I do. :D I thought it was a very shocking moment, and one of the best scenes in TMWTGG. :v
    "He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back—that’s an earthquake. and then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you’re finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory." Death of a Salesman
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