- I suppose one advantage of a 25-film series that spans several decades is that an entry like John Glen's A View to a Kill won't automatically be the worst one. In fact, I'm not even convinced that this film ranks among the bottom three James Bond movies, which is remarkable since it is undeniably a pretty weak offering. From its noticeably aging lead actor to its interminably dull focus on horse racing to its bizarre steroid baby subplot, the film doesn't have a lot to recommend it. And yet, things could be worse.
- The hero, as always, is James Bond (Roger Moore), but the villain this time around is the young microchip-and-horse baron Max Zorin (Christopher Walken). Zorin's evil scheme involves triggering the San Andreas fault in order to flood Silicon Valley, which must have seemed like a bad idea back in the mid-80's. Assisting Zorin are the usual stable of nondescript baddies (Patrick Bauchau, Willoughby Gray, Alison Doody, Papillon Soo Soo) and one surprisingly memorable henchwoman named May Day (Grace Jones). Whether or not Jones is a good actress (she doesn't really have many lines), her height and physique definitely help her to stand out amongst Bond's many femmes fatale. In Bond's corner are two likable undercover operatives (Patrick Macnee, David Yip) and one forgettable geologist (Tanya Roberts).
- The best part of A View to a Kill, like many lesser Bonds, is its scenery, with some impressive location filming in and around Paris and San Francisco. There are also a few decent action setpieces, with an especially memorable one that starts in the Eiffel Tower and ends up in the Seine. The scene in which Zorin leads Bond through a rigged horse show jumping course is memorable mostly because of its silliness, as is a later scene involving a completely gratuitous fire truck chase through the streets of San Francisco. Walken, Moore, and Jones all do their best to keep things interesting, but only Jones really succeeds. The rest is a paint-by-numbers spy movie that is never as good as Duran Duran's excellent opening song implied it would be.
- Also featuring Robert Brown, Fiona Fullerton, Desmond Llewelyn, Walter Gotell, and Lois Maxwell in her last appearance as Miss Moneypenny.
- The imdb claims that both Dolph Lundgren and Maud Adams are in this film, but I certainly didn't spot them.
- Apparently the role of Zorin was offered to David Bowie and Sting before ending up with Christopher Walken.
