Review of A View to a Kill (1985) by Filipeneto — 18 Feb 2018

Directed by John Glen and produced by Albert Broccoli, it has script by Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson and is the fourteenth film in the franchise. In this film, besides the central cast inherited from the previous films and the ending of Roger Moore in the role of 007, we have a good cast of artists: Tanya Roberts plays the Bond-girl Stacey Sutton, Patrick Macnee gives life to Sir Godfrey Tibbett, Grace Jones gives life to May Day and Christopher Walken gave body and soul to mad Max Zorin. For the last time, Lois Maxwell played Miss Moneypenny, after fourteen movies giving life to M's secretary.

In this film, James Bond investigates a fraud in the world of horse racing involving Max Zorin, a powerful businessman. However, the British agent will quickly find a much more dangerous and malevolent conspiracy behind it.

This is the last film in which Roger Moore embodies the secret agent. Despite the undoubted talent, the actor was already too old for the role and it was time to pass the baton to a new generation. Nevertheless, Moore stood firm until the end, always maintained a correct posture and took his Bond until the end, with the dignity of a true British. The script could be much more convincing: it's a bit strange that Bond, an agent who already got used to save the world, was investigating such a common fraud as doping in equestrian races to, quite naturally, tripping over a global conspiracy against the mecca of technology production. And even if that were to happen, there would certainly simpler ways to achieve that than the way, contrived and complicated, chose by the villain. In any case, the film is good enough, even if not extraordinary: it entertains the audience, allows a good time and not disappoint Bond fans. Some scenes are noteworthy, especially the sequence filmed on the Golden Gate Bridge, not only by the performance of the actors but also the spectacular site itself. The opening theme, sung by Duran Duran, also deserves to be heard attentively and appreciated.