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Rating:  - A gem from the 80`s
This is by far my favorite Bond movie. A great reminder of the `outrageous 80`s` as someone said before. The soundtrack is perfect, Christopher Walken and Grace Jones are just amazing. Tanya Roberts and Roger Moore are great too. I`ve watched this in movie theaters countless times, I got it on VHS, Laserdisc and now finally on DVD. I just love the 80`s and this one is definitely a keeper. Sure, there are flaws, but it is simply deliciously entertaining. To me it is one of those rare films that you can watch over and over again with great pleasure. The locations are great too, from Paris to London to beautiful San Francisco, it`s all there. Boy, do I miss the 80`s!
Rating:  - [3.5] Christopher Walken is the star here
Seen as one of the weakest Bond films ever made, A View To A Kill is not as bad as one might think. Roger Moore is over the hill in this one, and the Bond girls are about as annoying as ever. The action is toned down compared to some Bond films, but the lead villain and his interesting henchwoman make up for the loses, as well as an exciting climactic action scene that is must see.
Christopher Walken steals the show in this one. He plays the psychopathic villain named "Zorin", who is out to destroy the supply of microchips in Silicon Valley, California by creating the largest earthquake ever known. He hopes that the destruction of the Valley will place the silicon market in his favor. The man comes off as interesting in the beginning of the film, and ends up as a complete psycho - betraying nearly all his people and shooting them down in a rampage. Christopher Walken delivers the lines with such originality and flavor, in a style that is, well - Christopher Walken. You can't help but love this guy (as far as excellent villains go). To add even more spice, he has a henchwoman named "May Day" who is easily the strangest villain ever seen in a Bond film. Her choice for attire and hairstyles is quite unique to say the least, but she is an expert in martial arts and other skills as well, so to speak.
The story and suspense were something to expect from a Bond film, but toned down overall, and slow at times. Zorin, being an ex-KGB, keeps Russia involved in the mix - something that has been a consistent for the Roger Moore films. I was hoping for more action than there was, and the film could use it. Most of the scenes weren't too exciting, but a few did stand out. Specifically, the exciting climax of Bond hanging onto Zorin's air blimp while it goes straight into the Golden Gate bridge, followed by an exciting fight at the top. There is also a chase scene where Bond and Stacey (the annoying Bond girl) steal a firetruck and are follwed by cops. It would have been more powerful if the villains were involved in the chase, but the lack of made the action scene a bit unnecessary.
Locations are also more toned down too. The film begins in Paris, and there is actually some action on the Eifel Tower. Then the action shifts to Zorin's massive estate (and if you love horses, this is a treat.) The last half of the movie takes place in California, mostly in San Francisco and an underground mine in the valley.
It was probably time for Moore to retire before this film, for his age kept a lot of spice from his performance - and kept other elements of this movie stale as well. But overall, this will still please to the die hard fan. The villain is worth the price, as is the final scene on the Golen Gate bridge.
Acting - 3.5
Action - 3.5
Characters - 4
Story - 3.5
Overall - 3.5
Rating:  - Grandpa Bond
In a perfect Bondworld, For Your Eyes Only would be Moore's last Bond movie. Alas, he made not one but two more. Here he is 58 and doesn't look a day under 70. Disinterested doesn't begin to describe his performance. Reluctant and dubious but game in a weak tea "the show must go on" way is more like it. The script isn't any more or less inane than any other Bond movie. I know Bond movies aren't exactly held up as objects of cultural enlightenment but Tanya Roberts, though easy on the eyes, is helpless and prone to screaming even for a Bondbabe. Christopher Walken and Grace Jones are great Bond villians but are cast adrift in the wreckage of Moore's exhausted performance. The opening sequence is excellent and the main body has its moments but A View to a Kill is one of the worst of a great series thanks to its lead.
Rating: - Your Heart Goes Out for Roger
Your heart kind of went out for Roger in this one. Roger did not exactly have a befitting outing in this film and it being his last Bond film, he deserved better. There were a few memorable scenes that I did like just the same. John Barry's score did capture these elegiac scenes with great feeling and endearment and that is the way it should have been. Well done.
After Bond is chased into the woods on horseback and is captured, Bond tells Zorin that there will be retaliation if they kill him. "You amuse me Mister Bond," says Zorin with indifference. "The feeling's not mutual," responds Bond. After that scene I was hoping that Bond would really put this fellow out of his misery. The one image that remains with me from this film is when Bond carries Stacey on his back climbing down the fire truck ladder rescuing her from the burning City Hall. As sentimental as that scene may have looked it hearkened back to a time in films when heroes really were heroes. Roger did a fine job during his tenure.
Rating: - A great Bond classic
Let's face it. At this point no one is watching James Bond films to see if Bond can overcome the bad guys and win the day and the girl. Everybody knows who is going to come out on top. The reason for watching Bond films is not Bond himself but the peripherals, the gadgets, stunts and/or the villains.
In this case, Max Zorin, played by Christopher Walken, is the main reason this film is so good. The gadgets this time around are pretty run-of-the-mill, especially by today's standards. But walken can walk onto a set and turn a mediocre script and an aging actor still trying to pass himself off as a ladies man (in this case Roger Moore) into something well worth the time.
The final battle between Bond and Zorin always gives me the creeps, more so on the big screen than it does on a small TV, but it still is breathtaking.
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