Favorite JAMES BOND Action Sequences

 

Below is a list of my favorite action sequences featured in the James Bond films produced by EON Productions:



FAVORITE JAMES BOND ACTION SEQUENCES



1. Favorite Battle Sequence
a. Battle at Soviet Airbase ("The Living Daylights")
b. Battle Underneath SPECTRE Volcano ("You Only Live Twice")
c. Battle at Piz Gloria Resort ("On Her Majesty's Secret Service")
d. Battle Inside Ari Kristatos' Albanian Opium Processing Warehouse ("For Your Eyes Only")
e. Gypsy Camp Fight ("From Russia With Love")





2. Favorite Chase Sequence (car, foot, boat, etc.)
a. Foot Chase in Madagascar ("Casino Royale")
b. Ski Chase From Piz Gloria ("On Her Majesty's Secret Service")
c. Ski chase at Cortina Resort ("For Your Eyes Only")
d. Bike/Helicopter chase Through Saigon ("Tomorrow Never Dies")
e. Car Chase From Czechoslovakia to Austria ("The Living Daylights")





3. Favorite Hand-to-Hand Fight Sequence
a. Bond vs. Alec Trevelyan ("GoldenEye")
b. Bond/Pam Bouvier vs. Dairo and thugs ("License to Kill")
c. Bond vs. Steven Obanno ("Casino Royale")
d. Giacinta "Jinx" Johnson vs. Miranda Frost ("Die Another Die")
e. Bond vs. Emile Largo ("Thunderball")





4. Favorite Stunt Sequence
a. Bond and Necros's fight on a net hanging from an opened cargo plane ("The Living Daylights")
b. Bond's mid-air fight against Jaws and a thug ("Moonraker")
c. Bond and Wai Lin’s escape from Elliot Carver’s Saigon office ("Tomorrow Never Dies")
d. Corkscrew car jump outside Bangkok ("The Man With the Golden Gun")
e. Bond's parachute jump in Austrian Alps ("The Spy Who Loved Me")





5. Favorite One-on-One Gunplay Sequence
a. Bond's shootout against Soviet troops in East Germany ("Octopussy")
b. Bond's duel against Francisco Scaramanga ("The Man With the Golden Gun")
c. Bond's shootout against Adolph Gettler and thugs ("Casino Royale")
d. bond's shootout with Dario and thugs ("License to Kill")
e. Bond shootout with Brad Whittaker ("The Living Daylights")


What are your favorite action sequences from the James Bond movies?

"FOR YOUR EYES ONLY" (1981) Review

"FOR YOUR EYES ONLY" (1981) Review

If James Bond fans and critics had judged all of EON Productions’ 1981 movie, "FOR YOUR EYES ONLY" solely on its pre-credit sequence, the movie probably would have barely made a dime at the box office. Worse, it would have been regarded as the worst movie in the entire Bond franchise. Thankfully, the rest of the movie proved to be far superior to its atrocious opening sequence. 

"FOR YOUR EYES ONLY" marked the directorial debut of John Glen, previously an assistant director and editor of previous Bond movies. Glen ended up steering the Bond franchise through a record five movies, all released between 1981 and 1989. With screenwriters Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson (say that again?), Glen would take the franchise into a new era that depended less upon gadgets, grandiose villains and their even more outlandish schemes; and more on well-written plots, gritty edge and deep characterizations. And this new direction was certainly obvious in "FOR YOUR EYES ONLY" . . . well, except for the pre-title sequence. Which has led me to wonder . . . what on earth made Maibaum and Wilson include that atrocious sequence, in the first place? God only knows. The best I can say about the opening sequence, which featured an unnamed and crippled Blofeld was that its theme resonated with the rest of the movie – namely revenge.

Once the movie moved past its odious beginning, it became a sleek and tight thriller in which James Bond must recover the ATAC missile launching system, that disappeared, following the sinking of a British spy ship off the coast of Albania. MI-6 had originally recruited a British marine biologist named Sir Timothy Havelock to locate the missing ship and missile system, but he and his Greek wife ended up being murdered in full view of their daughter, by an assassin named Hector Gonzalez. Bond tracked Gonzalez to an estate in Spain. But before he could question the killer, Sir Timothy’s daughter, Melina murdered Gonzalez out of revenge for her parents’ deaths. Bond eventually learned that Gonzalez had been hired by a free-lance Soviet agent, who had been recruited to also find the ATAC system. In the Soviets’ hands, the ATAC could be used to destroy Western nuclear submarines.

From the exciting chase sequence in the Spanish countryside, to the ski slopes of Cortina and the Greek Islands, Bond and Melina conducted a search for the missing ATAC that led to a bitter rivalry between two Greek smugglers – one who happened to be an independent agent contracted to the KGB. Portrayed by Israeli actor, Topol and British actor, Julian Glover; former friends Milos Columbo and Ari Kristatos drew Bond into a 30-year feud, in which both tried to convince the British agent that the other is the KBG contact. Even worse, Bond had to contend with Melina’s continuing desire for revenge - despite her murder of Hector Gonzalez. In the end, Bond managed to rein in Melina’s vengeful tendencies, learn that Kristatos was the KBG contact and prevent the ATAC from falling into Soviet hands.

Roger Moore had nearly passed over his fifth chance at portraying the fictional British agent. Fortunately, he changed his mind at the last moment and proved that underneath the sophisticated façade and cheeky wit, he possessed the acting chops to star in a serious spy thriller. To this day, many cannot decide whether his best performance was in "FOR YOUR EYES ONLY" or in 1977’s "THE SPY WHO LOVED ME". Personally, I am inclined to believe that "FOR YOUR EYES ONLY" was his finest moment in the Bond franchise. An excellent supporting cast and a first-class script – different from what he had been used to – allowed Moore to meet the challenge of a new kind of Bond and turn in a tough and excellent performance. Even better, he did all of this and still managed to retain something of his sly sense of humor. His finest moments included:

-Bond’s conversation with Melina, after saving her life in Cortina
-Bond’s first meeting with Columbo
-Emile Locque’s death (a controversial scene in the Bond franchise)
-final sequence at the St. Cyril’s monastery.

French actress, Carole Bouquet, who was 23 years old when she filmed "FOR YOUR EYES ONLY" ably supported Moore as the movie’s leading lady. She skillfully turned in an emotional performance as Melina Havelock, seeking revenge for the murder of her parents. Both Topol and Julian Glover portrayed the two rivaling Greek smuggler, whom Bond has to determine was the KGB contact responsible for the Havelocks’ murder. I must say that both actors gave very subtle performances, making it difficult for the audience to decide who was innocent and who was guilty. And this ambiguity contributed greatly to the movie’s success. In fact, "FOR YOUR EYES ONLY" seemed to be blessed with an exceptional cast that included Michael Gothard as the quietly callous killer, Emile Locque; Cassandra Harris (at the time, fiancée to future Bond, Pierce Brosnan) as the flirtatious and doomed Countess Lisl; Lynn-Holly Johnson as Kristatos’ ice skating protégée who develops a yen for Bond, Bibi Dahl; Jill Bennett as Bibi’s stoic trainer, Jacoba Brink; and Stefan Kalipha as the cold-blooded Cuban hitman, Hector Gonzalez. Also in the cast was Charles Dance portraying one of Locque’s henchmen, four years before he became well known in the miniseries, "JEWEL IN THE CROWN". Dance also portrayed Bond author, Ian Fleming in a rather dull biopic called "GOLDENEYE". 

But what really made "FOR YOUR EYES ONLY" for me, was the first-rate story centered on MI-6’s recovery of their secret missile system. Both Maibaum and Wilson, very smartly eschewed the gadget-filled fantasy epics of movies like "YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE"and "MOONRAKER" for a slightly gritty spy thriller with twists and double-crosses, reminiscent of classic spy movies from the 1940s and 50s. Instead of using Bond regular John Barry to write the score, EON Productions turned to Bill Conti, who would later write the score to the "NORTH AND SOUTH" miniseries and direct the music for future Oscar broadcasts, to create a lively score that I found very entertaining. Also included was the movie’s main theme sung by Sheena Easton. The song went on to receive an Academy Award nomination. 

Thanks to Conti’s score, John Glen’s tight direction, a serious and tougher Bond portrayed by Moore, a first-rate supporting cast, and a skillful script written by Maibaum and Wilson, "FOR YOUR EYES ONLY" (aside from the crappy pre-credit sequence) turned out to be one of the finest movies in the Bond franchise.

"FOR YOUR EYES ONLY" (1981) Photo Gallery

Below are images from the 1981 James Bond movie, "FOR YOUR EYES ONLY". Based upon two of Ian Fleming's 1960 short stories, "For Your Eyes Only" and "Risco", and directed by John Glen; the movie starred Roger Moore as James Bond aka 007:




"FOR YOUR EYES ONLY" (1981) Photo Gallery

"OCTOPUSSY" (1983) Review

"OCTOPUSSY" (1983) Review

While perusing some of the Bond forums, I have noticed that 1983’s ”OCTOPUSSY” is not highly regarded by many fans. Personally, I have always found this hard to understand or accept, considering that the movie has been one of my favorite entries in the Bond franchise for years. But after watching it recently . . . I still do not understand its low standing amongst the fans. 

”OCTOPUSSY”’s pre-title sequence is merely a little teaser about Bond’s attempt to sabotage a missile system in the Banana Republic (aka Cuba). It was light, humorous and filled with plenty of solid action. I particularly enjoyed the fact that what started out as failure on Bond’s part after he found himself captured by enemy soldiers, ended up as a success partially through the actions of the enemy, when they attempt to shoot down the Acrostar Mini-Jet he used for a quick escape. Although entertaining, the pre-title sequence has nothing to do with the main story, which involves a power-hungry Soviet general, a mysterious and beautiful smuggler/circus owner and a duplicitous Afghan prince.

Written by George MacDonald Fraser, Richard Maibaum, and Michael G. Wilson, ”OCTOPUSSY” starts out in East Germany with 009 dressed as a clown and being pursued by a knife-wielding villain. The villain turns out to be a pair of twins (Mischska and Grischska) who want something that 009 has – namely a fake Faberge egg called Property of a Lady. One of the twins manages to fatally wound 009 with a knife. But before he can die, the British agent manages to reach the local British embassy and deliver the egg in dramatic fashion. James Bond is assigned to investigate his colleague’s death. The investigation leads to an auction at Christie’s where the real Property of a Lady egg is being sold . . . and Bond’s first meeting with the villainous Kamal Khan, his henchmen Gobinda and the lovely Madga. Bond’s investigations lead him to India, where he makes his acquaintance with Kamal Khan for the second time. He survives several attempts on his life and incarceration at Khan’s Monsoon Palace and eventually meet the mysterious Octopussy, who turns out to be the daughter of a former rogue agent whom Bond had met years ago. Bond’s encounters with Octopussy and Khan provides him with clues that lead back to East Germany and Soviet General Orlov and Khan’s plot to detonate a nuclear bomb on a U.S. Air Force base in West Germany. Fortunately, Bond (with Octopussy’s help) foils Orlov and Khan’s plans.

Roger Moore returned for the sixth time as British agent James Bond. At age 55 during the film’s production, he struck many Bond fans as too old to be portraying the super spy. Personally, I had no problems with Moore’s age around this time. He still looked handsome and healthy enough to star in the action-packed spy thriller. And he portrayed Bond with a world-weariness and style that seemed to befit his age. Even better, he managed to retain some of that gritty toughness that he utilized so effectively in his previous outing, ”FOR YOUR EYES ONLY” . . . and retained his sense of humor at the same. Speaking of that humor, I usually have nothing against Moore’s humorous style (unlike many fans and critics). But I can think of four occasions when even I found it a bit too much:

-Chase sequence in Udaipur with street performers
-Bond focusing short circuit camera on Indian operative’s cleavage
-The Tarzan yell during Bond’s escape from Khan’s Monsoon Palace
-Bond using fake crocodile submarine to sneak into Octopussy’s estate

Despite the extreme silliness listed above, I still found Moore’s performance satisfactory. I enjoyed his sense of humor during his encounters with the West German citizenry, while trying to stop Orlov and Khan’s bomb. And I admired his dramatic skills in scenes featuring the discovery of Vijay’s body and his romantic scene with Octopussy. But I was especially impressed by his acting in the scene that featured Bond’s only encounter with General Orlov. 

Maud Adams returned to appear in her second Bond film, this time portraying the leading female character – smuggler/circus owner, Octopussy. I cannot honestly say I would consider Adams to be among the best actresses that appeared in the Bond franchise. The nine years between ”THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN” (in which she portrayed the villain’s doomed mistress) and ”OCTOPUSSY” seemed to have shown no real improvement in her acting skills. But she seemed competent enough to carry the role. And her looks and screen presence certainly helped. The secondary female lead – Kristina Weyborn – portrayed Madga, Octopussy’s right-hand woman and personal liaison to Kamal Khan. Like Adams, Weyborn is a tall Swedish-born beauty with limited acting skills. And like the leading lady, she possessed enough looks and presence to carry her role. Although I do wish that someone had given her more lessons in performing martial arts on screen.

French actor Louis Jordan portrayed Kamal Khan, an exiled Afghan prince who desire for a piece of the Imperial Russian treasure leads him to take part in General Orlov's plot to bomb a U.S. Air Force base and change the political landscape of Western Europe. Khan serves as the liaison between Orlov and Octopussy, who traveling circus/smuggling operation allows the two men to smuggle a nuclear bomb into West Germany. Like Yaphet Kotto and Christopher Lee before him, Jordan seems to be a doppleganger of Moore's James Bond - smooth, suave and very deadly. One scene in particular - Bond and Khan's game of dice at an Udaipur hotel - reflects the mirror image of the two men in a very effective manner. Not only did Jordan perfectly portray Kamal Khan's smooth style and sophistication, he did an excellent job of reflecting the Afghan prince's darker nature - especially his cold-blooded tendency to betray anyone who stood between him and self-preservation. Including Octopussy and his men.

"OCTOPUSSY"'s cast of minor villains include Steven Berkhoff as the bombastic General Orlov, whose desire for completely Communist Europe and a higher position in the Soviet hierarchy sets off the movie's plot. Although I found his scenes with Moore, Jordan and Adams effective and subtle, Berkhoff unfortunately revealed a tendency toward hammy acting in a scene that feature a meeting between the Soviet premier and several generals - including Gogol. And when I mean hammy, I mean . . . ham served with eggs. Indian actor Kabir Bedi portrayed Khan's right-hand man, the silent and intimidating Gobinda. One of the Bond sites - "MI-6" Forum - stated the following about the character:"Kamal Khan's faithful bodyguard, big and tough but none too bright.". I do not know if I agree with that assessment. On second thought . . . I do not agree. Gobinda's flaw may have been that he was too devoted and loyal to Khan - after all, he actually obeyed the Afghan prince's order that he climb out of a plane in mid-flight and kill Bond. But less than bright? No, I do not agree. Gobinda struck me as a very observant and intelligent man. And the very handsome Bedi portrayed the henchman with a nice balance of intelligence and menace. In fact, Gobinda happens to be one of my favorite henchmen. Actors David Meyer and Anthony Meyer portray the knife-throwing assassins who killed 009, Mischka and Grischska. They did not say much in the movie, but both did a nice job of projecting competent and menacing killers.

With the death of Bernard Lee in 1980, the character of M did not appear in "FOR YOUR EYES ONLY". The character returned in the form of actor Robert Brown, who began the first of his four movie run as the head of MI-6 in "OCTOPUSSY". Brown portrayed M with authority, but very little imagination. Personally, I think he was simply too young to be portraying an authority figure against Roger Moore, who was six years younger. Not until Timothy Dalton's tenure will Brown show that along with Lee and Judi Dench, he could also be an interesting M. Lois Maxwell returned as Moneypenny in one of the most amusing Bond-Moneypenny scenes in the franchise. The scene involved a 'Miss Penelope Smallbone' and Moore and Maxwell managed to inject a lot of humor and charm into the scene, as befitting two old friends. Desmond Llewellyn had once stated that "LICENSE TO KILL" was his favorite Bond film. Which does not seem surprising, since he had a strong role in it. But he also had a strong role in "OCTOPUSSY" and I could tell that he had enjoyed himself. Especially in the scene that featured his rescue of Madga and some of Octopussy's other followers. It seemed too bad that Q's embellished role in this movie seemed just as unecessary as his embellished role in "LICENSE TO KILL". General Gogol returned in the form of Walter Gotell. And he portrayed the Soviet KGB general with his usual competence. Tennis star, Vijay Amritraj made his screen debut as Indian intelligence agent . . . Vijay. Okay this is not exactly an example of original casting, but what the hell? He did a pretty good job, anyway. And he was rather charming.

"OCTOPUSSY" marked John Glen's second time in the director chair. And like "FOR YOUR EYES", he did an admirable job. I have to give the man kudos for once again, bringing a touch of realistic grit in Moore's portrayal of Bond and in the franchise. Although I do feel that he made a misstep in allowing those silly moments I had earlier mentioned, in the movie. But I do wonder who had included those ridiculous little scenes? Was it Glen? Moore? Or were the screenwriters - Fraser, Maibum and Wilson - responsible? If the writers were responsible, it was a misstep on their parts. Otherwise, they created an admirable script. One of the scenes highly criticized by critics was the sight of Bond disguised as a clown to infiltrate the circus where the bomb was located. I never understood their criticism of this disguise. Perhaps they disliked the idea of James Bond dressed as a clown. If so, I find their attitude extremely shallow . . . and rather stupid. 

Also, I wonder why George MacDonald Fraser had been included in this project? Was it because he was a British Army veteran who had served in India? Or that he had incorporated his experiences in India in his Harry Flashman novels? I do not know what to admire more - the screenwriters' creation of the villains' objectives and Bond's efforts to stop the bomb, or Glen's direction of those scenes. Perhaps both. I wish I could say that I enjoyed the movie's theme song, "All Time High", which was sung by Rita Coolidge. But in the end, it simply bored me. However, I did enjoy John Barry's lush and exciting score. And I must commend cinematographer, Alan Hume, for the film's photography. His shots of India and the English countryside (serving as East and West Germany) made "OCTOPUSSY" one of the most colorful entries in the Bond franchise.

Despite the low opinion held by many Bond fans, "OCTOPUSSY" remains one of my favorite Bond films. In fact, I consider it to be Moore's second best film (despite a few stupid jokes) and the franchise's sixth best. I give it . . . 8/10.

The Five Worst BOND ACTRESSES

Below is a list of five actresses - professional or otherwise - who have appeared in James Bond movies throughout the franchise's 46-year history. I consider these five women to be the worst actresses that have ever appeared in a Bond movie. So, without further ado, I present . . .


The Five Worst BOND ACTRESSES



1. Marguerite LeWars (or the actress who dubbed her voice) aka "the Photographer" (Dr. No, 1962) - This former Miss Jamaica made her acting debut . . . and finale as a photographer in the employ of the movie's villain, Dr. No, hired to spy on secret agent James Bond.  To be frank, I had recently discovered that producers Albert Broccoli and Harry Saltzman had hired another actress to dub Ms. LeWars' voice. The reason why this unknown actress tops my list as the worst Bond actress is due to her stiff and unconvincing handling of the following line: "You . . . you rats!".  I still wince just thinking about it. As for Ms. LeWars, you have my apology for believing that you were the voice behind "the Photographer".






2. Lana Wood aka "Plenty O'Toole" (Diamonds Are Forever, 1971) - Judging by her brief performance as a Las Vegas hustler who gets caught up in a diamond smuggling operation financed by SPECTRE, one can see that Natalie Wood's acting talent had not been extended to her younger sister, namely Lana. She barely made Number 2 on my list, which goes to show how little I thought of her acting.






3. Corinne Clery aka "Corinne Dufour" (Moonraker, 1979) - This actress, who portrayed Sir Hugo Drax's assistant and personal pilot seemed to be very popular with many Bond fans. I can only assume they were impressed by her physical attributes, because her acting skills left much to be desired. The only real emotion she managed to express was fear, while being chased by a pair of hunting dogs on Drax's California estate.






4. Mie Hama aka "Kissy Suzuki" (You Only Live Twice, 1967) - I wish I could say that the movie version of the Kissy Suzuki was interesting . . . but I am afraid that I cannot. I am surprised that Ms. Hama actually had film experience before she was cast as the Japanese Secret Service agent, who marries Bond in a fake wedding ceremony. She really struck me as uninspiring actress with barely any screen presence. I cannot help but feel that in the movie, the wrong Bond Girl - namely Akiko Wakabayashi as doomed agent Aki - was killed off.






5. Talisa Soto aka "Lupe Lamora" (License to Kill, 1989) - I must admit that I have a deep fondness for Ms. Soto's portrayal of the mistress of a Central American drug lord. She has a strong screen presence and there were moments when her performance seemed quite natural. The problem is that these moments were rare. Which is why Ms. Soto made this list. Of all the bad actresses who have appeared in a Bond film, she was my favorite.

"A VIEW TO A KILL" (1985) Review

"A VIEW TO A KILL" Review

The year 1985 marked a milestone in the history of the Bond franchise. This was the year in which EON Productions released their latest Bond film, "A VIEW TO A KILL". The movie would turn out to be Roger Moore's last turn as the British agent, James Bond. With this movie, Moore would become the only actor who has portrayed Bond for EON Productions more than any other - seven times. Sean Connery would also portray Bond seven times, but his last effort would not be for EON Productions. 

But this review is not about Moore's tenure as James Bond. It is about his last movie - namely "A VIEW TO A KILL". The franchise's 14th installment is not what I would call a remarkable film. But I do not consider it a travesty like many other Bond fans do. On the whole, it struck me as a slight remake of the 1964 film, "GOLDFINGER" in regard to one scene and the villain's objective. In "GOLDFINGER", the villain's objective was to destroy the U.S. gold reserve at Fort Knox with a nuclear bomb in order to drive up the value of his own supply of gold. In "A VIEW TO A KILL", the villain's objective was to destroy the U.S. dominant control of the microchip market by causing a "natural disaster" in Silicon Valley. Both movies also feature scenes in which the villain reveals his scheme to potential "investors". But whereas "GOLDFINGER" created a major plot hole in its version of this particular scene, "A VIEW TO A KILL" managed to avoid one.

Bond's discovery of a microchip on the body of the dead Agent 003 in Siberia leads to MI-6's investigation of an industrialist named Max Zorin, who now owns the very company that the British government and military have contracts. Bond's investigation leads to his introduction of certain individuals - a former Nazi criminal/scientist named Carl Mortner, an oil geologist named Conley and the movie's leading lady, whose name is Stacy Sutton. In a nutshell, these three characters - especially Sutton - allowed Bond to discover Zorin's past as a KGB agent, his betrayal of his bosses, and his plot to destroy Silicon Valley. Michael G. Wilson and Richard Maibaum's screenplay is not very original, considering its strong similarity to "GOLDFINGER". Fortunately for "A VIEW TO A KILL", director John Glen did what he could with Wilson and Maibaum’s screenplay and did a commendable job in avoiding the major mistakes of the 1964 film. Granted, the movie’s portrayal of the San Francisco Police seemed straight out of the Keystone Cops. Nor I did not care for the writers’ attempt to keep Stacy in the story by allowing her character to reveal the details of Zorin’s plot. It seemed to be stretching things a bit. But in the end, I rather liked the story. And I liked Glen’s direction. I believe that he did better with movies like "FOR YOUR EYES ONLY", "OCTOPUSSY”, "THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS" and even "LICENSE TO KILL". But at least I have nothing major to complain about. 

The cast’s performance seemed to be pretty solid. The only complaint I have of Roger Moore is that in certain scenes, he looked a little too old and tired to be portraying Bond. Some fans would attribute this to his age (he was 57 when he shot the movie). But from what I had learned, Moore had been suffering from the flu at the time. However, there were scenes in which he looked like a handsome, middle-aged man. Despite his illness, Moore managed to turn in a good performance that had not been marred by the occasional silly joke, as it had in "OCTOPUSSY". Aside from the silly Beach Boysmoment and the movie's final scene, the humor in "A VIEW TO A KILL" seemed more restrained and tasteful. Ironically, three of Moore’s best moments featured both humor – which featured Bond’s impersonation as a spoiled and demanding playboy and his reunion with KGB agent Pola Ivanova (Fiona Fullerton) - and also drama – his dislike of Zorin apparent, following the murder of Mr. Howe (Daniel Benzali) of the Department of Conservation.

I would never regard Tanya Roberts ("CHARLIE’S ANGELS"/"THAT 70s SHOW") to be a great actress. Hell, I have enough trouble viewing her as a good actress. She was basically solid as Stacy Sutton, the California State geologist, whose oil company Zorin wanted to buy. But she did have her moments of wooden acting. Fortunately for Roberts, she can at least claim to be a better actress than either Barbara Bach or Lois Chiles. And despite her acting limitations, she managed to inject a great deal of spirit and moxie into the Stacy character. Oscar winner Christopher Walker, on the other hand, was great. I loved his slightly off-kilter portrayal of the greedy and psychotic Max Zorin – former KBG agent-turned-entrepreneur and industrialist. And considering that Walken was portraying a psychotic, it is a credit to his skills as an actor that he did not ham it up for the screen. He even managed to provide some great moments. But my favorite Walken moment featured Zorin’s reaction to his discovery that Bond’s true identity. And of course there is Grace Jones as Zorin’s equally psychotic henchwoman, May Day. Perhaps she was not as psychotic, considering she was able to mourn the deaths of her two female assistants (Alison Doody and Papillon Soo Soo). But like Walken, she brought a lot of style and verve to her role without going over the top. And for an exhibitionist like Jones, it was a miracle.

The regular Bond cast seemed to be their solid selves. I especially enjoyed Moore’s last on-screen interaction with Lois Maxwell (Miss Moneypenny). However, I must confess that the movie’s last scene of Q (Desmond Llewelyn) using a remote controlled "rover" to peep into Bond and Stacy’s shower activities at the end of the movie struck me as distasteful. Included among Bond’s allies is Patrick Macnee, portraying Sir Godfrey Tibbett. Tibbett is a gentleman horse breeder who helps MI-6 investigates the mystery of Zorin’s success on the racetrack (microchips imbedded in the horses’ flesh). Macnee (the fourth ”AVENGERS” cast member to appear in a Bond film) gave a very competent and classy performance and seemed to have produced a good screen chemistry with Moore. It seemed a shame that he was only present in the movie’s first half.

Cinematographer Alan Hume did a great job in taking advantage of the elegant settings of Paris, the French countryside and surprisingly, San Francisco. In fact, I believe that ”A VIEW TO A KILL” marked one of those rare times in a Bond movie in which the U.S. locations actually looked tasteful or interesting. I am usually not a fan of Duran Duran, but I must admit that I am a fan of their rendition of the movie’s theme song – "A View to a Kill" (written by Duran Duran and John Barry). I am not surprised that the song ended up #2 on the U.K. pop charts and #1 in the U.S.

"A VIEW TO A KILL” will never be considered a top favorite of mine. Aside from the cinematography, the theme song by Duran Duran and Christopher Walken’s performance, there is nothing really remarkable about it. Many Bond fans consider it a travesty that Moore had to end his tenure on such a low. I personally do not regard "A VIEW TO A KILL" as a low note for Moore. In fact, I feel that he was lucky to end his tenure with a good, solid action film of which he had nothing to feel ashamed.

"A VIEW TO A KILL" (1985) Photo Gallery

Below are images from the 1985 James Bond movie, "A VIEW TO A KILL". Its title adapted from Ian Fleming's 1960 novella,"From a View to a Kill" and directed by John Glen, the movie starred Roger Moore as James Bond. 


"A VIEW TO A KILL" (1985) Photo Gallery