So after two good Bond films, now we get A View to a Kill. One sign that this is bad comes right away from the title: the original Ian Fleming books had already been adapted, all of them, so they now have to come up with original titles, right? Nope, they take a short story he made called From a View to a Kill, but the film is completely different, so why even use the title? So now for a review, oh boy.
So here is the plot:
After an opening that looks very promising and a rocking title song, we get the big reveal: Bond has aged almost 20 years it seems since the last movie. That's what it looks like, seriously. Anyway so on the mission from the opening, Bond took a computer chip and M and the rest examine it, and find that it is linked to businessman Max Zorin.
At a horse race Bond meets Sir Godfrey Tibbett who links him to a French contact who is looking into something illegal that may be happening at Zorin Industries. When the race finishes, however, Zorin's horse Pegasus wins off a surprise victory that is very suspicious. When Bond meets the Frenchman he is killed and Bond chases the assassin.
After a failure to do catch the killer, he goes to Zorin's estate with Tibbett. After a little investigating, Tibbett and Bond discover that Zorin cheated at the race by having the jockey inject Pegasus with steroids, making him win. The next day Zorin discovers who Bond is and has a race with him on horseback. Even through obstacles, Bond survives but discovers that Tibbett has been killed.
Zorin moves on to explain to the audience through an investors meeting his plan for being the villain of the movie. He plans to flood Silicon Valley and have a monopoly over the microchip and technological developments market out in California. Bond goes to San Francisco, the location of Silicon Valley, and meets with an agent named Chuck Lee, I guess a combination of Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee, except he's a bad agent who ends up dead anyway so that doesn't matter.
Bond investigates an oil rig owned by Zorin, but little does he know that a Russian agent pair is also there. They are trying to kill Zorin because he left the KGB and Bond only wants information. He knows one of the agents, the other is captured and killed, and reaquaints with her in normal Bond fashion.
He finds out that there is one last connection: Stacy Sutton, a geologist who works for the state. He meets her, then tells her to confront her boss with the idea that Zorin is up to no good, but he fires her and the next night Bond and Stacy try to break in but are caught by Zorin, who goes to the boss' office and has him killed. He then sets fire to the building and locks Bond and Stacy in an elevator.
The two escape and Bond is almost arrested for the murder, but after a chase they end up in Zorin's operations. After finding out what Zorin is going to do and escaping once again, Zorin goes ahead with plan after his henchman May Day goes after Bond. She and Bond eventually team up when Zorin blows up the mine and gets ready for the flood.
Realizing that Zorin left her for dead, she decides to move the bomb that would cause the flood and sacrafices herself when the bomb goes off with her on the cart. Zorin, meanwhile, has been getting ready to ride in his blimp to watch the destruction, and captures Stacy, who has been witnessing these whole events. Bond jumps on to the convinient rope that hangs from the bottom and goes along for the ride.
After a battle on the Golden Gate Bridge, the blimp and henchman are killed and Zorin falls into the river beneath them. Stacy joins Bond meanwhile and celebrate by having a shower together as the film ends.
Now for the rating:
Acting: 6 out of 10. The film is aided by Christopher Walken as Max Zorin, but Roger Moore was just way too old to pull off Bond this time. Tanya Roberts as Stacy doesn't work, either.
Entertainment: 4 out of 10. I say that the plot is just too preposterous and jumpy for one to really enjoy the film.
Screenplay: 5 out of 10. Hit and miss.
Directing: 5 out of 10. Very standard.
Technical Credits: 5 out of 10. Average.
Genre Fit: 5 out of 10. Almost deliberately a comedy at times.
MPAA Rating: 7 out of 10. A little close here and there but nicely a PG.
Stupid Scenes: 4 out of 10. Oh, plenty to complain about.
Deeper Message: 2 out of 10. Very little if any.
Beginning: 24 out of 30. Nice start. And seriously look up the song.
Middle: 17 out of 30. Fits and starts.
Ending: 20 out of 30. Gets better with the battle on the bridge.
Final Rating: 109/180 or 61%. a B- by a small range. I guess its ok then, but its probably my least favorite Bond film.
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