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Rating: Country: U.S.A. Release Date: November 7, 2006 Distributor: MGM Director: · John Glen Cast: · Roger Moore · Christopher Walken · Tanya Roberts · Grace Jones · Patrick Macnee Grade: B-

Instead, "A View to a Kill" was the unsatisfying swan song for Roger Moore in the part of James Bond. Until I had gone back to view the Sean Connery and George Lazenby incarnations, Moore was Bond to me, which made this tiresome exercise disconcerting. The first clue that things were going south for the franchise was the pre-title sequence which featured, among other things, Bond snowboarding in Siberia in search of a microchip, to the tune of "California Girls". Not the Beach Boys original, mind you, but a cover performed by a tribute band. That was just an indication of the phoniness of what was to follow.

The recovered microchip turns out to be nuclear blast-resistant, with its origins traced to billionaire industrialist Max Zorin (Christopher Walken). With the assistance of horse brainiac Sir Godfrey Tibbett (Patrick Macnee), Bond observes Zorin at a horse race to discover how this man could be involved with such vital technology falling into Russian hands. There they witness a miraculous victory by Zorin's horse, which raises suspicions. A French private detective might have some answers, but he's killed in a freaky "butterfly" accident while dining with Bond at the Eiffel Tower in Paris before he can divulge anything useful. Zorin's comely henchman May Day (Grace Jones) is to blame, and Bond chases her to the top, firing his gun like he can't hit the broad side of a barn until she leaps from the structure in a parachute escape.

Bond learns that Zorin is holding an annual horse sale, and travels to it posing as prospective buyer St. John Smythe with Tibbett, his "servant" in tow. Zorin's mastery of microchip technology in horse racing is discovered, and such knowledge is generally fatal for Bond sidekicks. So, Tibbett gets the "car wash from hell", and the uncovering of Bond's identity precipitates an afternoon drive into a lake with his unconscious body. But this is Bond, after all, so it's a few lungfuls of air sucked from the submerged vehicle's tires and it's off to find out the villain's grand scheme.

And it's an ambitious plan, to be sure. Zorin looks to corner the market on microchips by flooding the San Andreas Fault with seawater and collapsing it, with the resultant flood wiping out Silicon Valley. He meets with fellow corporate types on his airship, and those not wanting in on the mayhem get escorted out the door, which is a bummer when that exit happens to be thousands of feet up in the air. Bond teams up with geologist babe Stacey Sutton (Tanya Roberts) to thwart the madman. No, really. His plan is not just mad, he's got a psychopathic personality, the result of a Nazi concentration camp experiment that produced a superior intelligence with this little unintended side effect.

The triggering explosion is foiled by self-sacrifice, and a spectacular high-altitude climactic fight ensues when Zorin's airship becomes entangled atop the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. It's an action-packed ending that almost, but not quite, makes up for the tedium that preceded it.

It's a bit like watching a ball player who's hung around for a season or two too long -- you enjoy seeing them, but it's time to move on. Moore was moving into the neighborhood of sixty, and looks way too old to be gallivanting around with the likes of Tanya Roberts, all fantasies aside. An interlude with a lovely Russian spy acquaintance comes across a bit more believably, but the love scene with Grace Jones was downright squirm-inducing. This was Lois Maxwell's final appearance as Moneypenny, closing the book on the role of flirtatious secretary which has never been adequately reopened.

Roles seemed to be underdeveloped. Much more could have been done with the May Day character, especially with her revelation toward the film's end. Zorin's Nazi-experiment-gone-wrong angle is barely explored, and Stacey is present only so she can be rescued by Bond. There are highlights which make this movie entertaining beyond all reason, including the finale, the comfortable repartee between Moore and pal Macnee, and the fire engine chase sequences through the streets of San Francisco. But in the end, it was a rehash that shared many plot similarities to "Goldfinger" without nearly as much flair.

The two-disc set comes in a slimline case with an eight page booklet featuring artwork, still shots and history of the production, including the untimely fire at Pinewood Studios' 007 Stage right before principal photography was to begin.

Special Features

A View to a Kill (1985) is part of the James Bond Ultimate Edition Volume 2 which also includes Thunderball, The Spy Who Loved Me, License To Kill, and Die Another Day.

Newly Recorded Audio Commentary Featuring Sir Roger Moore - At least he's upfront about not remembering too much about this production and calling it instead a discussion about whatever pops into his head, encompassing not only his role as Bond in this film but his entire career. Despite that setup, his anecdotes are actually quite entertaining, though at times his aged voice is difficult to understand.

Audio Commentary Featuring Director John Glen and members of the cast and crew - narrated by television producer David Naylor, featuring additional commentary by director John Glen, producer Michael G. Wilson, actors Patrick Macnee, Tanya Roberts, Carole Ashby, David Yip, and Fiona Fullerton, and other crew members.

Declassified: MI6 Vault

Original Promotional Featurette (7:43)

Float Like a Butterfly - Test Footage (1:31)

Deleted Scenes & Expanded Angles with Introductions by Director John Glen - Paris Police Station (Deleted), Zorin & Crew Pull Up to City Hall (Deleted), Protesting Zorin (Deleted), Stacey Gets Fired (Deleted), The Eiffel Tower (Alternative Angle/Extended), Bond Rescues Stacey (Expanded), The Drawbridge (Expanded)

007 Mission Control

Billed as the "Interactive Guide Into the World of A View to a Kill", this section allows you to directly access a number of short scenes from the movie sorted into the categories of 007, Women, Allies, Villains, Mission Combat Manual, Q Branch and Exotic Locations. I thought of it as a "theme-based chapter button" and didn't find it particularly useful.

Inside A View To A Kill – An Original Documentary (37:26)

"A View To A Kill" Music Video - Performed by Duran Duran, this still ranks as the coolest integration with movie footage I've ever seen, with the band members on location at the Eiffel Tower interspersed with scenes of Bond chasing May Day up the same structure. Yeah, it's cheesy, but I still crack up over the babe at the end asking, "Aren't you...? to the lead singer, with him responding, "Bon, Simon Le Bon," and the threatened explosion depicted by a postcard of the Eiffel Tower blowing up! Plus, in retrospect, you detect just a little extra passion in Andy Taylor killing off Nick Rhodes with what turned out to be the impending split of the group looming on the horizon.

Ministry of Propaganda

Theatrical Archive - Trailers labeled "Unmissable Bond" (1:23), "Danger, Action, Excitement, Adventure…" (1:27), and "Secret Mission" (2:47)

TV Broadcasts - 30-second television advertisements named "From the Siberian Ice Cap," "Roger Moore is James Bond, 007," "The Greatest Criminal Genius," and "Roger Moore is James Bond, 007 (Version 2)"

Image Database - Collection of still galleries organized under the categories Roger Moore, Tanya Roberts, Christopher Walken, Grace Jones, Patrick Bauchau, Bond’s Team, Cold Warrior, La Tour Eiffel, The Golden Gate, At Home with Stacy, San Francisco Fire, Mainstrike and Marketing.