A View To A Kill

A View To A Kill (1985)

Tagline: "Has James Bond finally met his match"
 
Starring: Roger Moore, Tanya Roberts, Grace Jones, Patrick Macnee, Christopher Walken

Featured Racecourses: Ascot, Chantilly

Director: John Glen
Producers: Albert R. Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson
Writers: Michael G. Wilson, Richard Maibaum (based on a novel by Ian Fleming)

Release Date: May 1985
Runtime: 131 mins

IMDB Synopsis: An investigation of a horse-racing scam leads 007 to a mad industrialist who plans to create a worldwide microchip monopoly by destroying California's Silicon Valley.

Where to Buy: Amazon
Film Links: IMDB, Wikipedia

Personal Review


From the frozen wastes of Siberia to the gay streets of Paris, the magnificent countryside of Chantilly and the scenic beauty of San Francisco, James Bond (Roger Moore) is sent on a mission to discover the true intentions of industrialist psychopath Max Zorrin (Christopher Walken). Bond soon discovers that Zorin is planning to destroy Silicon Valley with an underground explosion and therefore create his own monopoly of the microchip market. With the aid of Sir Godfrey Tibbit (Patrick Macnee), love interest Stacey Sutton (Tanya Roberts) and CIA agent Chuck Lee (David Yip), Bond attempts to stop Zorin and his henchwoman May Day (Grace Jones) in their tracks.

This was the fourteenth Bond film and the seventh and final movie for Roger Moore (my preference was always for Sean Connery) and although the title was adapted from Ian Fleming's novel "From a View To A Kill", the screenplay was completely original. I liked Christopher Walken's convincing performance as the villain Max Zorin but I have never been a fan of oddball Grace Jones and I found her acting very poor. The film is probably best remembered for the theme song by Duran Duran which reached number 2 in the UK charts, a record for a James Bond song up until Sam Smith released "Writing on the Wall" thirty years later.

The film received mixed reviews when first released but still proved a commercial success raking in $152 million after an initial outlay of $30 million. The special effects and the chase scenes in this film were superb and my favourite had to be the fire engine chase through San Francisco where Bond clings to a ladder as Stacey Sutton tries to shake off the cops. I found the plot in this film quite weak and fragmented though and Bond could have been killed on so many occasions it was unbelievable - mind you it wouldn't be a Bond film if he was killed half way through the film.

The reason for inclusion in this website is that View To A Kill features a short scene from Ascot racecourse early in the film where Bond carries out surveillance on Zorin - the villain's horse Pegasus bolts up in a race and suspicions are aroused as to how the horse could have completed the final furling so fast. Bond tracks Zorin down to his Chateau equine centre in Chantilly and discovers that the horses are being remotely injected with adrenaline mid-race to improve performance. We then get to see Bond and Zorin have a race around his training track where every attempt is made to knock Bond off his horse with moving fences and vicious work riders. We also get a small glimpse of Chantilly racecourse where the KGB meet Zorin and ask him to tone down his commercial operations.

This isn't one of my favourite Bond films, primarily due to the disjointed plot and the inclusion of Grace Jones, but the fact it features scenes from Ascot and Chantilly racecourses is a big positive. (Rating 6/10)  

Favourite Quotes
James Bond: "Well my dear, I take it you spend quite a lot of time in the saddle"
Jenny Flex: "Yes I love an early morning ride"
James Bond: "Well, I'm an early riser myself"


MOVIE STILLS
Share by: