Fan Verdict - A View To A Kill

Each month, a different James Bond film is selected for review, rating and discussion by the largest online community of 007 fans - the Keeping The British End Up forums. Fans rated the following elements of the movie on a 1-10 scale (10 being best): Bond, Babes, Villains, Humour, Sadism, Snobbery, Action, Locations, Gadgets, Music and 'Tilt' - a rating to account for any qualities not captured in the main categories. Also up for discussion were the 'best bits' of the movie, including: most 'Bondian' moment, funniest scene, best line, best location, best action sequence, best Bond girl and best overall performance. A View To A Kill overall score:6.6

Above: Cover art for the "A View To A Kill" score, composed by John Barry...

Most 'Bondian' Moment Winner: When the villains believe 007 to be out cold they roll his Rolls Royce into a lake. Hoping that Zorin will believe him dead Bond survives uderwater by breathing air from the car's tyre. Funniest Scene Winner: Bond spends time at Zorin's grand Chateaux Chantilly, just outside of Paris. Here he is joined by respected horse-racing authority Sir Godfrey Tibbett. The knight reluctantly agrees to pose as 007's man and Bond delights in ordering Tibbett about.

Rating Results Category Average Score Music 8.6 Locations 7.9 Sadism 7.6 Villains 7.4 Bond 6.7 Snobbery 6.7 Action 6.6 Humour 6.3 Babes 5.6 Gadgets 4.5 Overall 6.6

Best Line
Winner: "A little restless but I got off eventually"
Honourable mentions: "The bubbles tickle my... Tchaikovsky"

Best Location
Winner: Chateaux Chantilly, France.
Honourable mentions: San Fransisco, USA.

Best Action Sequence
Winner: Bond and Stacey return to the San Fran City Hall in order to check some records. Here Zorin and his ladies abush 007 and set the building alight. 007 struggles to escape the lift and with a limp Stacey in toe, Bond climbs down the fireman's ladder, safe for the moment.

Best Bond Girl
Winner: Tania Roberts as Stacey Sutton.
Honourable mentions: Fiona Fullerton as Pola Ivanova.

Best Overall Performance
Winner: Chrisopher Walken as Max Zorin.
Honourable mentions: Patrick Macnee as Sir Godfrey Tibbet.

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What The Fans Said
Below are selected quotes from reviews by Keeping The British End Up members. Click here to read all the reviews in their entirety.

"In short, for any retro enthusiast of the decade that taste forgot, this Bond's an utter nostalgia fest. And that's not even to mention its black spade in the hole, a platinum-blond Christopher Walken as a nutjob yuppie who wants to topple Silicon Valley - silly to the max but wonderfully watchable." -- St. George

"A View To A Kill really seems to get reamed by a lot of Bond fan circles but I like it a lot. Christopher Walken's Max Zorin villain is a pretty good villain; however, I think that, despite his reputation, Walken's villain is on the weak side because of the lack of ability to take him seriously (I'm aware of my minority status with that opinion). The girls are a hit for the most part; you have to love Alison Doody's Jenny Flex and Fiona Fullerton's Pola Ivanova" -- Jazz007

"With the building of the new stage and the reliability of a series stalwart like Moore leading the film, the crew optimistically begin working on A View To A Kill and like a number of Moore's Bonds it has its moments. There are some thrilling sequences like the burning of City Hall and some great characters, particularly Christopher Walken giving one of the most sadistic and wholly memorable villainous performances of Moore's Bond tenure. For the good points there are the obligatory duff ones: Willoughby Gray as the bumbling Herr Dr Mortner/Hans Glaub; a character whose identity and methods are discovered by Bond but a character that is so underdeveloped and shoddily played it's almost pantomimic. Then there's the two main female characters of the piece. Tanya Roberts is whiny and frustrating as Stacey - she is given a theme of her own by John Barry which is far more than the character deserves: it's no wonder Moore explains in the DVD commentary that there was no chemistry between Roberts and himself. Then there is Grace Jones as May Day who, despite giving a better performance than Roberts comes off as too over the top even for a Moore Bond film. Placing her and Moore in each others arms in bed together is one of the most alarming scenes in Bond history!" -- James Clark

"A View To A Kill does have its redeeming features that make it watchable: plenty of stunts and action, the gorgeous locations(especially Chateaux Chantilly, my favorite Bond villain home), Cold War-era ambience and '80s nostalgia appeal, the supporting performances of Patrick Macnee, Alison Doody and Fiona Fullerton. And best of all, John Barry's excellent score" -- Prince Kamal Khan

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