DVD
James Bond
A View to a Kill

Starring: Roger Moore
MGM
£19.99
16234DVD Z1
Certificate: PG
Available Now


Agent 007 must face power-hungry industrialist Max Zorin, who plans to monopolise the world's microchip market, killing millions in the process. Can Bond thwart Zorin's evil plan and make it back to Blighty in time to collect his pension...?

A View to a Kill marks the 14th outing for the official Bond movies, and is the last one to feature Roger Moore as the world's most famous secret agent - and, frankly, it is not before time. Although this is a good film, you can't help feeling a bit sorry for Moore as he fumbles his way through the movie. His flirtatious scenes with the equally wrinkly Miss Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell) are truly stomach-churning. It is remarkable and ironic to note that as Moore grows older, the more he looks like Bob Holness (who himself played Bond, many moons ago, on the radio)!

Roger hams it up throughout, delivering instantly forgettable lines such as "Call me James. It's five days to Alaska", which will have even the keenest Bond fan wincing with embarrassment. Having said that, Bond also becomes something of a new man in this movie. In a precursor to the all-too-brief Timothy Dalton era, 007 cooks a meal for his love interest Stacey Sutton (Tanya Roberts) and does not shag her at the first opportunity, but instead considerately tucks the snoozing woman into bed.

The rest of the supporting cast - Christopher (I'm crazy) Walken as Max Zorin, Grace (I'm barking) Jones as May Day and Patrick (I used to be in The Avengers) Macnee as Sir Godfrey Tibbett - add a great deal to the film.

Director John Glen provides some splendid action sequences, including a chase involving a fire truck, carnage within some impressive mine sets and a gritty fight atop the Golden Gate Bridge. (Wow, what a view - to a kill - as the villains, rather stiltedly, declare.)

As we have come to expect, the DVD contains an impressive array of special features, including the amusing pop video to Duran Duran's title song. There is also a never-before-released deleted scene, which takes place in the aftermath of the Eiffel Tower chase, although it is a rather naff little sequence, so you can see why they decided to cut it.

A View to a Kill is a highly entertaining adventure, and a great one for any actor to bow out in. It's just a shame that Moore looks so haggard.

Richard McGinlay and Darren Rea