Movie Night: A View to a Kill.

Review #296: A View to a Kill.

Cast
Roger Moore (James Bond), Christopher Walken (Max Zorin), Tanya Roberts (Stacey Sutton), Grace Jones (May Day), Patrick Macnee (Godfrey Tibbett), Patrick Bauchau (Scarpine), David Yip (Chuck Lee), Willoughby Gray (Carl Mortner), Fiona Fullerton (Pola Ivanova), Manning Redwood (Bob Conley), Alison Doody (Jenny Flex), Robert Brown (M), Desmond Llewelyn (Q), Lois Maxwell (Miss Moneypenny), and Geoffrey Keen (Fredrick Gray) Directed by John Glen (#281 - The Living Daylights and #290 - Licence to Kill)

Review
A View to a Kill was the 7th and final Bond film for Roger Moore, who had been Bond for 12 years, the longest tenure of them all. But is this any good? Well, if this is meant to be Moore's last one, it definitely shows. This is one of those films where it has some good things, but is then bogged by flaws among flaws. I'll start with the villains first for example. Grace Jones is good, giving the aura of delightful villainy, reminding me (slightly) of Jaws from The Spy Who Loved Me. But I find a slight problem with this, and it is not her that's the problem, it's the simple act of turning her good. Why does the (secondary) villain have to turn good? Is it meant to be symbolic? My answer would probably the same one the writer thought: Why not? But oh well. And then there's Christopher Walken. First off, I find him very good in some parts, and yet baffling in others. He does give off the look of a deranged yet smart villain and yet sometimes it looks like he's going to burst out in laughter. He's a fun villain, even if he doesn't get much of a fight with Bond. Tanya Roberts (the leading lady) is...okay. Though she does have some range of attempting to act, the dialogue sometimes just ranges to only "James!" "Save me!" I know it sounds off of me to say it, but it is better for the leading lady to do more then just scream, though at least Roberts is better then Britt Eckland (Mary Goodnight) in The Man with the Golden Gun. And then there's Roger Moore, in his swansong. I'll let this quote that he said of him in the film sum it up: "I was only about four hundred years too old for the part." Actually, he is good enough here, not horrible, but not as good as he was in The Spy Who Loved Me. The action is alright, with some good locations used, but the film is hampered by a mediocre first half. While the film has some good points, it is hampered severely at times, and it under uses the actors. And yet? I find it to be not the worst Bond film. Granted, it's not good, but it isn't the worst. Countdown to 300 Reviews: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4...

Overall, I give it 6 out of 10 stars.

Movie Night: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

REVISED: Rating now 9/10 (June 30, 2023)

Review #169: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

Cast
Harrison Ford (Indiana Jones), Kate Capshaw (Willie Scott), Amrish Puri (Mola Ram), Ke Huy Quan (Short Round), Roshan Seth (Chatter Lal), Philip Stone (Phillip Blumbertt), Roy Chiao (Lao Che), David Yip (Wu Han), Raj Singh (Zalim Singh), D. R. Nanayakkara (Shaman) Directed by Steven Spielberg (#126 - Close Encounters of the Third Kind and #168 - Raiders of the Lost Ark)

Review
This film has a tone that's...different from the first film. It, like Empire Strikes Back (#114), has darker themes different from its predecessor. A dark fact: This film was originally called Temple of Death. Gee, I wonder why they changed the title. Harrison Ford is excellent once again. Capshaw and Quan are decent at best, with the two being grating on the ears at times, but you do warm up to them after a while. One reference I do like in this film is at the beginning with "Club Obi Wan" This film has excitement mixed in with dark natures that can be fun but can also get a little too close to just freaky at points. A good film still, but not as good as the first (I almost forgot to mention this is apparently a prequel: Only difference? One year before the first one).

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.