A View to a Kill. Let's make it better!

edited March 2011 in Bond Movies Posts: 4,813
This was an interesting thread I saw on the old board and I was right about to contribute until the board went away! So I thought I'd start it up again here.

Here's my thoughts.:

1. Bring in Dalton (or if not, at least don't dress Roger like an old man. Aside from the Tux, his wardrobe made him look like a grandpa)
2. Lose the Beachboys song....
3. Get better henchmen! I understand they were 'running out of guys that it looked like Roger could actually beat up' but looking at the movie now I feel like I'm watching a made for TV movie. I felt like I could take on these henchmen MYSELF. If you have to cast weak henchmen for the sake of the actor playing Bond's age, all the more reason to bring in Dalton! Imagine how good the fights COULD HAVE been!

These are off the top of my head.... let's hear your ideas!
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Comments

  • Posts: 11,189
    Maybe it wouldn't have worked for the time but it might have been good for Bond not to have got with Stacey at the end. His relationship with her throughout the film was quite paternal anyway and seeing the two in the shower at the end was just a bit...wrong.

    Maybe do a Moonraker and have her reject Bond for another man.
  • Posts: 503
    4. Rewrite the entire script
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,159
    Rewrite the script from scratch. Just leave in the... No, rewrite the script from scratch.

    Surely there's a much better plot somewhere out there that preferably doesn't link microchips to horse race cheating AND weird oil pumping AND forcing a woman to give up her shares AND flooding the SA fault...
  • Posts: 503
    Great minds think alike, Darth ;-)
  • edited March 2011 Posts: 4,813
    @Darth
    Lol yeah the horse cheating was kind of pointless in retrospect.
    One other thing that would have helped is if Roger Moore played his age (if he was in it at all). In Never Say Never Again, Connery's Bond was older and a 'relic'. While the movie was still ridiculous, at least it wasn't laughable with him chasing young girls around, lol
    I'm thinking of Stacy and the girl from the PTS- too young for him!!
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    edited March 2011 Posts: 24,159
    Quoting Master_Dahark: I'm thinking of Stacy and the girl from the PTS- too young for him!!
    To be honest, if I can score a hot piece of cake like her when I'm 58, I won't let the opportunity slip by. :P Only Bond can still chew some hard candy when pension age is near. Give it to the man! He deserves credit for that. :)
  • PrinceKamalKhanPrinceKamalKhan Monsoon Palace, Udaipur
    edited March 2011 Posts: 3,262
    Here's my admittedly very rough and raw attempt to try to come up with a revision for my dream/"alternate universe" AVTAK with Dalton as Bond:

    Pre title sequence: Introduce Dalton as the new 007 in a mini-adventure that has nothing or little to do with the rest of the picture(in the style of the teasers for GF, TB, FYEO and OP).

    Title Sequence:(I would've retained the Duran Duran song, one of the few highlights of the actual film)

    Albert R. Broccoli presents

    Timothy Dalton as James Bond 007 in Ian Fleming's

    FROM A VIEW TO A KILL
    (I would have restored the full original Fleming title)

    starring

    Alison Doody as Mary Ann Russell

    Patrick Macnee as Sir Godfrey Tibbett

    Fiona Fullerton as Pola Ivanova

    Christopher Walken as Max Zorin

    and Tanya Roberts in a very small 5 minute appearance as the "sacrificial lamb" Jenny Flex

    Movie opens proper: The first 20-30 mins would be a relatively faithful adaptation of the actual short story "From A View To A Kill". The SHAPE driver's murder would appear on screen and 007's subsequent investigation. He would be assigned to work with fellow agents Tibbett and lovely Mary Ann Russell(the girl in the original story), and would impersonate the SHAPE driver and infiltrate the Russian spy gang in the forest. The head assassin(who Bond is sure he has seen before) of this spy gang gets away and Bond finds a stash of Zorin microchips among the KGB spy ring materials. After a brief dalliance with the gorgeous Mary Ann, Bond reports this information to M. Bond would learn that Zorin industries are a private British defense contractor that is developing microchips that are impervious to the magnetic pulse of a nuclear explosion but they've not been put in use by the British defense systems yet. Zorin would still be of East German origin but he defected to England, became a U.K. citizen and then spent several years in New York where he made his millions. (This would explain Walken/Zorin's NY accent). M then sends Bond to investigate Zorin at a party his Chantilly estate. While there Bond meets and flirts with Zorin's mistress/secretary Jenny Flex(who Zorin brought from NY, also explaining her accent) Bond also runs into another lady at the party, his ex-lover, ballerina/KGB agent Pola Ivanova. After some brief flirting and catching up on old times, Pola mysteriously vanishes. To get more info on Zorin, Bond starts romancing Jenny which Zorin learns about and of course has her promptly executed(a la Corinne Dufour). Bond uses his gadgets to listen in on Zorin and his partner-in-crime whom he recognizes as the KGB assasin from the forest. Thru closer detection, Bond realizes that Pola and the KGB assassin are one and the same. Bond is caught spying and is captured by Zorin & put in some deathtrap from which of course he escapes but not without Zorin thinking he is dead.

    Bond continues his mission in pursuit of Pola to learn more about what she and Zorin are up to. The Siberian ski chase could be inserted here where Bond pursues her but ultimately rescues Pola from an avalanche(a la Bond and Elektra). After this experience, they "warm up" in a hot tub reminiscing about old times. As Bond gets more of the information on their plan, Pola doublecrosses Bond and he is again captured by Zorin. It turns out that Zorin and Pola are planning to cause a nuclear blast in outer space over the U.K. to, as Frederick Gray put it, "paralyze us at the Russian's mercy". This will be done after Zorin installs the "nuclear-explosion impervious" microchips(which of course won't be) in all of Britain's national defense systems. In the end, Bond of course thwarts Zorin and Pola's plans with the aid of Mary Ann who Bond ends up with in the final clinch. Tibbett would also have a larger role as Bond's ally and not be killed off. Perhaps Tibbett should become head of Station F-France.
  • saunderssaunders Living in a world of avarice and deceit
    Posts: 987
    Blimey PrinceKamalKhan I was only going to suggest they change the Beach boys 'California girls' track with the slightly more appropriate 'Surfin USA', but you've made me feel I need to put allot more thought and effort into my comment...I know, change the song and make that Chuck Lee guy into a character we actually care whether he gets strangled or not...yeah that should do it, I think now either of our suggested changes would make AVTAK just about ruddy perfect! :)
  • Agree with most of the above. I'd just add: Get rid of the mind-scarring sex scene with May Day and Grandpa Moore!
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    edited March 2011 Posts: 24,159
    Quoting RogueThunderball: Agree with most of the above. I'd just add: Get rid of the mind-scarring sex
    scene with May Day and Grandpa Moore!
    I disagree, actually. It's bold, it's daring. We need to give it to them that at least they brought some people off balance with Bond’s allegedly abnormal sexual exploits in this film. It defies the dullness of the rest of the film, really. At least IMO.
  • Replace the old geezer.
    Replace the scary hench woman.
    Replace the scream queen.

    The rest (kinda) works for me.
  • NicNacNicNac Administrator, Moderator
    Posts: 7,582
    It has all been said. Rog is a legend, we don't dispute that. But why oh why did he go for the fluffy swept back hair style? Had he had a more rackish cut a la LALD he may have looked younger but...heck yeah, I'm no Dalton fan but maybe it was time to change for this film (or even OP). A younger Bond was required.
    I don't mind Mayday tbh, but not with an older Moore.
    Some of the stunt doubling was awful, and the dummy crashing through the boat on to the wedding party was a bit embarrassing.

    I think the fight scenes let the film down so a younger actor may have improved the film by a good 10%.
  • Quoting DarthDimi: I disagree, actually. It's bold, it's daring. We need to give it to them that at least they brought some people off balance with Bond’s allegedly abnormal sexual exploits in this film. It defies the dullness of the rest of the film, really. At least IMO.
    Oh, it's definitely bold, It just doesn't work for me. Part of it is the fact that Moore looks old enough to be her father and I don't find May Day attractive. The whole thing just rubs me the wrong way.
  • AgentJamesBond007AgentJamesBond007 Vesper’s grave
    Posts: 2,632
    I think if Timothy Dalton was Bond for this movie, and a different script featuring a non-shreaking Bond girl would make a larger difference.
  • I concur, Dalton with a different script would have made this a much better movie.
  • Posts: 1,092
    I've grown to love the film, warts and all. It's spotty at times, Rog is looking old, the film is very dated in the 80's, I don't like the Beach Boys song during the PTS, etc. But I also love the oddness.

    I love that Rog is too old. I love that he is out of time, that this is the new age, 80's Bond, out of his element in a flashy action flick. Rog still gives it his all, has a great screen presence here, looks so smooth and comfortable in the role... I just don't care about the other issues. He rocks.

    But I wish they would have played that up more. That this is an older Bond, to give him a proper send off, a tribute film he deserved. I think the finale at the Golden Gate Bridge is amazing and about as close as we could get. But they coulda done better.
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    Posts: 13,355
    John Barry makes sure Moore goes in style - He's Dangerous is one of his best tracks. That to me, coupled with the Golden Gate Bridge is a fantastic send off, something that hasn't been topped for any other actor and with EON how they are, Craig doesn't stand a chance at the moment.
  • Posts: 4,813
    I actually watched AVTAK with my girlfriend the other night and she came up with this great drinking game:
    Everytime it's not Roger Moore as Bond, take a shot. Just think about it... you'd have freaking alcohol poisoning by the end! lol
  • Rewrite it, cast either Dalton or (ideally) Lazenby as Bond, ditch Glen and hire either Peter Hunt or Lewis Gilbert to direct.
  • The entire middle act of the picture needed tightening, Moore was too old, and the action sequences were not exciting in execution despite the good ideas behind them, but all I ask is that May Day stays evil to the very end and actually gets to fight Bond.
  • ShardlakeShardlake Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
    edited March 2011 Posts: 4,043
    Lets face it you can't polish a turd, VTAK is bloody awful, Walken is wasted in what could have been one of the best villains of the series, it showed that Moore was well passed it and made Dalton taking over in TLD that so much more refreshing. Moore showed promise in FYEO after the debacle that is MR but OP & VTAK showed he was just too old despite what Moore groupies think!
  • "Bloody awful..." not the way I would describe any Bond film, but AVTAK is one of my least favorite Bond movies. I think there's a good Bond film trying to get out of there (a nice unnoficial adaptation of John Gardner's Licence Renewed), burried beneath some poor directorial choices and a script that needed a rewrite. OP had some terrible stuff in it too (most of the over-the-top humor) but it does have many things that make up for it, especially the action sequences and the exotic locations.
  • ShardlakeShardlake Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 4,043
    I could describe quite a few Bond films as bloody awful, I can't say I hold them in the same regard I did when I was a kid, films like YOLT, DAF, MR, OP & VTAK are likely to never grace my eyes again, after watching a marathon before QOS was released made me realise that life is too short to be wasting it on films I've seen numerous times and now make me groan throughout. I might have been wowed as a 12 year old watching VTAK but now it's just plain embarassing. As for Brosnan's era I regulary try to remind myself it never happened.

    Yes I used to blindly follow Bond and stick up for it to the point of embarassment but I've seen far too many much better films and some I haven't to want to throw my rose tinted glasses on and trawl through that crap again!

    I
  • Posts: 50
    Why tamper with perfection? :-S
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,978
    AVTAK is easily the nadir of the series, so much to fix. Loose Moore (replaced with Dalton), and Roberts, promote Fullerton to Bond Girl #1 - Stacey and loose Grace Jones as May Day. Those changes right there, would improve the films.

    Of course, that's all within the confines of the AVTAK we know. As alternative, it'd be as above but with Warbeck as Bond. B-)
  • Posts: 638
    Have Bond sleep with Jenny Flex
  • LudsLuds MIA
    Posts: 1,986
    Quoting jaguar007: Have Bond sleep with Jenny Flex
    I concur. Missed opportunity! Why fornicate with MayDay when Jenny was all flexy ;)
  • edited March 2011 Posts: 306
    Quoting Luds:
    I concur. Missed opportunity! Why fornicate with MayDay when Jenny was all flexy ;)
    Exactly! Jenny was underused character and she could have been much more. Shame really.
  • LudsLuds MIA
    Posts: 1,986
    She'd make a great entry for guess the character! I never slept with James Bond but I slept with his "son" ;)
  • Posts: 107
    Quoting Lazenby.: Why tamper with perfection?
    You can't possibly be talking about A View To A Kill; try to keep things on topic. ;-)
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