A View to a Kill
1985 · Directed by John Glen
Original language: English
- adventure
- action
- thriller
The story
A newly-developed microchip designed by Zorin Industries for the British Government that can survive the electromagnetic radiation caused by a nuclear explosion has landed in the hands of the KGB. James Bond must find out how and why. His suspicions soon lead him to big industry leader Max Zorin who forms a plan to destroy his only competition in Silicon Valley by triggering a massive earthquake in the San Francisco Bay.
What it’s like
Bright, sun-struck daylight and the chill of overcast grey give this 1985 Bond entry a wide, varied palette: London's mist and drizzle, Parisian cafés washed in pale gold, a rain-slick Oberon-style interior of cold steel and fluorescent glare, and a San Francisco that turns a shimmer of heat into a neon-flecked dread. John Glen's camera is classic and unhurried, with broad establishing wides, steady two-shots, and crisp, glossy studio polish rather than grain. The score swells with brassy synth stabs and big orchestral sweeps, and the soundscape is full of helicopter rotors, racing engines and the rumble of the Golden Gate. The mood is light-hearted escapism with a streak of cool menace, a glamorous, slightly campy adventure built for a spin-the-dial Saturday night or a comfort rewatch with popcorn. Pacing is brisk, with set pieces spaced out between banter and chases, and the emotional register stays playful. A smooth, self-assured spy slowly finds his footing against a sinister tycoon's cool, theatrical menace. Violence is moderate and stylised: fistfights, shootouts, a fiery finale, and a few gunshot deaths, with sexual innuendo but no explicit content. It suits viewers who want big, sun-soaked spectacle and old-school Bond charm.
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