"50 Years of Bond" Retrospective - #14: A View to a Kill

For Your Eyes Only started the official downward spiral of Roger Moore’s career as James Bond, as people were starting to get pretty sick of him. Octopussy didn’t help in giving it any new life. But, when A View to a Kill came out, it slaughtered that era.

This was the first Bond film to be produced by current Bond co-producer Michael G. Wilson, and what a weak way to start that trend. This is such an uninspired, ridiculous, half baked, overblown and boring mess of a film that, at the time, was the worst Bond film yet. IT DIDN’T EVEN DESERVE TO SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY, AND YET THEY STILL GAVE IT THE GREENLI-okay, let’s just talk about it for a minute.

"50 Years of Bond" Retrospective - #13: Octopussy

Roger Moore’s downfall had begun with the release of For Your Eyes Only, and over time, the reception of every new release would only get worse, and worse. The second step of the downfall came two years later in Octopussy, a confusing and downright dry exercise in Bond filmmaking. The Roger Moore films always had a knack at being downright absurd, which either hurt or helped the movie’s case, depending on how it was used. Octopussy isn’t always so absurd, but it does have its moments, but that’s not why it’s so bad. It isn’t just ridiculous, it’s boring, which you could argue is even worse.

"50 Years of Bond" Retrospective - #12: For Your Eyes Only

There came a period in Roger Moore’s career when his time as Bond started to fade. When did it all begin? Some say it started with Moonraker, others say it started with Octopussy, but I say it started right in the middle with For Your Eyes Only. This was the first film directed by longtime editor of the franchise John Glen, who had never directed a film before, but was interested in taking the franchise in new directions. By new directions, I mean a complete demonstration of why he was so unqualified to be given the reigns for this project in the first place. Not that the story gave him anything to actually work with.

"50 Years of Bond" Retrospective - #11: Moonraker

If you’ve seen my reviews for Thunderball and Diamonds Are Forever, you know I’m quite critical of follow ups to great films. Moonraker kinda falls into that same pit, but I enjoy it more than those other two. It was made at a time when Sci-Fi was all the rage, none the least of which was Star Wars, which eclipsed The Spy Who Loved Me in popularity. That idea is pretty outlandish, and I suppose the goofy charm of Roger Moore is starting to wear a little thin, but if you can get past its gimmicks, it is fairly enjoyable.

"50 Years of Bond" Retrospective - #10: The Spy Who Loved Me

The Spy Who Loved Me was a film of many firsts for the James Bond franchise. It was the first film that was not produced by original co-head of EON, Harry Saltzman. It was also, despite taking the title from one of Fleming’s books, the first Bond film that didn’t use a SINGLE element from his original story. The Roger Moore films had this reputation of being fun, albeit quite absurd and light films. This was the movie that people had been waiting to see of James Bond since Goldfinger, and it is the best Bond film since Goldfinger. Thrilling, romantic, funny, superbly acted, beautifully filmed, and even occasionally intense, this is everything that makes a great film, and The Spy Who Loved Me is a great film.

"50 Years of Bond" Retrospective - #9: The Man With the Golden Gun

Out of all the entries in the 007 franchise, The Man with the Golden Gun is probably my vote for most underrated. Nowadays, that’s not a popular opinion. A lot of people seem to have really mixed feelings about it. Yes, it can be said that maybe the film is a bit too goofy at times, especially since I recently criticized Diamonds Are Forever for that very reason, but I feel like this earned more of the silliness. With a great setup, great action, and a fantastic villain, not only do I think Golden Gun is as good as Live and Let Die, I think it’s even better.

"50 Years of Bond" Retrospective - #8: Live and Let Die

After the disastrously disappointing Diamonds Are Forver, Harry Saltzman and Albert Broccoli looked to the future, targeting Ian Fleming’s Live and Let Die as their next entry in the series. With Connery finally retiring from playing the character, and going on to torment Alex Trebek in the future, they sought after new talent to fill his shoes. This was the era of Bond number three, Roger Moore. Moore was an English actor best known for his role in the long running TV series The Saint, and had his own history with Bond. He was reportedly one of the actors considered by the producers to play 007 in Dr. No, but Moore claims he wasn’t approached about it until this very film. Whichever the case, it appears they learned from their mistakes, for Live and Let Die is one of the more entertaining entries in the 007 saga.