A View To A Kill: Moore's Final Chase

This is a really good edit of A View To A Kill. Watching it I did feel resigned to the fact that I'll never like the movie, no matter what is cut out - for me it's easily Moore's worst 007 film, it's also the first 007 film that I consider a legitimately bad movie. This edit removed nearly everything I would have chosen to remove and it's clearly far superior to the original version. It flows smoothly, nothing that is cut is missed. But I still have to say that it's not a very good movie. This isn't a knock on Lapis at all, I honestly don't think he could have done much more with what he had.

The editing is pretty much flawless, the only time I noticed the audio is with the removal of the Beach Boys song. I feel like using more of the AVTAK score - which is iconic and by far the best thing about the movie - would have been preferable. Somehow the new music in that section doesn't feel like it belongs. alongside the regular score during that scene.

Beyond that the audio and video editing was superb, and the choices made were equally superb. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to find a version of this movie that they can sit through. Don't expect it to become a great Bond movie, but it is now watchable. It's become my go-to version of the movie.

Another Bond edit is always welcome and as a fellow Bond fan, I'm always intrigued to see what Lapis will come up with, particularly as his edits are brave enough to take bold risks to get the film the way he wants it. A View to A Kill - Moore's Final Chase is no exception to that rule and for the most part works extremely well.

As a film, I've always had a soft spot for A View To A Kill. The old criticism that Moore is too old to play the part only bothers me during some of the more outlandish action sequences where you question whether a Bond of that age would be able to do such feats - but hey, we're talking a Roger Moore Bond film here, and in the title role he's as likeable as ever. The story is pretty cool stuff, involving the wonderfully psychotic villain, Max Zorin and his mad plan to destroy California's Silicon Valley, with a terrific performance from Christopher Walken. Then there's one of John Barry's best scores, which makes fantastic use of Duran Duran's excellent theme song during the film, not to mention the always reliable Patrick Macnee and the formidable presence of Mayday, as played by Grace Jones.

Having said that, the film certainly has its faults. John Glenn's direction is a little pedestrian at times, almost like he's getting distracted and longing to make a harder edged Bond film. Also, whilst some of the action set pieces hit the mark in typical Bond fashion, there are also two fist fights which are probably the worst in the series long history. Terribly shot, and choreographed, it's amazing they're from a Bond movie to be honest. Tanya Roberts meanwhile is pretty wooden here as the main Bond girl, Stacey, but I have to say that her character is very likeable nonetheless. Oh and did I mention the Beach Boys? What were they thinking!?? So, with Lapis taking his usual bold approach to fine tune these elements and more beside, I was intrigued to see how Moore's Final Chase turned out.

Firstly, the edit looks great and on the whole the visual editing here is spot on. There are no hard cuts or anything like that, and even sequences which are heavily trimmed such as the firetruck chase, are executed very skillfully and work well in what Lapis is trying to achieve. They may not be the way I would go about approaching such sequences, but that's purely personal taste and Lapis deserves kudos for how well they work here. I did enjoy the way the jacuzzi sequence between Bond and Pola Ivanova was trimmed - nothing is lost in the narrative to the tapes being switched, but you get most of the awkward and cringe inducing double entendres now removed. In fact, I loved the balance that Lapis gets here in making this a more serious Bond caper, but not overly so. There's still the usual Moore charm here, but the skillful edits lend his Bond more believability as secret agent.

The audio editing is mostly good too. However, the removal of the Beach Boys song during the opening ski chase has Lapis using the infamous James Bond theme instead - this in itself is fine of course, but the transition as it ends to then going into Barry's main action cue which is used throughout A View To A Kill, is not very smooth and is in all honesty a bit jarring. Also, as that scene comes to an end and Bond gets into the iceberg sub, the music transitions are clearly coming in and out from the start and ends of scenes which Lapis has cut. It's not terrible, but I did pick up on it. Other than those sequences, the audio editing is well executed.

The choice to end the film on the Golden Gate bridge is a bit too abrupt for me, although with Lapis' intention to not have Bond and Stacey in the shower together in the film's end scene, it was probably the only way to end the edit. It's well done though, and the inclusion of Grace Jones' song from The Avengers film works a treat. Lastly, another post credits scene fails to do anything for me - it feels cheesy and unnecessary. Plus, it comes after the blu-ray technical restoration credits, which just feels weird.

On the whole though, I had a great time with this edit. It's about as bold as one can get in editing down A View to A Kill and still keep the narrative intact. Recommended to all 007 fans ;)

This movie was very enjoyable! The cuts and the pacing the editor did to the film was just awesome! It made the film under a 50 year old Roger Moore being 007 much more serious and a better bond film overall!!! I highly recommend this cut to the fans out there who want to see a good Bond film!!!!

The nips and tucks have made this a far more enjoyable experience . Big recommend and a must have for fans of the franchise.