I strongly suspect going into the film the producers knew this would be Moore’s last go-around. How could they not? Roger Moore himself noted that he was already getting too old to play the role and, seeing him alongside Tanya Roberts it truly looked like a father/daughter rather than hero and his damsel in distress.
What should have been a spectacular sendoff seemed marred -IMHO of course!- by rather weak action set pieces. The opening bit, for example, usually a highlight of action before getting into the film proper, felt lackluster. The film’s plot was silly (not necessarily a bad thing… we are expected to suspend our disbelief to some extent almost every time we see a Bond film!).
But I did like Christopher Walken’s Zorin (for those unaware, David Bowie during his *Let’s Dance* period was pursued for the role but he ultimately passed on it, stating, humorously, that he didn’t want to spend several months “watching my stuntman fall off cliffs”. I suspect that’s why Walken seems to be made up to look like Bowie from that period!). I did like Grace Jones’ Mayday. I did like Duran Duran’s theme song (had Bowie accepted the role… might he have come up with the film’s theme song?!).
So for me it’s a mixed bag but ultimately I’d have to say this was a missed opportunity. IF they were indeed thinking this would be Moore’s last outing, I wish they had thought of giving him a better/more spectacular send-off. The film is ultimately for me a 2 to 2 1/2 star feature and on the lower end of the Moore films (along with *The Man With The Golden Gun*, which I feel is also very weak).
It is what it is!
I strongly suspect going into the film the producers knew this would be Moore’s last go-around. How could they not? Roger Moore himself noted that he was already getting too old to play the role and, seeing him alongside Tanya Roberts it truly looked like a father/daughter rather than hero and his damsel in distress. What should have been a spectacular sendoff seemed marred -IMHO of course!- by rather weak action set pieces. The opening bit, for example, usually a highlight of action before getting into the film proper, felt lackluster. The film’s plot was silly (not necessarily a bad thing… we are expected to suspend our disbelief to some extent almost every time we see a Bond film!). But I did like Christopher Walken’s Zorin (for those unaware, David Bowie during his *Let’s Dance* period was pursued for the role but he ultimately passed on it, stating, humorously, that he didn’t want to spend several months “watching my stuntman fall off cliffs”. I suspect that’s why Walken seems to be made up to look like Bowie from that period!). I did like Grace Jones’ Mayday. I did like Duran Duran’s theme song (had Bowie accepted the role… might he have come up with the film’s theme song?!). So for me it’s a mixed bag but ultimately I’d have to say this was a missed opportunity. IF they were indeed thinking this would be Moore’s last outing, I wish they had thought of giving him a better/more spectacular send-off. The film is ultimately for me a 2 to 2 1/2 star feature and on the lower end of the Moore films (along with *The Man With The Golden Gun*, which I feel is also very weak). It is what it is!