In tribute to Roger Moore, I now post a revised portion of a previous post which originally appeared on December 8, 2012.
Bond (James Bond) In The '80s
With James Bond back in theaters, it got me thinking back to James Bond as he was in the '80s. Bond, of course, was present in films dating back to the early '60s with the first James Bond, Sean Connery. By the time the 1980s started, Bond was being played by Roger Moore, who was chronologically the third actor to play Bond in the movies.
But, as classic as Sean Connery and his brief substitute, George Lazenby, may have been, it was Roger Moore that I first remember as Bond, in television broadcasts of his '70s Bond films like The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and Moonraker (1979). In the early '80s, he was still going strong as Bond, in For Your Eyes Only (1981), and the film whose title I originally thought belonged to a comedy spoof, before I realized it was that of an actual Bond film, Octopussy (1983).
Moore's last Bond film was 1985's A View to A Kill. Although sometimes not accorded the critical respect of certain other Bond films, I can't help but think that A View to A Kill was the quintessential '80s Bond flick. Released in the very middle of the decade, it featured many of the traits we all know and love from that era.
This film featured Christopher Walken as the very '80s, yet also very Bond, villain, in the form of an evil computer mogul. The perfect villain at the dawning of the computer age. In yet another very '80s twist, A View to a Kill also featured Grace Jones in the role of similarly villainous May Day. And if all that weren't '80s enough, there was the very '80s theme song from Duran Duran. Whats not to like?