Orpington

Roger Moore initially intended to walk away from the Bond franchise after finishing Octopussy, which was a not unreasonable decision, given that he was now moving into his late fifties. Cubby Broccoli, however, persuaded him to stay on to make A View to a Kill, which thus became Moore's seventh Bond film, and also his last. Sadly, AVTAK is far from being a great farewell for the man who has starred in more official Bond movies than anyone else, as it is a dull film, devoid of real inspiration and unable to rouse itself from torpor.

Funnily enough, in spite of his age Moore's performance is one of the better things about the film, as he plays it fairly straight and does not just sleepwalk his way through, as he had been guilty of in some of his earlier outings. However, by now there was no hiding the fact that Moore was simply too old to still be playing James Bond; he had got away with it in For Your Eyes Only and (just) in Octopussy, but in AVTAK you can see the wrinkles clearly, and the credibility of the film is thus undermined from the start. It does not help matters that we see him in intimate scenes with a number of (much younger) women, most distressingly in bed with the Amazonian Grace Jones, a sight that is not for the faint-hearted. A jacuzzi scene with Fiona Fullerton also gives us ample opportunity to survey Moore's ageing body, and it does leave you wishing he had quit before this film.

Many others in the cast of AVTAK are of advancing years, including Willoughby Gray as an evil German scientist, Patrick Macnee as Bond's ally Tibbett, and Lois Maxwell, making her fourteenth and final appearance as a by now distinctly matronly Moneypenny. All of them give good performances, but the preponderance of ageing stars certainly helps to rob the film of real dynamism, and little in the way of sexual frisson can be generated between a Bond and a Moneypenny who are both a short way off collecting their bus passes. At least there is good nostalgia value in seeing Moore and Macnee, the Saint and the Avenger, working together and clearly enjoying doing so, and Macnee is very enjoyable in his role.

In fairness, the age of the cast wouldn't matter so much if the film was exciting, but sadly the pace is pedestrian and the story never takes off. From a deeply unimaginative pre-title sequence, which sees OO7 involved in yet another ski chase, AVTAK is quite happy to be Bond-by-numbers, and John Glen directs with less spark than in his other Bond films. The action scenes are uninspired and, in the case of a fire engine chase through San Francisco, pretty stupid, with only the final showdown on the Golden Gate Bridge generating any real excitement. There is also some horrendous back projection, which is quite incredible for a film made in the mid-80s, and just adds to its creaky feel. The villains, sadly, don't really give a lift to proceedings, even though Christopher Walken plays the psychotic industrialist Max Zorin, Bond's main opponent. Walken tries his best with the character, certainly making him nutty and disturbed, but the limitations of the script prevent him from making Zorin a convincing villain, and it is ultimately an unsuccessful performance. Grace Jones is more effective as May Day, mainly because she is such an imposing and intimidating figure, but the effect is rather spoiled when she is finally allowed to open her mouth towards the end. Someone else who opens her mouth far too much is the irritating Tanya Roberts as Stacy Sutton, who we are supposed to believe is a geologist but does little more than scream a lot. Undoubtedly, she is one of the worst Bond girls ever.

AVTAK is without question the worst Bond film of the 80s, and certainly one of the weaker entries in the franchise. Its only real saving graces are a handful of good performances and Duran Duran's dynamic title song, the last truly classic Bond theme. It is a pity Moore had to go out in this way; he may not have been the best Bond, but he turned in some effective performances during his reign, and ensured the continuation of the series. Some new blood and a new direction were, however, now needed urgently, and thankfully they would arrive in the next chapter of the Bond saga.

The huge success of GoldenEye ensured the future of the Bond franchise, and when Tomorrow Never Dies came along two years later it again did big business at the Box Office, confirming OO7's enduring popularity. Sadly, if falls a long way short of the standards set by its predecessor, sacrificing any attempts at plot or character development in favour of a non-stop succession of action sequences, flashy gadgets and hi-tech sets. The result is a film that is mildly entertaining but lacking in any real tension, threat or depth, making it one of the most forgettable and disappointing entries in the Bond franchise.

One of the big disappointments of the film is Pierce Brosnan's Bond. After his excellent debut performance in GoldenEye, which presented OO7 as a well-rounded character, Brosnan is given a script in TND which requires him to do nothing more than go through the motions. He therefore does all the usual Bond things - the fighting, the seduction, the quips - but the depth that he brought to the character in GoldenEye is totally missing, as this film is only interested in Bond as action hero. There is one particularly cringeworthy scene where Brosnan wanders around wielding a machine gun like Arnie or Sly Stallone, not exactly the behaviour you would expect from Ian Fleming's gentleman spy, but certainly what you would expect from filmmakers whose only concern is to make as many dollars as possible.

Brosnan's flat performance is matched by his co-stars. Jonathan Pryce's Elliot Carver is arguably the weakest villain ever to appear in a Bond film; he is not remotely threatening, and Pryce is so hammy in the role he just makes Carver camp and extremely irritating. As for the women, Michelle Yeoh's high-kicking Wai Lin certainly holds her own against OO7 in the fight scenes, but Yeoh is far from being either an accomplished actress or a great beauty, and Wai Lin is a forgettable and one-dimensional Bond girl. Teri Hatcher, as the doomed Paris Carver, scores over Yeoh in the looks department, but Paris is another character who lacks any real depth, and in any case she is disposed of quite rapidly. The film's lack of originality is also underscored by the appearance of yet another blonde, Red Grant-style henchman, who is about as unmemorable as you can get. The only cast members who really shine are Vincent Schiavelli as the comically evil Dr Kaufman, a classic "talking villain," and Judi Dench as M; Q is also back once more, in an all-too-brief scene, in order to give Bond his fancy remote-controlled BMW.

Rather like the characters, the plot takes second place to the action, although the premise of a media tycoon trying to engineer a war for ratings is at least contemporary, and if it had been fleshed out properly it could have been interesting. As it is, the story is just a peg on which to hang the action, and all it really does is retread the scripts of You Only Live Twice and The Spy Who Loved Me, albeit in glossier fashion. As far as the action sequences themselves are concerned, director Roger Spottiswoode undoubtedly pulls them off with flair, but for the most part they just feel formulaic and unexciting; indeed, there are points where TND feels more like a John Woo-style film than a Bond adventure. The look of the film is also very stylised and self-consciously "modern," so much so that it will probably seem quite dated in years to come, more so than some older Bond films. It is another element that makes the film all style and no substance.

In essence, TND is about as shallow as a Bond film can get. I did like David Arnold's Barryesque score, and Sheryl Crow's title song is quite good, but generally speaking the film is nothing more than mindless popcorn entertainment. There is nothing inherently wrong with that, of course, but Bond films can, and should, amount to something more, and for that reason TND is one of my least favourite in the entire canon.

On Her Majesty's Secret Service will probably always remain the most controversial entry in the Bond series, thanks both to its unusually human and romantic story, and the notorious casting of novice actor George Lazenby as OO7. Some think these elements ruin the film, while others hail OHMSS as the best Bond ever. I wouldn't go that far in my praise, but for me this is still one of the classic Bond films, true to Ian Fleming's original vision and arguably showing OO7 in a more realistic light than any other film in the franchise.

To get the Lazenby issue out of the way first, it is certainly true to say that he lacks the charisma of the man he (temporarily) replaced, Sean Connery, and his impossibly chiselled jaw is somewhat irritating. However, he does look the part, and for a first-time actor he turns in a remarkably assured performance, particularly in the fight scenes but also in Bond's more tender moments, most notably in the highly emotional finale. If Lazenby had gone on to make more Bond films (and it was his own decision not to do so) he could well have developed into a very fine OO7, but as it is I still find his performance in OHMSS perfectly acceptable, and not damaging to the film in any way.

The film itself represented a conscious attempt to get back to Fleming after the increasingly extravagant antics of Thunderball and You Only Live Twice. Director Peter Hunt, who had edited the classic early Connery films, was very keen to remain faithful to Fleming's original story, and as a result OHMSS has an unusually strong emphasis on character and plot, with the gadgetry and humour found in most Bond films largely jettisoned. Rather like From Russia with Love, OHMSS feels like a real spy adventure, as Bond tracks Blofeld down and even adopts a disguise as he infiltrates his arch-enemy's Alpine hideaway, Piz Gloria. Where this film is unique, however, is in the level of emotion it invests in OO7's relationships with others. We see this early in the film when Bond quarrels with M and submits his resignation, a sequence which really brings out the affection which both M and Moneypenny have for him, but which M especially prefers to keep concealed. This affection is brought out again near the end during Bond and Tracy's wedding, when Q sheds his normal exasperation and shows us his fondness and respect for OO7.

However, it is of course the relationship between Bond and Tracy which gives the film its emotional heart. OHMSS sees Bond fall genuinely in love for the first and only time, and personally I found the film's romantic scenes both tender and touching, particularly for being so unexpected in a Bond film. The casting of Diana Rigg as Tracy helps immeasurably in making us believe in this romance, as she is a rare example of a proper actress taking on the role of a Bond girl, and her dynamic, spirited performance makes it easy to see why Bond would fall for her and marry her. It also helps the film's tragic conclusion, itself unique in the Bond franchise, pack far more of an emotional punch than might otherwise have been the case.

Of course, the film has more going for it than just an unusually human Bond.

Hunt directs with great skill, and the Alpine scenery that dominates the film looks absolutely stunning. There is no shortage of great action either, the highlights being a tense and gripping ski chase and an equally thrilling bobsleigh pursuit. Telly Savalas makes for a very effective Blofeld, understated and sinister, and his Rosa Klebb-like henchwoman Irma Bunt is played with relish by Ilse Steppat. There are also echoes of FRWL in the character of Draco, Tracy's father, who is a charismatic Bond ally in the style of Kerim Bey. Special mention should be given to John Barry, who produced his greatest Bond soundtrack for OHMSS. The opening instrumental theme, with its sombre and foreboding tone, sets the serious mood of the film, while the classic We Have All the Time in the World, sung by Louis Armstrong, is the perfect soundtrack to Bond and Tracy's doomed love.

However, while OHMSS is undoubtedly a classic Bond film, it just falls short of my personal top five for two principal reasons. The first of these is that the film is too long, primarily because the central section, where Bond infiltrates Piz Gloria in disguise, is dragged out for far longer than was necessary. Blofeld's plan to use beautiful women as carriers of a devastating eco-virus is the other main weakness, because it is totally preposterous and does not fit into the film's serious nature. I must admit also that, good as Lazenby is, I do wish Connery had agreed to make this film, because with him on board, and a little more editing, I think it could have been the best Bond ever, even beating FRWL. As it is, OHMSS is still a very strong film, its bold deviations from the Bond formula paying off handsomely. It is just a crying shame that it did not perform better at the Box Office, because this would encourage the Bond producers to shift to the high-camp, comic style that would dominate the franchise during the 1970s; sadly, it would be more than a decade before a serious, Flemingesque Bond would reappear on the big screen.