Look, I know I have no hope of changing your opinion on Dalton. But why can't you at least respect the fact that he was portraying Bond as Fleming wrote him?
It has nothing to do with respect. Look, I don't dislike Dalton generally. I think he's a good actor and a terrific guy, however I really dislike his Bond.
I can't really answer that. I have never read Fleming, so all I can say is that I like the cinematic Bond. Does that mean I don't like literature Bond? I'll let you know when I eventually read Fleming.
And Dalton's Bond did have class. He may not have had the brilliant one liners with the cute raised eyebrow that charmed your pants off like Moore (nothing wrong with this about Moore's protrayal, he was great for what he did), but he still had class.
I don't agree with that. We've discussed this before, but I honestly can't think of an example in which Dalton's Bond showed class.
The least you and others can acknowledge his literary aim as valid and have respect for it and his fans.
This is the second time you have brought up respect, which astounds me as it doesn't have anything to do with it. Do I need to respect Dalton's literally aim? Well, I acknowledge it, but we are talking about a performance here, not the man himself. As for respecting or not respecting his fans, I don't think I need to even address that.
"He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back—that’s an earthquake. and then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you’re finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory." Death of a Salesman
LoeffelholzThe United States, With LovePosts: 8,998Quartermasters
Look, I don't dislike Dalton generally. I think he's a good actor and a terrific guy, however I really dislike his Bond.
Golly, how odd! That reminds me of another Bond actor... :v
{[]
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Look, I don't dislike Dalton generally. I think he's a good actor and a terrific guy, however I really dislike his Bond.
Golly, how odd! That reminds me of another Bond actor... :v
{[]
) I really do think that Moore and Dalton are the nicest of all the Bonds. Connery was, well, Connery , Lazenby didn't impress Diana Rigg, Brosnan didn't have wonderful things to say about EON, Craig has had a couple of spats with photographers/journalists, while Moore and Dalton have always been on their absolute best behaviour and have never had anything but great things to say about being Bond. -{
"He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back—that’s an earthquake. and then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you’re finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory." Death of a Salesman
LoeffelholzThe United States, With LovePosts: 8,998Quartermasters
Here's to the both of them {[] especially as how they can only be ambassadors for the franchise...
Salut! -{
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
I've changed my mind about it now, think it's a great film.
One of the film's great merits IMO is the suspense. I really think it's full of suspense, with scenes such as Bond collapsing after having the drink in Kara's room, and most of the scenes on the plane - Bond and Necros fighting, the bomb, the plane nearly crashing... great suspense, great action.
Storyline is also more clear to me now, and I think it's quite a strong storyline, makes you more engaged because you need to think when watching it, and it's less predictable. Any new viewer to it would actually probably believe that Koskov's defection was real.
I still feel the same about the villains though in that they're very weak. Except Necros that is, who is one of the best henchmen ever!
I also think the scene with Bond and Kara escaping on the Cello is just stupid!
And is it me, or is the guy that plays Saunders a really bad actor? lol
Anyway, decent film which has gone up on my list. 8/10
I've changed my mind about it now, think it's a great film.
One of the film's great merits IMO is the suspense. I really think it's full of suspense, with scenes such as Bond collapsing after having the drink in Kara's room, and most of the scenes on the plane - Bond and Necros fighting, the bomb, the plane nearly crashing... great suspense, great action.
Storyline is also more clear to me now, and I think it's quite a strong storyline, makes you more engaged because you need to think when watching it, and it's less predictable. Any new viewer to it would actually probably believe that Koskov's defection was real.
I still feel the same about the villains though in that they're very weak. Except Necros that is, who is one of the best henchmen ever!
I also think the scene with Bond and Kara escaping on the Cello is just stupid!
And is it me, or is the guy that plays Saunders a really bad actor? lol
Anyway, decent film which has gone up on my list. 8/10
Ah, now, these are the kind of posts I like to read! {[] The pro-Living Daylights camp is starting to feel a lot less lonely of late.
Necros is indeed a great henchman and the use of the "Necros theme" in the movie is brilliant. Everything you say is spot on, including alas the slightly stupid escape. You didn't mention the Dalton-Monneypenny chemistry which in my opinion is the single weakest element of the movie.
What did you think of the PTS?
Oh yes, Moneypenny and Bond chemistry was pretty awful in this. I mean, 'Barry Manilowe' collection? Come on! Very cheesey indeed, it did make me cringe, and I agree, a very weak element.
The PTS was brilliant I thought. No 'TSWLM', but still greatly action-packed, very memorable, some elements of comedy ('wait, you're supposed to be dead' - or however it went), and of course, Bond dropping in on the woman. A great intro for Dalton. Shame about the title song though, lol.
I loved "The Living Daylights." It's one of my favorite Bond movies. Plus it redeemed the franchise after the disaster of "A View To A Kill."
The weakest point in the movie had to be the villains, especially Brad Whitaker. I don't know if it was just the role or Joe Don Baker's performance of it. It wasn't that good at all. Plus I didn't like the confrontation between Bond and Whitaker. It was sorta lame. Robert Davi was pretty cool in "LTK." The finale between him and Bond in that was awesome.
Koskov was pretty well drawn and played. I also enjoyed seeing John Rhys-Davies in the movie. He's always been a fave of mine.
I did love the exotic locales. I thought they were nice. I did like the whole Cold War storyline and still do.
Necros was a great henchman. I liked his exploding milk bottles. That whole scene was amazing. I also loved his fight with Bond on the cargo plane's net. That was pretty exciting.
I did love the PTS. It was cool when we first see Dalton as Bond. The whole scene was amazing. I loved him on top of the truck. It was cool when he landed on that woman's boat.
The theme song was also great. I usually go for something more like "Goldfinger" or even "The World Is Not Enough," but I liked this one. It and the theme for "AVTAK" were cool.
Not the best Bond girl ever, but she was pretty to look at. I think she was better than Carey Lowell in "LTK."
I look at the living daylights as a film where the producers didn't back up there leading man enough. Dalton wanted to go dark with the character yet the filmmakers still wanted some (toned down) gags from the moore era. The Chello sequence for me is out of a Moore film not a Dalton.
Dalton is two steps ahead of the filmmakers in terms of making it more realistic and grounded. The stuntwork is upto par with any other Bond tho but as many people have said the characters are pretty bland.
I love TLD. Dalton was an awesome Bond. He played him with such reality. It was John Barry's last and one of his best scores IMO. The only parts that I disliked were the villains and the bond girl.
Whitaker was not sinister, evil, or menacing. He was just a fat cow who sat around playing with toys. Koskov was okay but still not as menacing as other villains.
Kara was great... until the end. All she did at the end was yell in the most annoying way... "JAMES"!!!!! She was a pain in the bottom for Bond. Also, by trying to catch up with Bond, she let Necros jump on the plane and almost kill Bond. She was so stupid to open up the plane hatch. What was she thinking?! That Bond is just glued to the floor and Necros will fly out like a giant bird? The only good thing she did was try and run over Koskov(which would have been cool to see by the way IMO).
Watched part of this on Saturday night after Shaun of The Dead and two bottles of white wine. The Vicar St Clare Savignon Blanc from Threshers is definitely recommended.
I quite enjoyed it in my p1ssed state, some things stood out. I enjoyed the post one member made about Dalton smoking a cig on hearing of his mate's defection (signifies hot air). Also, though it seemed a dull looking film at the time compared with Moore's lavish technicolour epics, the cinematography now seems lovely compared with Brosnan's dull or strange looking films, and while Glen is by no means perfect, he has less incongrous direction than his successors.
Some early snags however. Dalton setting off on his run after the Land Rover... 8-) he wobbles a bit. His drop into the boat, well, you need comic genius timing to pull off that "Better make that two (hours)" corny line, and Dalton actually fluffs it... you'd think they'd ask for a retake.
All that pig gas tank energy source is another thing I don't like in Bond films imo, no idea what it is, like conflict diamonds in DAD, I'm introduced to it and then have to take it on board, it's too much information.
I went out to the karsey for the boring Dalton stalking the girl with the cello getting moved by her recital as she plucks that instrument between her legs oh please yourself then so came back for the Aston Martin chase. Not groundbreaking but classier than the DAD similar ice chase. The films just seemed to have more integrity back then somehow.
Dalton looked very handsome, though not broad shouldered enough, it was like his head was too big for his body sometimes. I liked the Pushkin stuff, and Bond's admission: "If I trusted whatshisname, you wouldn't be alive..." I think I gave up when Bond met Felix Leiter.
The Living Daylights is a fantastic Bond film. I have moved it to my #6 spot after being #10 or so for a long time. Licence to Kill is barely behind it mainly because it is not quite as fun.
This movie had almost everything you could ask for in a Bond film. A beautiful and sexy leading Bond girl, an unforgettable John Barry score (I miss the hell out of him), classic action sequences, great allies and henchman, classic Q moments, and a wonderful actor playing Bond who developed a style quicker than possibly any other 007 actor.
Looking back, I think that the relationship between 007 and Kara Milovy has got to be the most heartfelt romance 007 ever had with a woman that he did not marry. The only other ones that come close in my opinion are Tatiana Romanova, Octopussy, and maybe Pam Bouvier. Their kissing scene on the ferris wheel was the most respectable, honest, and sophisticated romantic stunt 007 ever pulled. I actually believed they cared for each other, especially after Koskov betrayed them. Their chemistry was remarkable and the fact that they never officially "did it" made it even better.
Necros was a fantastic henchman. Only Xenia Onnatop has rivaled him since in my opinion. I love the song he listens to while running. I ran with headphones for the first time today and guess what I listened to? That's right: "Where Has Everybody Gone?" by The Pretenders and John Barry. Q's "Ghetto Blaster" is unforgettable, Kamran Shah was a good ally, and the cello chase sequence was in my opinion something Roger could not have pulled of as easy. Sure this film has some Moore-like humor, but it also has many other things that Moore would have struggled to pull off.
The villains were kind of weak, but Joe Don Baker is always fun to watch. How many times is Jeroen Krabbe going to
play a alleged ally who turns out to be bad? First this film, then The Fugitive, and Deuce Bigalow 2 (Yes, I watched it. We all make mistakes).
The fight with Necros in the kitchen made up for the average villains.
Shame Timothy Dalton did not get to do films in 1991 and 1993. If he did, he would probably be my #1 right now. He is tied with Brosnan for 3rd on my list. Roger and Sean are the best.
The Living Daylights is definitely in my top ten favorite Bond films. It was kind of a breath of fresh air to have a more gritty film and this felt much more like a Bond film to me than AVTAK which preceeded it. It kind of reminds me of FRWL in a way. The plot is very good, exciting, and has some nice twists. The teaser is great, that Pretenders song adds some good atmosphere to the movie, Necros is a great henchman, and I love the defections and fake defections and general Cold War feel this film has. Also enjoy the scene with Bond and Pushkin where Bond is there to assasinate him. That feels like classic Fleming Bond to me. The film does has its drawbacks, particularly weak villains and the worthless 30 seconds of Felix Leiter. Why was he even included? Not to mention he's one of the worst Leiter's in the series.
How did you manage to judge John Terry as one of the worst Felix Leiter in the franchise . . . from thirty seconds on film?
I think that most do not really dislike Terry as Felix Leiter, they just think he was not in it enough to be judged. That is my view anyways.
The worst for me was probably Rick van Nutter in Thunderball, but he is slightly more well liked than Terry because he has much more screen time in his film.
One of the most cringe-inducing deliveries is when John Terry says "You mean this was a put-up job?" Maybe if the line was delivered as a statement rather than a question it would have given him more credibility. John Terry has since established himself as a very competent performer in shows such as 'Lost' and the 'Into the West' miniseries, but in TLD he was bit green.
How did you manage to judge John Terry as one of the worst Felix Leiter in the franchise . . . from thirty seconds on film?
I think that most do not really dislike Terry as Felix Leiter, they just think he was not in it enough to be judged. That is my view anyways.
The worst for me was probably Rick van Nutter in Thunderball, but he is slightly more well liked than Terry because he has much more screen time in his film.
Yes, I'm sure this is part of it. He also didn't look anything like what I felt Leiter should look like (though that is a problem with many of the actors who play him). His dialogue was horrendous as Darenhat mentioned and he also had no chemistry whatsoever with Dalton (though it is arguably tough to have chemistry for that little screen time). Maybe I would feel differently if he had more screen time but the thought only makes me shudder considering the bad dialogue we got from him for 30 seconds. I also feel like he was kind of tacked on to the film. It's not really necessary for him to be in it. Almost like the writers said 'hey we haven't seen felix for awhile. let's fit him in somehow.'
I blow hot and cold over TLD. Currently it is really low on my list.
I think my problem with it is the uneasy marriage between Moore-isms and the Dalton-esque. To me, it is clear the writers still had in mind Sir Roger and his style, and when Dalton was signed, they performed some hasty re-writes.
Unfortunately the plethora of villians is very reminiscent of FYEO, O, AVTAK. The scenes in Tangier almost as a whole are appalling and Whittaker is a poor villian. This is the fault of both Joe Don Baker and the crass lines he's given. The small element of menace supplied by Necros is wiped out by the goofing of most of the other characters, including those in Afghanistan.
Thomas Wheatley comes out of it very well, and his scenes with Dalton are good. Maryam D'Abo is a shallow heroine; good looking, yes,but I find her disappointing as a cellist, an assassin, a soldier or a lover. She doesnt't have the depth of range for such a complicated role.
However some of the scripting is very good. I agree whole-heartedly with comments on the Bratislava scenes, the "framing" of Pushkin, the PTS.
The good bits of TLD are when the writers constructed new elements to Bond's character, specifically for Dalton; the bad bits (which I am afraid for me outweigh the good) are the harks back to the previous era. LTK made a cleaner break - but even that shares similar faults.
I feel quite sorry for Timothy Dalton, who was never given a fair crack at Bond. IMO the harder edge Maibaum and Wilson gave Roger Moore in FYEO would have suited Dalton 100%. But I think Brocolli and co were getting lazy post 1981 and the rot had set in for the rest of the decade. Pity.
The worst for me was probably Rick van Nutter in Thunderball, but he is slightly more well liked than Terry because he has much more screen time in his film.
For me, the worst Felix Leiter was Cec Linder in GOLDFINGER. Boy, was he terrible.
Unfortunately, we've had quite a few terrible Felix Leiter's. It's like the one role they could just never get right. The best they ever had was Jack Lord and he only lasted one film. He at least seemed like a competent agent and had good chemistry with Connery. Maybe Jeffrey Wright will bring some depth back to the role.
The worst for me was probably Rick van Nutter in Thunderball, but he is slightly more well liked than Terry because he has much more screen time in his film.
For me, the worst Felix Leiter was Cec Linder in GOLDFINGER. Boy, was he terrible.
Unfortunately, we've had quite a few terrible Felix Leiter's. It's like the one role they could just never get right. The best they ever had was Jack Lord and he only lasted one film. He at least seemed like a competent agent and had good chemistry with Connery. Maybe Jeffrey Wright will bring some depth back to the role.
Jeffrey Wright is indeed the best actor to take on the role of Felix Leiter since Jack Lord. I hope they decide to take the character back to his Texas roots.
Ah, Jack Lord in the groovy sunglasses. That was a Felix!
In Dr. No Leiter was a real character that worked with Bond, not just an obligatory addition like Moneypenny or Q.
I'd love to see Jeffery Wright's Felix helping Bond throughout 22.
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Ah, Jack Lord in the groovy sunglasses. That was a Felix!
In Dr. No Leiter was a real character that worked with Bond, not just an obligatory addition like Moneypenny or Q.
I'd love to see Jeffery Wright's Felix helping Bond throughout 22.
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Possibly a missed opportunity to not have Jack Lord return as Leiter in Connery's Never Say Never Again, though Bernie Casey wasn't bad in it. As for Wright, I don't exactly dislike him and he looks like a Felix. In no way does he resemble Fleming's character. And he really hardly had any screen time, really not much more than the one in TLD, just spread out a little bit.
What with that and Mathis, there's a lot]/i] of stuff for Bond 22 to pad out/address.
As we seem to have progressed onto which Felix was the best Cat....yeh, Jack Lord, by a mile, but I always feel he's just auditioning for Hawaii 5-0. Felix Leither has always been underwritten in the Bond series of films; the best opportunity was TB but the writers relegated him to a helicopter pilot, in the novel he's much more involved. He appears a lot in LALD, but like the novel, his involvement peters out towards the climax. I liked Bernie Casey's interpretation, but CR left me cold. Leither has hardly any screen time at all, while in the novel he is a very prominent character. Mathis features as a good guy in CR and I was disappointed he is turned into a bad guy for the film.
In terms of TLD (to get on thread) Leither's role is hardly required at all and I always found it irritating that he appeared. I think the writers of the '80s Bonds were generally lazy and really struggled to concoct efficient stories, which is why the films dragged on way past the 2 hour mark and tended to have long action scenes to compenstae for the dreadful scripting.
TLD is one of my favourite Bond movies. After RM creaked his way through AVTAK Dalton was a breath of fresh air. Here was Bond as he was suppossed to be - fit and lethal.
OK there are some faults with it. As has been pointed out in places there is an uneasy mix of old RM and new TD. Also due to the massive changes which have taken place in the world since it was made it has probably dated worse than any other Bond movie.
However there is an awful lot right with it.
The PTS was exciting without being OTT and introduced a leaner harder Bond.
Bond's opening assignment to shoot the sniper is exactly the type of mission a 00 would be sent on. You can never imagine RM's Bond being given this type of job.
The scene on the ferris wheel is genuinely romantic.
After Saunder's death when Bond vaults the fence you just know if it had been Necros holding the balloons Bond would have shot him where he stood. Credit to TD for making Bond deadly again.
The hotel room scene with Pushkin also nicely shows Bond's ruthlessness and Dalton's acting ability.
The final fight with Necros hanging out of the back of the plane is one of the most exciting sequences from any Bond movie.
The plot is slightly more complex than the standard Bond movie but its not exactly The Da Vinci Code.
Miriam D'Abo makes an appealing Bond girl. Not your standard leggy blonde, even slightly gawky, but she is attractive and helps Bond without trying to be his equal.
Kamran Shah and Saunders are good allies, and Felix is underused as usual. You get the feeling Felix is only in it to say 'different actor same character'.
I readily admit there are weaknesses with TLD. The main weakness is the lack of a strong villian. Koskov is too urbane and affable. Whittaker lacks menace. Besides how can you take a villian seriouly called Brad Whitaker. As a vaillians name its not exactly on a par with Auric Goldfinger or Hugo Drax. Necros is the only respectable villian.
It was a good introduction to a new Bond and should have been the foundation for 4/5 movies for Dalton.
The plot is slightly more complex than the standard Bond movie but its not exactly The Da Vinci Code.
Is that the standard for judging good movies?
I think TLD had some weak points - the villian never seemed a threat and the plot certainly did need a little clarification,
That said, I always thought that it was one of the better movies of the series. Bond gives a great performance, its well paced, great henchman, strong leading lady.
Every Bond film will have its let downs, but the let downs of this one are fewer and further between than in AVTAK.
To me the Da Vinci code plot - overly long and pointless. Too many characters are included who could have been cut (Farce, the Opeis Dei bishop) and a certain character who was the catalyst for the entire story but who's inclussion in it was mere coincidence. Leigh Teabing, I'm looking straight at you.
And Tom Hanks had wierd hair. Not a plot point, but certainly did detract from the movie.
I can not believe this, but I'm going to have to agree with taity on this. I think that The Da Vinci Code simply appears convoluted and complex as it doesn't have much of a plot to ring home about and so the writers have thrown everything into it in an attempt to make up for its lack of plot.
"He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back—that’s an earthquake. and then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you’re finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory." Death of a Salesman
Comments
I can't really answer that. I have never read Fleming, so all I can say is that I like the cinematic Bond. Does that mean I don't like literature Bond? I'll let you know when I eventually read Fleming.
I don't agree with that. We've discussed this before, but I honestly can't think of an example in which Dalton's Bond showed class.
This is the second time you have brought up respect, which astounds me as it doesn't have anything to do with it. Do I need to respect Dalton's literally aim? Well, I acknowledge it, but we are talking about a performance here, not the man himself. As for respecting or not respecting his fans, I don't think I need to even address that.
Golly, how odd! That reminds me of another Bond actor... :v
{[]
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Salut! -{
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
I've changed my mind about it now, think it's a great film.
One of the film's great merits IMO is the suspense. I really think it's full of suspense, with scenes such as Bond collapsing after having the drink in Kara's room, and most of the scenes on the plane - Bond and Necros fighting, the bomb, the plane nearly crashing... great suspense, great action.
Storyline is also more clear to me now, and I think it's quite a strong storyline, makes you more engaged because you need to think when watching it, and it's less predictable. Any new viewer to it would actually probably believe that Koskov's defection was real.
I still feel the same about the villains though in that they're very weak. Except Necros that is, who is one of the best henchmen ever!
I also think the scene with Bond and Kara escaping on the Cello is just stupid!
And is it me, or is the guy that plays Saunders a really bad actor? lol
Anyway, decent film which has gone up on my list. 8/10
1 - Moore, 2 - Dalton, 3 - Craig, 4 - Connery, 5 - Brosnan, 6 - Lazenby
Ah, now, these are the kind of posts I like to read! {[] The pro-Living Daylights camp is starting to feel a lot less lonely of late.
Necros is indeed a great henchman and the use of the "Necros theme" in the movie is brilliant. Everything you say is spot on, including alas the slightly stupid escape. You didn't mention the Dalton-Monneypenny chemistry which in my opinion is the single weakest element of the movie.
What did you think of the PTS?
The PTS was brilliant I thought. No 'TSWLM', but still greatly action-packed, very memorable, some elements of comedy ('wait, you're supposed to be dead' - or however it went), and of course, Bond dropping in on the woman. A great intro for Dalton. Shame about the title song though, lol.
1 - Moore, 2 - Dalton, 3 - Craig, 4 - Connery, 5 - Brosnan, 6 - Lazenby
The weakest point in the movie had to be the villains, especially Brad Whitaker. I don't know if it was just the role or Joe Don Baker's performance of it. It wasn't that good at all. Plus I didn't like the confrontation between Bond and Whitaker. It was sorta lame. Robert Davi was pretty cool in "LTK." The finale between him and Bond in that was awesome.
Koskov was pretty well drawn and played. I also enjoyed seeing John Rhys-Davies in the movie. He's always been a fave of mine.
I did love the exotic locales. I thought they were nice. I did like the whole Cold War storyline and still do.
Necros was a great henchman. I liked his exploding milk bottles. That whole scene was amazing. I also loved his fight with Bond on the cargo plane's net. That was pretty exciting.
I did love the PTS. It was cool when we first see Dalton as Bond. The whole scene was amazing. I loved him on top of the truck. It was cool when he landed on that woman's boat.
The theme song was also great. I usually go for something more like "Goldfinger" or even "The World Is Not Enough," but I liked this one. It and the theme for "AVTAK" were cool.
Not the best Bond girl ever, but she was pretty to look at. I think she was better than Carey Lowell in "LTK."
Dalton is two steps ahead of the filmmakers in terms of making it more realistic and grounded. The stuntwork is upto par with any other Bond tho but as many people have said the characters are pretty bland.
Whitaker was not sinister, evil, or menacing. He was just a fat cow who sat around playing with toys. Koskov was okay but still not as menacing as other villains.
Kara was great... until the end. All she did at the end was yell in the most annoying way... "JAMES"!!!!! She was a pain in the bottom for Bond. Also, by trying to catch up with Bond, she let Necros jump on the plane and almost kill Bond. She was so stupid to open up the plane hatch. What was she thinking?! That Bond is just glued to the floor and Necros will fly out like a giant bird? The only good thing she did was try and run over Koskov(which would have been cool to see by the way IMO).
I quite enjoyed it in my p1ssed state, some things stood out. I enjoyed the post one member made about Dalton smoking a cig on hearing of his mate's defection (signifies hot air). Also, though it seemed a dull looking film at the time compared with Moore's lavish technicolour epics, the cinematography now seems lovely compared with Brosnan's dull or strange looking films, and while Glen is by no means perfect, he has less incongrous direction than his successors.
Some early snags however. Dalton setting off on his run after the Land Rover... 8-) he wobbles a bit. His drop into the boat, well, you need comic genius timing to pull off that "Better make that two (hours)" corny line, and Dalton actually fluffs it... you'd think they'd ask for a retake.
All that pig gas tank energy source is another thing I don't like in Bond films imo, no idea what it is, like conflict diamonds in DAD, I'm introduced to it and then have to take it on board, it's too much information.
I went out to the karsey for the boring Dalton stalking the girl with the cello getting moved by her recital as she plucks that instrument between her legs oh please yourself then so came back for the Aston Martin chase. Not groundbreaking but classier than the DAD similar ice chase. The films just seemed to have more integrity back then somehow.
Dalton looked very handsome, though not broad shouldered enough, it was like his head was too big for his body sometimes. I liked the Pushkin stuff, and Bond's admission: "If I trusted whatshisname, you wouldn't be alive..." I think I gave up when Bond met Felix Leiter.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
This movie had almost everything you could ask for in a Bond film. A beautiful and sexy leading Bond girl, an unforgettable John Barry score (I miss the hell out of him), classic action sequences, great allies and henchman, classic Q moments, and a wonderful actor playing Bond who developed a style quicker than possibly any other 007 actor.
Looking back, I think that the relationship between 007 and Kara Milovy has got to be the most heartfelt romance 007 ever had with a woman that he did not marry. The only other ones that come close in my opinion are Tatiana Romanova, Octopussy, and maybe Pam Bouvier. Their kissing scene on the ferris wheel was the most respectable, honest, and sophisticated romantic stunt 007 ever pulled. I actually believed they cared for each other, especially after Koskov betrayed them. Their chemistry was remarkable and the fact that they never officially "did it" made it even better.
Necros was a fantastic henchman. Only Xenia Onnatop has rivaled him since in my opinion. I love the song he listens to while running. I ran with headphones for the first time today and guess what I listened to? That's right: "Where Has Everybody Gone?" by The Pretenders and John Barry. Q's "Ghetto Blaster" is unforgettable, Kamran Shah was a good ally, and the cello chase sequence was in my opinion something Roger could not have pulled of as easy. Sure this film has some Moore-like humor, but it also has many other things that Moore would have struggled to pull off.
The villains were kind of weak, but Joe Don Baker is always fun to watch. How many times is Jeroen Krabbe going to
Shame Timothy Dalton did not get to do films in 1991 and 1993. If he did, he would probably be my #1 right now. He is tied with Brosnan for 3rd on my list. Roger and Sean are the best.
I think that most do not really dislike Terry as Felix Leiter, they just think he was not in it enough to be judged. That is my view anyways.
The worst for me was probably Rick van Nutter in Thunderball, but he is slightly more well liked than Terry because he has much more screen time in his film.
Yes, I'm sure this is part of it. He also didn't look anything like what I felt Leiter should look like (though that is a problem with many of the actors who play him). His dialogue was horrendous as Darenhat mentioned and he also had no chemistry whatsoever with Dalton (though it is arguably tough to have chemistry for that little screen time). Maybe I would feel differently if he had more screen time but the thought only makes me shudder considering the bad dialogue we got from him for 30 seconds. I also feel like he was kind of tacked on to the film. It's not really necessary for him to be in it. Almost like the writers said 'hey we haven't seen felix for awhile. let's fit him in somehow.'
I think my problem with it is the uneasy marriage between Moore-isms and the Dalton-esque. To me, it is clear the writers still had in mind Sir Roger and his style, and when Dalton was signed, they performed some hasty re-writes.
Unfortunately the plethora of villians is very reminiscent of FYEO, O, AVTAK. The scenes in Tangier almost as a whole are appalling and Whittaker is a poor villian. This is the fault of both Joe Don Baker and the crass lines he's given. The small element of menace supplied by Necros is wiped out by the goofing of most of the other characters, including those in Afghanistan.
Thomas Wheatley comes out of it very well, and his scenes with Dalton are good. Maryam D'Abo is a shallow heroine; good looking, yes,but I find her disappointing as a cellist, an assassin, a soldier or a lover. She doesnt't have the depth of range for such a complicated role.
However some of the scripting is very good. I agree whole-heartedly with comments on the Bratislava scenes, the "framing" of Pushkin, the PTS.
The good bits of TLD are when the writers constructed new elements to Bond's character, specifically for Dalton; the bad bits (which I am afraid for me outweigh the good) are the harks back to the previous era. LTK made a cleaner break - but even that shares similar faults.
I feel quite sorry for Timothy Dalton, who was never given a fair crack at Bond. IMO the harder edge Maibaum and Wilson gave Roger Moore in FYEO would have suited Dalton 100%. But I think Brocolli and co were getting lazy post 1981 and the rot had set in for the rest of the decade. Pity.
Unfortunately, we've had quite a few terrible Felix Leiter's. It's like the one role they could just never get right. The best they ever had was Jack Lord and he only lasted one film. He at least seemed like a competent agent and had good chemistry with Connery. Maybe Jeffrey Wright will bring some depth back to the role.
Jeffrey Wright is indeed the best actor to take on the role of Felix Leiter since Jack Lord. I hope they decide to take the character back to his Texas roots.
In Dr. No Leiter was a real character that worked with Bond, not just an obligatory addition like Moneypenny or Q.
I'd love to see Jeffery Wright's Felix helping Bond throughout 22.
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Possibly a missed opportunity to not have Jack Lord return as Leiter in Connery's Never Say Never Again, though Bernie Casey wasn't bad in it. As for Wright, I don't exactly dislike him and he looks like a Felix. In no way does he resemble Fleming's character. And he really hardly had any screen time, really not much more than the one in TLD, just spread out a little bit.
What with that and Mathis, there's a lot]/i] of stuff for Bond 22 to pad out/address.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
In terms of TLD (to get on thread) Leither's role is hardly required at all and I always found it irritating that he appeared. I think the writers of the '80s Bonds were generally lazy and really struggled to concoct efficient stories, which is why the films dragged on way past the 2 hour mark and tended to have long action scenes to compenstae for the dreadful scripting.
OK there are some faults with it. As has been pointed out in places there is an uneasy mix of old RM and new TD. Also due to the massive changes which have taken place in the world since it was made it has probably dated worse than any other Bond movie.
However there is an awful lot right with it.
The PTS was exciting without being OTT and introduced a leaner harder Bond.
Bond's opening assignment to shoot the sniper is exactly the type of mission a 00 would be sent on. You can never imagine RM's Bond being given this type of job.
The scene on the ferris wheel is genuinely romantic.
After Saunder's death when Bond vaults the fence you just know if it had been Necros holding the balloons Bond would have shot him where he stood. Credit to TD for making Bond deadly again.
The hotel room scene with Pushkin also nicely shows Bond's ruthlessness and Dalton's acting ability.
The final fight with Necros hanging out of the back of the plane is one of the most exciting sequences from any Bond movie.
The plot is slightly more complex than the standard Bond movie but its not exactly The Da Vinci Code.
Miriam D'Abo makes an appealing Bond girl. Not your standard leggy blonde, even slightly gawky, but she is attractive and helps Bond without trying to be his equal.
Kamran Shah and Saunders are good allies, and Felix is underused as usual. You get the feeling Felix is only in it to say 'different actor same character'.
I readily admit there are weaknesses with TLD. The main weakness is the lack of a strong villian. Koskov is too urbane and affable. Whittaker lacks menace. Besides how can you take a villian seriouly called Brad Whitaker. As a vaillians name its not exactly on a par with Auric Goldfinger or Hugo Drax. Necros is the only respectable villian.
It was a good introduction to a new Bond and should have been the foundation for 4/5 movies for Dalton.
Is that the standard for judging good movies?
I think TLD had some weak points - the villian never seemed a threat and the plot certainly did need a little clarification,
That said, I always thought that it was one of the better movies of the series. Bond gives a great performance, its well paced, great henchman, strong leading lady.
Every Bond film will have its let downs, but the let downs of this one are fewer and further between than in AVTAK.
And Tom Hanks had wierd hair. Not a plot point, but certainly did detract from the movie.