Which Dalton Film Is The Best?

Muston · November 2012

I love both of them but have to say that LTK is for me a far better (darker) Bond film. TLD still has some great moments - "You should of brought lilies," being one of Dalton's best lines. But I thought the villains in TLD were a lot weaker than Robert Davi's character. I'm not sure why people think of LTK as a poor film in the series? Maybe that's why I rate it so much, because it is a bit of an underdog in Bond's history. -{

chrisisall · November 2012

To me they're almost exactly equal, John Barry's music being the only tie-breaker.

Dutchfinger · November 2012

Glad to see some love for LTK. It happens to be my favorite movie of the franchise!

I rank TLD a lot lower tbh. (Somewere in the middle)

Napoleon Plural · November 2012

It's the classic you can have one, you can't have the other scenario.

So TLD has it all except a straightforward, comprehensible plot, relaxed lead actor and and a great villain.
LTK has all those things, but nothing else - no flash cars, gadgets, lovely cinematography, Dalton handsome, John Barry, Cold War flavour...

chrisisall · November 2012

Napoleon Plural wrote:

So TLD has it all except a straightforward, comprehensible plot,

I hear this a lot, but I can't understand- it seemed fairly simple to me... ?:)

BIG TAM · November 2012

THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS is the more traditional Bond. LICENCE TO KILL is the radical departure. For daring alone, I rank LICENCE TO KILL higher, but it also benefits from better villains & Dalton's determined performance. Once again, I'll go with many others & say it's a crying shame Dalton never got to do more Bonds, even though his third may well have reverted back to 'traditional' mode.

Muston · November 2012

BIG TAM wrote:

THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS is the more traditional Bond. LICENCE TO KILL is the radical departure. For daring alone, I rank LICENCE TO KILL higher, but it also benefits from better villains & Dalton's determined performance. Once again, I'll go with many others & say it's a crying shame Dalton never got to do more Bonds, even though his third may well have reverted back to 'traditional' mode.

Agree 100% with the above. I'd have loved to have been Dalton take over from Moore a lot earlier than he did. I think FYEO would have been a good Bond film for Dalton to have come in.

Golrush007 · November 2012

I would take The Living Daylights any day. I much prefer the Bondian feel of the film, whereas I find Licence to Kill has a generic 80s action film feeling to it. It may be darker, but I don't feel this automatically makes it better than TLD.

BIG TAM · November 2012

I'm in a dilemma over the '80s era. I actually quite like Moore in FOR YOUR EYES ONLY & in a strange way his age acts in its favour. Some find the stuff with Bibi a bit creepy but I quite like his being flattered by a younger woman's attentions but realising he's out of her age bracket & rejecting her flirtations.

But... I would have liked Dalton in the role also. FOR YOUR EYES ONLY somehow seems tailor made for a new actor's debut. Dalton would have invested his customary seriousness in the role & what few jokey moments that are in the film would likely have been completely jettisoned. Dalton could then have built on his desire to inject more Fleming throughout the decade. A VIEW TO A KILL in particular would have benefitted hugely from a Dalton injection & I could imagine his scenes with Walken fizzing with drama.

Whilst writing this I'm realising I have an even higher regard for Dalton than first thought. I'll have to revise my actor listings.

Virgil37 · November 2012

BIG TAM wrote:

Some find the stuff with Bibi a bit creepy but I quite like his being flattered by a younger woman's attentions but realising he's out of her age bracket & rejecting her flirtations.

It´s a pity he didn´t realise he was also out of Tanya Roberts´ age bracket in AVTAK

Virgil37 · November 2012

I would say it´s a tie between TLD and LTK. As commented, one is more in the Bond canon, the other is a departure, one has a great John Barry score, the other doesn´t, Sanchez is a much stronger villain that Koskov/Whittaker, but it´s really balanced...

What they have in common is the grittier tone (none is YOLT/MR/DAD), very strong Bond girls, and above all, Dalton, nailing Fleming´s character. The one thing I would definitely change is his haircut in LTK.

Jimmy Bond · November 2012

I think its the villains that bring TLD down. Whittaker in specific is LAUGHABLE. Davi's Sanchez in particular was, well, masterful.

LTK also took more chances. While I love TLD the same way I do TB, for instance, it too played by the formula a bit too much. And yes, the plot was a bit over-complicated, which isn't half bad considering the ridiculous simplicity of Moore's AVTAK, but it could be hard to follow, at times.

But I love both, so...

Muston · November 2012

BIG TAM wrote:

I'm in a dilemma over the '80s era. I actually quite like Moore in FOR YOUR EYES ONLY & in a strange way his age acts in its favour. Some find the stuff with Bibi a bit creepy but I quite like his being flattered by a younger woman's attentions but realising he's out of her age bracket & rejecting her flirtations.

But... I would have liked Dalton in the role also. FOR YOUR EYES ONLY somehow seems tailor made for a new actor's debut. Dalton would have invested his customary seriousness in the role & what few jokey moments that are in the film would likely have been completely jettisoned. Dalton could then have built on his desire to inject more Fleming throughout the decade. A VIEW TO A KILL in particular would have benefitted hugely from a Dalton injection & I could imagine his scenes with Walken fizzing with drama.

Whilst writing this I'm realising I have an even higher regard for Dalton than first thought. I'll have to revise my actor listings.

Great post above. Also never thought about how Dalton up against Walken would have been! Like you I did like Moore in FYEO and it is Moore's best film, but Dalton could have taken it that one step higher I think.

77007 · November 2012

Flash Gordon.

Thunderpussy · November 2012

Although I hated it when it was first released. I love LIK it would
be in my top five Bond films. Dalton is Brilliant as Bond. -{

chrisisall · November 2012

If Dalton had done five, they would all be in my top 5...

Thunderpussy · November 2012

chrisisall wrote :

If Dalton had done five, they would all be in my top 5...

)

) " Me too " to quote Brosnan.

Roger Mo' · November 2012

LTK by far. It's still one of those Bond films that if it is on TV, I always stop and watch it. Dalton is still stiff and uptight in it, as he is TLD, but he has a good supporting cast (especially Davi) which still makes it watchable. TLD is a good Bond film, but I feel it drags a bit in the Afghanistan scenes.

Q and M · November 2012

They are 2 different films. The Living Daylights is more of a traditional bond film in my view while Licence to kill would be more of a thriller breaking away from the traditional bonds we had come to know. Bond fans i would say are more likely to say The Living Daylights while the average film goer may choose Licence to kill as it is more in line with the popular films of the time such as Lethal Weapon and Die Hard. For me i love them both probably because Dalton is my favourite bond and it is nearly impossible for me to choose one over the other

chrisisall · November 2012

Q and M wrote:

For me i love them both probably because Dalton is my favourite bond and it is nearly impossible for me to choose one over the other

Yes, I concur! -{

SilentSpy · November 2012

The Living Daylights. It has the last big Bond battle sequence. Great music. A strong leading lady. I like Licence to Kill too. But Living Daylights is a more rounded Bond film.

chrisisall · November 2012

SilentSpy wrote:

Living Daylights is a more rounded Bond film.

True, but Dalton rocks so hard that I buy BOTH movies nearly equally!!

bailorg · November 2012

Both Dalton films are top 5 Bond films in my book, but The Living Daylights for me is almost the perfect Bond movie. Wry humor, genuine geopolitical intrigue, a great Bond car, a great soundtrack, and after seeing SF, I can still say TLD features the best Bond in his best performance.

OTOH, what LTK has going for it is that it undoubtedly has the best, most believable characters out of any Bond movie.

Moore Than · November 2012

I really enjoy both The Living Daylights and Licence To Kill. There are a number of reasons why I prefer LTK but the three main reasons are:

1. Carey Lowell as Pam Bouvier. She looks fab but is more than just a pretty face. She's feisty and intelligent, and comes to Bond's aid on numerous occasions. Without her Bond could not have succeeded in his quest for revenge.

2. David Hedison as Felix Leiter. I am a long time admirer of his acting. He is my favourite Leiter by some distance.

3. The tanker sequence. I love it! I love it! I know it's got the silly bit with the truck wheelie but I still love it!

Richard--W · November 2012

Of the Dalton films, I would have to say I liked THE DOCTOR AND THE DEVILS the best. He's has some eloquent speeches in that.

chrisisall · November 2012

Richard--W wrote:

Of the Dalton films, I would have to say I liked THE DOCTOR AND THE DEVILS the best. He's has some eloquent speeches in that.

Whoah, with Elliot Carver & Jean-Luc Picard!

Blood_Stone · November 2012

License To Kill is better (opening sequence, theme song, plot, Bond girl, locations, villain, and finale) than the Living Dreadlights in every way! Dalton at his best along with one of the badass lines in the entire franchise.

"Then you have my resignation, sir!"

Firemass · April 2013

I've always considered Living Daylights as one of the best Bond films. However, I realized this assertion is mainly based on the first half of the film. When Bond is transported to the Russian airbase in Afghanistan the film shifts to more of a Lawrence of Arabia epic and Bond is in way, WAY over his head. Daylights also suffers from a fake Moneypenny and a godawful Felix Leiter. Still, Joe Don Baker is one of my favorite villains and I love his collection of military toys, statues and weapons. And the fight with Necros on the back of the C-130 is top notch.

Breaking free from the Bond formula, License to Kill goes into a completely new and more violent direction. It's hard to say if LTK should be praised for being this bold or criticized for trying to compete with other R rated 80's action flicks.

Bond as a vigilante makes me uneasy because without his license to kill he becomes a murderer. And Q showing up on a holiday is also a little strange. I would have rather M simply gave Bond permission to go after Sanchez.

The ending annoys me that Bond would be so fickle as to start kissing Lupe as if Pam never existed. What happened to the "One-Woman Bond" of Daylights? And what's with Pam kissing Bond on the boat? It felt like a scene that was filmed for the ending of the movie.

I'm not sure which film is better, but I still prefer Living Daylights for the sniper scene with Kara and the Aston Martin car chase. But then LTK is better paced, straight-forward, has a strong second half and the tanker chase kicks ass. So I could really go either way....Too bad there's no such thing as a perfect Bond film.

Interestingly enough I have a Finnish DVD version of LTK called Ja Lupa Tappaa.

always shaken · April 2013

77007 wrote:

Flash Gordon.

aww you beat me too it

Kabraxal · April 2013

I love both. And really, along with Goldeneye I find I have a hard time choosing between them. They all seemed to be written with the intent of pulling Bond back to Fleming and still have fun in the movies. Just can't go wrong with those three ever

Silhouette Man · April 2013

I like them both but The Living Daylights wins out for me as Licence to Kill is more experimental and TLD is more of a traditional, if somewhat revamped, type of James Bond film.

Which Dalton Film Is The Best?

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