Why, oh Why did Living Daylights flunk at the movies??

Halcon · December 2012

Just saw TLD...hadn't seen it since '04 or something like that...

wow! what a movie! Dalton completely owns this role for being his first go at it.

The movie has great locations, great music, great villians, great plot and the afghanistan angle was perfect. (on a side note, it also had the best use of a woman as 'prop'. god, that sounds awful but it did.. Dalton using that woman to distract I forget his name in the hotel scene was incredibly cool and sexy!)

granted, Moneypenny was awful and the lead Bond girl was as interesting as drying paint (albeit very pretty to look at).

The movie was excellent, why did this flunk at the cinema??

Jarvio · December 2012

Do you mean in terms of box office?

I agree that it's a great film. The only possible reason I can think of is that maybe people were just not ready for Dalton.

I've heard people on here say that Dalton was "the right man at the wrong time" - Maybe this really was the case.

perdogg · December 2012

Halcon wrote:

Just saw TLD...hadn't seen it since '04 or something like that...

wow! what a movie! Dalton completely owns this role for being his first go at it.

The movie has great locations, great music, great villians, great plot and the afghanistan angle was perfect. (on a side note, it also had the best use of a woman as 'prop'. god, that sounds awful but it did.. Dalton using that woman to distract I forget his name in the hotel scene was incredibly cool and sexy!)

granted, Moneypenny was awful and the lead Bond girl was as interesting as drying paint (albeit very pretty to look at).

The movie was excellent, why did this flunk at the cinema??

Bond fatigue; It came out in July of 1987 going up against Full Metal Jacket and the Untouchables.

Halcon · December 2012

full metal jacket? not familiar with it...

Blackleiter · December 2012

Whatever the reason, it certainly wasn't Dalton's fault. He was excellent as Bond.

Halcon · December 2012

forgot to mention...

Dalton officialy wears the best tan suit in the entire series with TLD (even beating Brosnan's in DAD).

I'm a huge fan of the tan summer suit, own about 5 of them, and Dalton takes the prize hands down...shame he only wears it for a minute in the movie.

welshboy78 · December 2012

Hmm the late 80s was full of over the top action movies etc. maybe the world was not ready for a more serious Bond at that point in time with Dalton

moonraker84 · December 2012

Halcon wrote:

The movie was excellent, why did this flunk at the cinema??

It didn't. It grossed over $190million worldwide.

minigeff · December 2012

Halcon wrote:

full metal jacket? not familiar with it...

Possibly one of the best 'nam films ever made. Kubrick's finest hour.

DEFIANT 74205 · December 2012

I agree, The Living Daylights was a fantastic film. As far as I'm concerned, it was the best film since the 1960s, and we got to see the true Fleming Bond for the first time since Thunderball. It was a very refreshing change back to the roots of the James Bond character. I rate this film very highly indeed. It's a shame Dalton only got to do two. He could've, and should've done more.

chrisisall · December 2012

DEFIANT 74205 wrote:

I agree, The Living Daylights was a fantastic film. As far as I'm concerned, it was the best film since the 1960s, and we got to see the true Fleming Bond for the first time since Thunderball. .

Damn straight!

Agent007jamest · December 2012

TLD was a box office hit. It was LTK that under performed at the box office. That was mainly due to strong competition from Tim Burtons Batman & Lethal weapon 2

chrisisall · December 2012

Agent007jamest wrote:

TLD was a box office hit. It was LTK that under performed at the box office. That was mainly due to strong competition from Tim Burtons Batman & Lethal weapon 2

Don't forget Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade.

Jarvio · December 2012

Also, with LTK, as it was a 15 certificate, maybe that also effected it's box office results? As people couldn't take their kids to see it unlike every other bond.

Moore Than · December 2012

Well, The Living Daylights made a healthy profit and was generally well received, so it certainly did not flunk.

There probably was an element of "fatigue" or "taking the series for granted" when Timothy Dalton came along. Indiana Jones, Rambo, etc were all newer and fresher. The six year hiatus following Licence To Kill may well have been a blessing in disguise. If there had been a six year hiatus following A View To A Kill and The Living Daylights was made in 1991, then I am sure it would have grossed considerably more than $191 million.

zaphod · December 2012

Halcon wrote:

forgot to mention...

Dalton officialy wears the best tan suit in the entire series with TLD (even beating Brosnan's in DAD).

I'm a huge fan of the tan summer suit, own about 5 of them, and Dalton takes the prize hands down...shame he only wears it for a minute in the movie.

Tim's look/clothing often underrated it seems to me, and yes the Tan suit is superb.Most people seem to go for un bleached Linen as the summer suit of choice, but a good Tan one is a fine thing indeed. I only have one at present, but will research thoroughly before late spring/early summer. Thanks for the reminder.

Agent007jamest · December 2012

chrisisall wrote:

Agent007jamest wrote:

TLD was a box office hit. It was LTK that under performed at the box office. That was mainly due to strong competition from Tim Burtons Batman & Lethal weapon 2

Don't forget Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade.

Jarvio wrote:

Also, with LTK, as it was a 15 certificate, maybe that also effected it's box office results? As people couldn't take their kids to see it unlike every other bond.

True & True

I loved TD's portrayal of Bond! He was the original gritty, realistic, OO7 in the Fleming mold. (I guess if you don't count Barry Nelson

) I think DC owes TD some credit. I, like so many of my fellow ABJ's, find a lot of similarities in their performance. But not in their height or hair color :v (that was for ThunderPussy)

Halcon · December 2012

zaphod wrote:

Halcon wrote:

forgot to mention...

Dalton officialy wears the best tan suit in the entire series with TLD (even beating Brosnan's in DAD).

I'm a huge fan of the tan summer suit, own about 5 of them, and Dalton takes the prize hands down...shame he only wears it for a minute in the movie.

Tim's look/clothing often underrated it seems to me, and yes the Tan suit is superb.Most people seem to go for un bleached Linen as the summer suit of choice, but a good Tan one is a fine thing indeed. I only have one at present, but will research thoroughly before late spring/early summer. Thanks for the reminder.

-{

I also didnt see any issues with him struggling with the 'one liners' or wit, the 'He got the boot' line was laugh out loud hilarious and done with perfect timing, not unforced.

I don't know, i hate to dump on Brosnan again, but i feel that GE's Bond was a major downgrade from Dalton's take.

I mean, yes he was Flemminesque and all that, but he looked and acted as though he BELONGED in those tuxes, pure class, rivaling Moore's dare i say...

chrisisall · December 2012

Halcon wrote:

I don't know, i hate to dump on Brosnan again, but i feel that GE's Bond was a major downgrade from Dalton's take.

Anyone would be; Dalton was a powerhouse actor besides totally looking the part.

Mr Beech · December 2012

minigeff wrote:

Halcon wrote:

full metal jacket? not familiar with it...

Possibly one of the best 'nam films ever made. Kubrick's finest hour.

Definitely. Very beautifully shot and well-acted.

CmdrAtticus · December 2012

One of my tops being a "Fleming's Bond" fan. Just saw it again a few weeks ago and Dalton is just so perfect in it. It was great to see a real spy film as opposed to the "super villain in his lair" plot. It was more in line with the type of story Fleming wrote and they did a good job of using his short story as a jumping off plot point. It's a pity they could not have ditched Whitaker's character altogether, but I guess the writers still thought they needed a Bond vs crazy villain match in villains lair ending. Still doesn't take away from Dalton's performance though.

chrisisall · December 2012

CmdrAtticus, are you just posting stuff you think I want to hear?

)

L Jones · December 2012

THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS cost $40 million dollars to make. It made $191.2 million dollars at the box office. How on earth did anyone come to the conclusion that it "flunked" at the box office?

LICENSE TO KILL cost $32 million dollars to make. It made $156.2 million dollars. Please explain how this movie was a box office flop.

Scribe74 · December 2012

Blackleiter wrote:

Whatever the reason, it certainly wasn't Dalton's fault. He was excellent as Bond.

Always great to see someone give Dalton the credit he deserves. He was great as Bond--very true to Fleming's original character. He and Craig are my two favorite Bond actors. I think it was Dalton's poor luck to follow Roger Moore. After seven light-hearted Bond films, I don't think audiences were ready for Dalton's brutal portrayal. Personally, I loved it!

Scribe74 · December 2012

chrisisall wrote:

DEFIANT 74205 wrote:

I agree, The Living Daylights was a fantastic film. As far as I'm concerned, it was the best film since the 1960s, and we got to see the true Fleming Bond for the first time since Thunderball. .

Damn straight!

I second that!

CmdrAtticus · December 2012

Scribe74 wrote:

Blackleiter wrote:

Whatever the reason, it certainly wasn't Dalton's fault. He was excellent as Bond.

Always great to see someone give Dalton the credit he deserves. He was great as Bond--very true to Fleming's original character. He and Craig are my two favorite Bond actors. I think it was Dalton's poor luck to follow Roger Moore. After seven light-hearted Bond films, I don't think audiences were ready for Dalton's brutal portrayal. Personally, I loved it!

I think that exactly. When it comes to theater, audiences traditionally prefer comedy to follow the drama, since it leaves them feeling more up when its over. In this case, they got it in reverse, even though the comedy in TLD was obviously the writers still being used to shoeing in Moore's bad puns. It's why they seemed a little out of place coming out of Dalton's mouth and sometimes at odds with the drama of the plot.

welshboy78 · December 2012

I also think his films didnt have enough action for that era in which it was released, maybe bad timing all round for Dalton

Agent007jamest · December 2012

L Jones wrote:

THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS cost $40 million dollars to make. It made $191.2 million dollars at the box office. How on earth did anyone come to the conclusion that it "flunked" at the box office?

LICENSE TO KILL cost $32 million dollars to make. It made $156.2 million dollars. Please explain how this movie was a box office flop.

Neither film was a flop. MGM was entering into serious financial problems and LTK did not live up to its expected box office (especially in the US). TLD on the other hand was considered a blockbuster at the time and received praise from the majority of film critics. The almost 6 year layoff killed the TD era otherwise LTK would have been considered his QOS. Both films receiving tepid to poor reviews and being chastised for being to violent (I love both of those films!).

Silhouette Man · December 2012

It didn't flunk at the movies - quite the opposite - perhaps you're thinking of LTK?

Colonel Shatner · December 2012

Vague plotting in places, no charismatic main antagonist (outside of charismatic henchman Necros), no overtly major world threatening plan (just relatively dull fake defecting, arms dealing, and drugs trading) didn't seem to help this on hindsight underrated movie. I don't like it as much as Licence to Kill but felt like a step up after A View to a Kill.

zaphod · December 2012

CmdrAtticus wrote:

Scribe74 wrote:

Blackleiter wrote:

Whatever the reason, it certainly wasn't Dalton's fault. He was excellent as Bond.

Always great to see someone give Dalton the credit he deserves. He was great as Bond--very true to Fleming's original character. He and Craig are my two favorite Bond actors. I think it was Dalton's poor luck to follow Roger Moore. After seven light-hearted Bond films, I don't think audiences were ready for Dalton's brutal portrayal. Personally, I loved it!

I think that exactly. When it comes to theater, audiences traditionally prefer comedy to follow the drama, since it leaves them feeling more up when its over. In this case, they got it in reverse, even though the comedy in TLD was obviously the writers still being used to shoeing in Moore's bad puns. It's why they seemed a little out of place coming out of Dalton's mouth and sometimes at odds with the drama of the plot.

Also due to all the Brosnan Remmington Steele nonsense Dalton's casting was very late in the day and left no time for as much rejigging of the script as would have been preferable. It really came together in post/edit with Dropping a lot of Moore intended none sense like the flying carpet scene. Although I have heard that even during filming of AVTAK it was clear that Roger was not coming back, so maybe that stuff was intended for Brosnan to continue in a Moore like vein. I certainly believe that Brosnans eventual portrayal was influenced by Dalton's tenure.

Why, oh Why did Living Daylights flunk at the movies??

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