At the risk of repeating Shran's mistakes...let's hope they made good on that, and put substance over "stuff" in The Living Daylights and Liscence To Kill.
Now this guy needs to make some more predictions.
The Living Daylights (*****)
Ah, the good-ole days when the Mujahideen were our allies. Kind of makes you nostaglic for the Cold War doesn't it.
Before I start, let's get something out of the way. In my opening post I said that Dalton was my favorite Bond actor. The main, but certainly not only, reason for that is that
The Living Daylights was the very first Bond film I ever saw. Having been born in 1979, I was eight years old when this movie hit the theatres and ten when
License to Kill came out. With Bond taking a six year leave of absence before
Goldeneye premiered, Dalton was effectively the Bond I grew up with, even though he only appeared in two movies. Now, having rewatched his opening film, I've found a great deal more to like about him and the movie.
First, let's start with Dalton's portrayal of Bond, because it is VERY different from Roger Moore's. Whereas Moore's Bond appeared to be written to better fit his acting abilities, the same seems to be true for Dalton's Bond. Gone is all the campy fun of Moore's movies, especially the later ones. Bond still knows how to have fun and enjoy a good joke, either amongst friends or at an enemy's expense - but it's not over done. In place of all the over-the-top hijacks and comedy is the more well-balanced Bond of Connery's day and Moore's early films. However, it is slightly different. We still have the kind, compassionate Bond, which the movie makes very evident is brought to the surface by women. As I said, the funny Bond is still present, if toned down. But the brutal Bond isn't the same. There are still flashes of that coldbloodness Bond is known for, such as when he beats Pushkin, uses his girlfriend as a decoy, and then wipes the floor with Pushkin's guard. For the most part, however, Dalton has morphed that coldness into something more hardboiled. Bond is much more cynical with a lot of barely repressed anger now, while still retaining the best parts of Moore's sophistication. And Dalton plays that portrayal of Bond perfectly. For example, see the scene where Bond says that if M fires him for not killing Kara, he'll "thank him for it." Very well done. In some ways, this is a perfect blending of Connery's and Moore's interpretations of the character.
Other than that, there's still a lot to like. 1.) Our introduction to Dalton's Bond is much better than the one to Moore's Bond. When first meet Moore's version, he's asleep (granted he has a beautiful woman in his arms, but still). Here, when we first lay eyes on Bond, it's in the middle of an action sequence and within a minute Bond is kicking ass in order to avenge the death of a fellow 00 agent. 2.) The action sequences are pretty enjoyable and not over-the-top. 3.) The humor, when it's present, is very good and not slapsticky - such as Bond freaking out Koskov by telling him he'll be the first person through the pipeline and Bond's exsperated expression while Kara retrives her cello. 4.) It's good to see the comeraderie between Bond and Q hasn't suffered after the switch in actors. 5.) The down-to-earth atmosphere. If you haven't noticed by now, I like my Bond low-key, realistic, and espionage-based. This movie provides that in spades. Bond doesn't have to save the world from nuclear holocaust or global domination. He only has to stop a corrupt Soviet general, stop an arms dealer, and help a woman defect. 6.) Kara Milovy. This is the type of Bond Girl I really like. She's sweet and innocent, but can still rise to the task and kick some ass when she needs to, like at the Afghan airfield.
About the only thing I can think of that could be a demerit to the film are the villians. That isn't to say that they're bad, they are quite good in fact. But they do come across as a little bland and unremarkable. It's not enough for the movie to lose any points, but there were times when they needed a little more oomph to them.
So, this trip into Bond's dark side was very well handled and definitely puts substance over stuff. And, mathmatically speaking, since Dalton appeared in only two moives,
License to Kill is really going to have to suck for Dalton not to retain the top spot as my favorite Bond in terms of average scores.
That's Amore: 38
Bond slept with an unnamed woman in Gibraltar and Kara Milovy.
Body Count: 220 (+3)
Redshirt Sidekicks: 7
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