184 replies to this topic

[Double-Oh-Zero]

I enjoy it more than all of the Bond films that came after it.

Yeah, the plot's a little too confusing for it's own good, and the villains are sub-par, but it still contains some of the best Bond moments of the series. It's more Bond-like than most of the Moore films, and reminds me of Connery's spy thrillers of the sixties.

'Twas a breath of fresh air in the AVTAK closet which reeked of 80s nostalgia.

[Bondesque]

Come on....Dalton had absolutely ZERO sexual chemistry with ANY of his leading ladies...THE MAN COULDNT GET LAID IN A BROTHEL ON A FRIDAY NIGHT WITH A FISTFULL OF CASH.

Miriam D'abo seemed like a girl on her way to the convent to take her last vows of chastity!

Lupe and Carey Lowell had more sexual chemistry WITH EACH OTHER then at any time with Dalton.

Yes he could "brood" well and yes he had some great classical acting chops, but as Bond he just didn't have the elements for the role.

James Bond is a man who can kill and seduce with equal skill.

[hrabb04]

Bondesque, with one sentence about Lupe and Pam having sexual chemistry with each other, you have made my day! Maybe there will be another Wild Things movie...

[Tarl_Cabot]

"THE MAN COULDNT GET LAID IN A BROTHEL ON A FRIDAY NIGHT WITH A FISTFULL OF CASH."

I don't agree at all with that statement(ask Jaelle and her friends)but that's hilarious!

[kronsteen63]

are you kidding? living daylights is amazing. it's the bond of the books and no one who is a true Bond fan would say, "I don't like it because it didn't follow the same old formula." It was a refreshing change and Dalton rocked. If you don't like this one, then you definitely won't like Casino Royale, what with all this talk about how it's a total breakaway from the formula.

[Bondesque]

FRWL was pure Bond at its best. If Casino Royale is half that good then we will all be smiling!

Its not that I didn't like Dalton (Ive met him twice and actually fished with him once) as an actor. He has great presence on stage. I just don't think he had all the elements of Bond. I put him in the same level as Moore although I rate TSWLM and FYEO above Daltons TLD or LTK.

My top three Bonds are FRWL, OHMSS, and Thunderball.

Even if you like Daltons films you have to admit I am right in my view of Dalton lacking sexual chemistry with his leading ladies.

[Red Grant 15]

Dalton was more focused on the mission then on the girls. Besides, have you seen Dalton's women? Can you really blame him!

[Lady Rose]

Even if you like Daltons films you have to admit I am right in my view of Dalton lacking sexual chemistry with his leading ladies.

Er,no.I'll give you LTK but I think he worked very well with Maryam D'Abo.It wasn't a high octane sexual chemistry but I think the relationship worked.It was more romantic than anything else, which again was refreshing as its not a side we see with Bond very often.

And as you can tell by my name, I love TLD

[tdalton]

I'll grant that TLD has some weak villains and has some other flaws, but I still think that it's the best Bond film of them all, and it's pros far outweigh its cons. Timothy Dalton is brilliant in the role and brings Bond back to reality after the very jokey Bond that Roger Moore portrayed. Yes, the villains are a little weak, but I think that's contributed to by the fact that they're scheme is on a very low scale, and they're not trying to take over the world like almost every single one of Roger Moore's villains were. Whitaker, Koskov, and Necros are involved in a caper that is very low key, and they don't necesarilly have to be the stereotypical megalomaniacal villains that we normally see in order to accomplish their task. Not every villain in the world is like Blofeld or Stromberg, some of them are low key and not as menacing as some of the others. I think that the villains in TLD are perhaps the most realistic ones that we've had in the series, except for perhaps Kristatos in FYEO.

But, to reiterate, the TLD's pros far outweigh its cons. John Barry's score for the film is excellent, and it's his best, IMO. a-ha's title song is excellent, and most importantly, Timothy Dalton gives the best performance by any of the Bond actors in TLD.

[Janus Assassin]

I don't believe anybody likes this movie. If you do, you can't be a Bond fan, you are merely following what other people tell you to say.

To agree with you would be to follow what someone else was saying.

Whether or not you believe that people like this film doesn't stop it from being true.

Entertaining thread, though. Thanks.

Just because if you like TLD or not doesn't make you not a Bond fan. I like Moonraker, TMWTGG and GoldenEye. Does that make me not a Bond fan.? Of course not. We are all entitled to our opinon. Me... I don't care much for TLD either. I like some things in it such as the Aston Martin chase and the PTS. But for me... I lose interest after Bond "kills" Pushkin and escapes.

[Bondesque]

Just because a few of us may not like TLD and some do it is no reason to say that any of us are not Bond fans. All of us are true believers! We may have huge differences of opinion but that is what makes CBN WONDERFUL. We all love James Bond be him Connery, Lazenby, Moore, Dalton or Brosnan.

[tdalton]

Just because a few of us may not like TLD and some do it is no reason to say that any of us are not Bond fans.  All of us are true believers!  We may have huge differences of opinion but that is what makes CBN WONDERFUL.  We all love James Bond be him Connery, Lazenby, Moore, Dalton or Brosnan.

Well said.

The fact that the series has many different styles and types of movies to offer is what makes it such a great cinematic series. People who like comedies can find something that they like, as well as those who enjoy gritty spy thrillers also can find something that appeals to them as well. That's what makes the Bond franchise such a great film franchise.

[Lazenby880]

Can no-one else detect the rather obvious (to me, anyway) humour in ACE's posts?

Does ACE hate The Living Daylights? No!

Does ACE, however, hate 'Does anyone else HATE [enter Bond film here]' topics? Yes!

Am I the only one who can see this? Or am I shooting blanks?

Edited by Lazenby880, 05 September 2005 - 11:36 PM.

[ACE]

Lazenby880

I have been taken by the Bond Police and have undergone reindoctrination.

I have seen the error of my ways.

You clever sod! Mind you, I think I wasn't fooling anyone. And hey, we smoked out some people who genuinely care less for this film. More power to them.

I do HATE "Does anyone else HATE..." threads. Especially when they are dressed up as something else. My post was meant to be satirical of the negative threads which keep cropping up here (read them and see if mine wasn't actually quite mild). I was trying to show how easy it was to take any Bond film and rip it apart (I did actually voice my criticisms of TLD but devoid of context and explanation, they are brutal in their simplicity). I was trying to make a point. Someone could post a "Does anyone else HATE OHMSS..." thread but what purpose would that serve other than a rallying call for people to join with the prejudices of the poster? It was becoming like a Beatles site written by Rolling Stones fans.

I think constructive criticism of Bond films is important.

But I think HATE is a very strong term and sits uncomfortably on a fan site.

Mind you, I do like all the Bond films in their own way. So my least favourite Bond film still has many areas of pleasure for me.

Edited by ACE, 06 September 2005 - 08:25 AM.

[cvheady007]

Lazenby880

I have been taken by the Bond Police and have undergone reindoctrination.

I have seen the error of my ways.

You clever sod! Mind you, I think I wasn't fooling anyone. And hey, we smoked out some people who genuinely care less for this film. More power to them.

I do HATE "Does anyone else HATE..." threads. Especially when they are dressed up as something else. My post was meant to be satirical of the negative threads which keep cropping up here (read them and see if mine wasn't actually quite mild). I was trying to show how easy it was to take any Bond film and rip it apart (I did actually voice my criticisms of TLD but devoid of context and explanation, they are brutal in their simplicity). I was trying to make a point. Someone could post a "Does anyone else HATE OHMSS..." thread but what purpose would that serve other than a rallying call for people to join with the prejudices of the poster? It was becoming like a Beatles site written by Rolling Stones fans.

I think constructive criticism of Bond films is important.

But I think HATE is a very strong terms and sits uncomfortably on a fan site.

Mind you, I do like all the Bond films in their own way. So my least favourite Bond film still has many areas of pleasure for me.

Whew!!! I didn't think I was going crazy!!!

Well put, ACE - the titles of these threads leaves something to be desired. I don't want to see a title that says "Does anyone HATE..." anything - more like "does anybody want to constructively criticize" would be better. I could never hate a single James Bond movie. Well...maybe one with Ewan Stewart as Bond...

[zencat]

An excellent and worthy experiment, ACE. I'm also not a fan of "I HATE" threads for the reasons you noted. And, as you, I can find aspects that I like in all the Bonds, even the ones at the bottom of my list.

Again, good job.

And, for the record, I like TLD.

[Qwerty]

There's always something good in every Bond film, although I'm willing to bet some will disagree.

[The Richmond Spy]

Where were......The hot ladies?

Look no further than the leading lady! Maryam D'Abo =

[Captain Indigo]

it definitly had the best start to a Bond film

[4 Ur Eyez Only]

Dalton is the 2nd best 007!!! (Roger is #1)

TLD is the 4th best 007 film! ( Octopussy, FYEO, OYMSS, TLD, TSWLM )

[Qwerty]

it definitly had the best start to a Bond film

Great pretitles, without a doubt.

[neversaynever]

I do HATE "Does anyone else HATE..." threads. Especially when they are dressed up as something else. My post was meant to be satirical of the negative threads which keep cropping up here (read them and see if mine wasn't actually quite mild). I was trying to show how easy it was to take any Bond film and rip it apart (I did actually voice my criticisms of TLD but devoid of context and explanation, they are brutal in their simplicity). I was trying to make a point. Someone could post a "Does anyone else HATE OHMSS..." thread but what purpose would that serve other than a rallying call for people to join with the prejudices of the poster? It was becoming like a Beatles site written by Rolling Stones fans.

It astonishes me that no-one else could see through your ruse - especially given your previously stated "hatred" of "I HATE..." threads.

It is even more astonishing that some people are still continuing to post on the topic of whether they hate TLD, even when the true purpose of this thread (to get to the topic of why people are talking about how much they HATE something Bond-related, on a Bond fan site) has been openly revealed by you.

Get with the program, people.

[Major Bloodnok]

Holy hell, ACE! My gorge was rising the more I read this thread! Then you dropped the bomb! I was beginning to wonder whether I could continue corepsponding with you. Now I realize I can.

Well done, you.

[Carver]

Well, I'm in shock after reading this thread. The Living Daylights is my favourite Bond film of all time. Made in the same year I was born, but it's such a classic. Dalton is not my favourite Bond, and sometimes I'm pretty critical of him (sorry Daltonites!), but he performed brilliantly in this film. I think that this film is the closest to Fleming's novels, along with Goldfinger and Thunderball, and deserves all the credit it gets. Maryan d'Abo isn't the best Bond girl, but I think she's pretty good looking and isn't a "horse" as some people say she is. The Living Daylights has great pace right from the word go, it has the customary gadgets and even the great Aston Martin. The locations aren't as glamorous as other Bond films, but Afghanistan fits in with the plotline. Koskov is an ok-ish villian, slightly eccentric but he's a different sort of villian from classic foes such as Goldfinger and Blofeld. The humour fits in well and is kept to certain occasion such as the cello chase, and we even see Bond headbutt someone! IMO, The Living Daylights has everything and is truely a great film. Despite not being Dalton's biggest fan, I couldn't imagine any other actor playing the role is this film.

[spynovelfan]

Well, I'm in shock after reading this thread.

Um... did you read the whole thread?

[Carver]

Well, I'm in shock after reading this thread.

Um... did you read the whole thread?

Damn, I didn't realise there was 3 pages, I only read the first and last. Well, I'm in shock at these guys who don't like TLD really, I always thought it was generally ranked highly by all Bond fans. I've read the whole thread now, I'm calmer

[mtonline]

its a bloody awsome movie, with Dalton, Dalton is the 2nd best bond, 1st bein Connery.

M_T

[Gobi-1]

The Living Daylights is a John Gardner novel come to life. It has solid characters, a decent plot, typical globe trotting adventure, large scale action scenes & stuntwork and it is completely forgettable.It aims for Fleming and occasionally it briefly achieves it but for the most part it's pure John Gardner.

The score does have some good stuff but I agree that John Barry keeps playing that awful "Necros Attacks" theme way to much. When he uses that theme in the battle on the cargo plane and cargo net instead of the James Bond theme the film just falls apart for me. We should have heard the twang of the guitar playing the Bond theme when he cuts his shoe laces and Necros falls to his death.

I would say the lack of the James Bond theme is TLD biggest crime. Dalton isn

Edited by Gobi-1, 11 November 2005 - 04:38 PM.

[Stephen Spotswood]

Actually, I think Timothy Dalton made some of the best Bond movies. Roger Moore's comedy act was getting tired and decrepit. There was too much second guessing as to who is the villain, the Soviet Union is gone. MADD would probably get their panties in a bunch if Bond has a martini. AID's consciousness would seem to preclude bed hopping. Girls with real names might pull ladies into the audience. The movie had a director, John Glenn, who was totally uninspired. Two, not just one, villains were trying to do a Abbott & Costello routine, played by Joe Don Baker and Jeroen Krabbe. They were even using a script written with Roger Moore in mind.

On the plus side they had a romantic score in the scenes with Dalton and d'Abo. Dalton played a Bond that seemed genuinely cultured. He could appreciate classical music, gambling, and a good clean kill. A very simple sight gag seemed inspired, when nothing more than a little velcro turns a tuxedo into a commando's uniform. One of the best Dalton lines was, "If M fires me I'll thank him." They had some of the nastiest fight scenes in the history of Bond movies, like the begining where some 00's in training were getting murdered, and later where a butler at the safe-house gets his face burned on the grill of a stove. This new grittiness would be upped a notch in Dalton's next movie where they had some fairly bloody death scenes. We had the return of our old friend the Aston Martin, although the Bond of the books primarily drove a 1933 Bentley, as barely seen in one scene of the movie "From Russia with Love." They also had one of the best skiing chase scenes since "On Her Majesty's Secret Service." Andreas Wisniewski made a very good villain, with a great fight and death scene, but couldn't outweigh the Baker/Krabbe nonsense.

The ending was a little weak though. The dangerous toys seemed like something out of the old "Batman" T.V. series and Joe Don Baker just didn't play a very credible villain, which weakened the movie severely. It didn't help the Brosnan movie, "Tommorrow Never Dies," to have Joe Don Baker showing up again, but this time as a Felix Leiter type American agent named Jack Wade. Having a Russian offical returning a favor by saving Bond's skin was a little startling, but more in keeping with the books, where Bond was like the old fashioned pulp hero, but could actually get hurt. Every other book either had Bond badly injured or dying, not indestructible.

[Harmsway]

The Living Daylights is a John Gardner novel come to life. It has solid characters, a decent plot, typical globe trotting adventure, large scale action scenes & stuntwork and it is completely forgettable.It aims for Fleming and occasionally it briefly achieves it but for the most part it's pure John Gardner.

That is one of the most interesting observations about TLD that I've read. It really is Gardner's Bond - not Fleming's. The same can even be said of Dalton's take on the role.