48 replies to this topic

[Donovan]

I thought the Dario character was great. Del Torro was suitably sleazy/menacing. Starting with his first brandishing the knife when Sanchez says "give her his heart." The moment when he recognizes Bond at the processing plant created some tension (which was unfortunately interrupted when we cut to Pam/Butcher in his bedroom). I love the little things like his loyalty to Sanchez, his enjoying Leiter getting shark-bitten, and his contempt for Bond as he spits in his face. And he got a pretty good death...the granule machine was cooked up back in the Mankiewicz days and they finally got to use it.

[Double-0 Seven]

Probably one of the better henchmen, a perfect teammate for Davi but his character is too much in the shadow.

[Agent 76]

Dario is a sick minded lunatic.

[Publius]

Fantastic henchman, but it was a real waste to not give him an extended fight with Bond. Replace the Bimini bar with something less, well, 80s and let Bond duke it out with Dario while Pam takes care of the other cronies, and the scene is vastly improved.

[tdalton]

Fantastic henchman, but it was a real waste to not give him an extended fight with Bond. Replace the Bimini bar with something less, well, 80s and let Bond duke it out with Dario while Pam takes care of the other cronies, and the scene is vastly improved.

Agreed. An extended fight sequence between Bond and Dario would have been fantastic, and would have been better than the fight scene in the bar, which is, IMO, the only weak part of the entire film.

[Major Tallon]

A very effective villain. The kind of guy who, if ordered, literally would cut your heart out. Sadistic, dangerous, and more than a little creepy.

[Double-0-7]

A very effective villain. The kind of guy who, if ordered, literally would cut your heart out. Sadistic, dangerous, and more than a little creepy.

Good description, Major. Dario seemed to really enjoy his position and the perks of sadistically killing the enemies of his employer.

Not to mention, he really knew how to provide a "nice honeymooooooon"!

[Spikey]

Probably one of the better henchmen, a perfect teammate for Davi but his character is too much in the shadow.

Agreed, the real question is- where'd he go after maiming Felix?

One could say he was only there for the big jobs- but then where was he for the Krest job, a pretty big one for Sanchez? Especially given Bond isn't known to be there (the obvious reason for keeping him off-screen). Same goes for the later Casino scenes without him. I wonder if it was ala DAF-Lois Maxwell?

I thought he was great, but confusingly underused. I also really liked Perez and Braun, the henchmen. Given their lack of speaking, they are pretty menacing (see: Krest sequence) and effective. They're not Dario or Sanchez, but also not meant to be. I don't see anyone criticising nameless second-tier henchmen in the Connery years (except maybe Mike Myers). It's just more one-eyed Bond fan opinions to me.
Something about his death was a bit contrived as well, but now I'm just complaining.

For me, the reason LTK had such strength at the end in the action sequences was because Bond had Dario, then Perez/Braun/etc, then Sanchez to take on. A whole operation, not nameless idiots like most 70-80's Bond films (second-tier villains, not the lead ones).

- Spike

[Righty007]

Probably one of the better henchmen, a perfect teammate for Davi but his character is too much in the shadow.

I wonder if it was ala DAF-Lois Maxwell?

[Spikey]

Wanted to spend time doing other films, not tied to one project, and due to the mutually unfriendly relationship, he was cut a bit and also got to do other things.
Maxwell in DAF wanted more money or something, and wanted to do other films, hence why she's hardly in DAF at all.

I don't know anything about Del Toro and his career, I'm just trying to explain why you'd have a character like Dario and excise him from the whole middle bit of the movie, when he's supposed to be a right-hand-man, or at least, right hand man in training.

- Spike

[Turn]

I don't know anything about Del Toro and his career, I'm just trying to explain why you'd have a character like Dario and excise him from the whole middle bit of the movie, when he's supposed to be a right-hand-man, or at least, right hand man in training.

- Spike

I think you're missing that more is less with Dario. He turns up just when Bond is about to blow things open on Sanchez's operation, the worst possible scenario for Bond -- he is the only one of Sanchez's crew who can recognize him. It adds suspense, and when in any other Bond film has that happened?

As for Del Toro and his career, he has only worked steadily since LTK and earned an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for Traffic in 2000 and is still in a variety of films, usually of a more independent nature, although he does show up in commercial projects from time to time.

[Double-0-Seven]

I've always though Dario was a good henchman. I like his relationship with Sanchez and how evil he is. However, as was mentioned earlier in the thread, I think his performance is overshadowed by Robert Davi's performance as Sanchez. Sanchez being the main villain definately makes him more memorable than Dario.

[Rogue_00]

The best henchman for the most credible villain.

[HildebrandRarity]

What do I think of Dario?

Dario comes across as a truly ed up psycho-sexual nut case with surpressed homo-erotic tendencies. Perfect for the James Bond series and a twist or variation on a theme of the Red Grant proto-type hench. Better than the likes of Stamper or Necros who got more screen time.

The reason we now go back to LTK more than otherwise is because of some really great stunt work and for a nostalgic look at an actor who nearly won an Oscar a decade following his James Bond experience.

[byline]

The reason we now go back to LTK more than otherwise is because of some really great stunt work and for a nostalgic look at an actor who nearly won an Oscar a decade following his James Bond experience.

Nearly won an Oscar? He did win a "best actor in a supporting role" Oscar in 2001 for "Traffic" (not to mention a whole slew of other awards). Well-deserved too, IMO.

[tdalton]

The reason we now go back to LTK more than otherwise is because of some really great stunt work and for a nostalgic look at an actor who nearly won an Oscar a decade following his James Bond experience.

Nearly won an Oscar? He did win a "best actor in a supporting role" Oscar in 2001 for "Traffic" (not to mention a whole slew of other awards). Well-deserved too, IMO.

Agreed. A very well deserved Oscar win by Benicio Del Toro (and it was a shame that TRAFFIC didn't win more awards that year as it was a great film filled with many outstanding performances).

[killkenny kid]

[quote name='HildebrandRarity' date='26 March 2008 - 16:35' post='854024']
What do I think of Dario?

Dario comes across as a truly ed up psycho-sexual nut case with surpressed homo-erotic tendencies.


Are we talking about Dario or Paco "Pistols" Scaramanga.

[mrsbonds_ppk]

Menacing..he scared me . Very effective Del Toro...Great.

[dogmanstar]

I think Dario's great--he's one of a kind, because he's so creepy and realistic. I mean, after Jaws (maybe even after Oddjob), you know you are going to get a henchman with a quirk--which reaches its apex with DAD and Zao--there's no reason for the whole diamonds thing, just kind of stupid.

Dario, on the other hand, isn't a May Day; he's not a giant Gobinda; he's an unknown and that is what, to me, made him so effective.