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I think it's pretty hard, while it can be funny too. The latter not in an obvious way, but I do quite like some of the more subtle bits here and there.
Having said that, I also love both films that flank it chronologically. I'd even go as far as to say that TLD-LTK-GE is the best three-in-a-row the series has ever seen. The only valid competition I see is the first run of Connery DN-TB.
I think it's quite dry, even for its time. Lethal Weapon and Die Hard have a fair amount of humor.
That the movie isn't gritty enough wasn't on my bingo card.
I think the biggest similarity is the love triangle (for lack of a better word) between Bond, Lupe and Sanchez. Lupe I think should have been the main Bond girl, but that's another topic.
I don’t mind the Bond, Sanchez, and Lupe triangle. For me it’s the Pam, Lupe, and Bond one that gets a bit strange and soap opera-ish.
I like Pam as a character, but I can very much understand the idea that Lupe could have been the main Bond girl. I’m not sure what Pam actually adds past a certain point (the subplot about stinger missiles is pretty much useless anyway).
I think Sanchez wouldn't mind giving Bond a nice honeymoooooon.
What if Sanchez was dyslexic and couldn't actually read what it said before Bond burned him to death... :))
That, and Pam's character is inconsistent. She's supposed to be a hardened CIA agent working in South America, but acts all childish when Bond points that out. She's supposedly professional, but as soon as the boat runs out of gas she lays on her back for Bond.
And, as you said, her character adds little to the storyline. Lupe is a way in for Bond as she tries to get out (without losing everything she 'worked for' to accomplish). She's a trophy wife/golddigger, and is very consistent in beeing so. I don't get why people disparage Talisa for portraying just that.
Pam's 'professionalism' just amounts to wearing body armour and seducing professor Butcher.
I can understand having to adapt Lupe and/or go with a different actress if they ran with the character as the main Bond girl, but I don't blame Soto for portraying the role as she did. I think a plus with not having Pam around is that Bond would truly be on his own for a portion of the film.
I do really like LTK as it is though, but the sections with Pam getting annoyed at Bond for sleeping with Lupe and Q consoling her are a bit too soap opera for me (the flat lighting and camera angles don't help with that impression either!)
The Michael Kamen factor does make me yearn a bit for the energy and wit of a McTiernan film, yes. It sounds like Die Hard but isn’t quite as good.
The scripty font is quite hard to make out to be fair, he was probably about to say “Does that say ‘Dello and Petia’? Who’s Dello and Petia?”
Plus his eyes are all full of petrol, how’s he supposed to read that? Poor old Franz.
Could be an interesting idea for a future Bond film I guess.
I think they were still writing Bond as an alpha male even though Dalton didn't portray him that way.
In fact, I think one of the problems of this era is that he's supposed to be a womanizer, but we don't see him act like one.
I mean I do question if he does remember, certainly Della (whose name is first on the lighter) we have no reason to think he knows the name of; although being a guy who does behave in a vaguely honourable way I guess we can surmise he might have taken note of Felix's name. Maybe a scene where he mentions Felix as being someone he took care of halfway though the film or so might've helped.
I think he's easily the best, yeah. I'm not completely down on Waltz though, I must say.
This Sanchez business has become comedy gold! Not only did Sanchez not know who Bond was but he also possibly didn't have a clue what the names on the lighter were supposed to signify! One very confused drug lord as he burned to death... :))
I disagree mate. I thought it was a clever use of the lighter, it was a gift from a close friend who was maimed by this sadistic villain, what better way to kill him? Love LTK for all the reasons @GoldenGun gave, terrific Bond movie with lots of Fleming in it. I think Ian would have loved it!
Personally I was more disappointed with SF, we were led to believe there was going to be a brutal final confrontation between Silva and Bond, and to just kill him with a knife to the back was such a cop out, gave me another reason to dislike this movie!
Fair enough mate :) But i don't think Fleming would have approved of Bond going 'rogue' on a reckless quest for revenge. His Bond i think would have agreed with M. "Leiter knew the risks.."
I feel for better or worse Fleming wouldn’t have loved any of the Bond movies. Not hated them necessarily, but I think many just wouldn’t have been how he’d have approached Bond. LTK may well be an example, and for all the Fleming material in there I also have a hard time imagining the literary character acting the way he does in that film.
Not that Fleming’s opinion would have mattered much anyway. His books/how they feed into the films do, but even that’s in service to the film.
Well, Fleming had already written the sequel to Casino Royale, it's called LALD ;)
Yeah, I always get the impression, given all of the various treatments and scripts he wrote, that Fleming cared more that Bond appeared on the screen in any way at all than precisely how! Although obviously I'm sure he preferred the way he did it because that's, y'know, the way he chose to do it.
I do agree on the character in LTK; I'm not totally sure that's how Bond would act. But I'm not certain. I do prefer the Craig version who puts his duty first though, it's a bit more interesting if anything because there are more dimensions to his decisions.
Craig’s Bond I can buy as a reimagining of the blunt instrument from Fleming’s novels. He puts his duty/job, but not necessarily his superior’s orders, first. That works and even adds another layer to Bond’s character, agreed.
I think most authors have odd relationships with movie versions of their work anyway, especially when they don’t have direct involvement. It’s difficult to imagine what Fleming would have made of later films, and much like asking ‘what would Cubby have said’ it’s irrelevant in many ways.