The Living Daylights Appreciation

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  • edited March 2013 Posts: 12,837
    RC7 wrote:
    doubleoego wrote:
    Craig in CR, especially in the first 2 acts was a beast.

    This is very true. I think it's why Dalts has the edge for me. To me Bond was never a wrecking-ball in the way Craig sometimes portrays him. I'm not a huge fan of the 'brutal' fight scenes. The Bond I like dispatches opponents with a measure of elegance and/or intelligence, not sheer brute force.

    Funnily enough that's something I missed in SF, the brutal fight scenes. I thought one of the things that set Craig apart from the others was his brutality and hard man attitude. If you take away his wreckless attitude and his brutality from his first two performances, then you'd just end up with Dalton but not as good.

    The brutality was gone in SF and they also changed his Bond personality wise. Instead of being a brutal Bond with an emotional side I thought he came across as a poor mans Connery (or even a poor mans Moore in some cases) but with more emotion.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,687
    Funnily enough that's something I missed in SF, the brutal fight scenes. I thought one of the things that set Craig apart from the others was his brutality and hard man attitude. If you take away his wreckless attitude and his brutality from his first two performances, then you'd just end up with Dalton but not as good.
    The brutality was gone in SF and they also changed his Bond personality wise. Instead of being a brutal Bond with an emotional side I thought he came across as a poor mans Connery (or even a poor mans Moore in some cases) but with more emotion.
    Interesting and spot-on observation IMO.
  • Posts: 11,425
    chrisisall wrote:
    Funnily enough that's something I missed in SF, the brutal fight scenes. I thought one of the things that set Craig apart from the others was his brutality and hard man attitude. If you take away his wreckless attitude and his brutality from his first two performances, then you'd just end up with Dalton but not as good.
    The brutality was gone in SF and they also changed his Bond personality wise. Instead of being a brutal Bond with an emotional side I thought he came across as a poor mans Connery (or even a poor mans Moore in some cases) but with more emotion.
    Interesting and spot-on observation IMO.

    Yes, interesting comments. Bond was definitely quite different in SF from CR and QoS. Not a bad thing in itself, but I prefered the character in the first two films.
  • RC7RC7
    Posts: 10,512
    RC7 wrote:
    doubleoego wrote:
    Craig in CR, especially in the first 2 acts was a beast.

    This is very true. I think it's why Dalts has the edge for me. To me Bond was never a wrecking-ball in the way Craig sometimes portrays him. I'm not a huge fan of the 'brutal' fight scenes. The Bond I like dispatches opponents with a measure of elegance and/or intelligence, not sheer brute force.

    Funnily enough that's something I missed in SF, the brutal fight scenes. I thought one of the things that set Craig apart from the others was his brutality and hard man attitude. If you take away his wreckless attitude and his brutality from his first two performances, then you'd just end up with Dalton but not as good.

    The brutality was gone in SF and they also changed his Bond personality wise. Instead of being a brutal Bond with an emotional side I thought he came across as a poor mans Connery (or even a poor mans Moore in some cases) but with more emotion.

    Oh I totally agree this is DC's point of difference and I agree he was a different Bond in SF. I was just stating that, if pushed, I'd always favour the less brutal more elegant and efficient Bond.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,687
    RC7 wrote:
    if pushed, I'd always favour the less brutal more elegant and efficient Bond.
    Dalton, in other words.
    B-)
  • edited March 2013 Posts: 172
    doubleoego wrote:
    I'm somewhat ambivalent towards TLD because it's a great movie but it makes me feel a but melancholy as, I regard it as the last true classic Bond movie for 2 reasons 1) it's Barry's last score which was just so excellent and 2)it was the last straight story before every subsequent Bond movie got personal.

    There are a few things i don't like about TLD such as D'Abo's "is this a dream or is this real"? line. MP was awful, I also thought Whittaker was a weak villain and the confrontation between he and Bond was absurd. Whittaker has this transparent face shield attached to his gun abd Bond stupidly wastes his bullets trying to get a face shot yet, the rest of Whittaker's body is fully exposed and Bond doesn't think to shoot him there? Ridiculous. There are a few more issues I have with the film but overall it's a great classic. Bond's interaction with Saunders, spiert spunerm (sp?), I love Bond's Aston Martin, Necros was the last great henchman if the series and Dalton was pretty awesome. He's not as great as Craig but he's still incredibly awesome abd gave us a Bond that deserved to be taken seriously.

    Correct me if I'm wrong but Brad did say he was wearing bodyarmour. If you notice before his death under his jacket it does look as if he's wearing somesort of armour.

    Still as said many times before Brad is my fav baddie & I really don't think any other actor would have played him better. The scenes I'm sure would have been exactly the same with any other actor.

    Also I really can't understand the writers why they had to keep Koskov cowering upstairs while the gunfire was blowing the place apart. Anyway it makes him more like a coward unlike Whitaker at least making an attempt to kill 007.

    If I was the writer at the time I would have had Koskov accidently pop in the room and be shot by Whitaker in the process only for Whitaker to quip "There you go Bond you can now have Koskov" " Now its time to play with my toys again".

    Crazy idea maybe but Koskov needed tought a proper lesson.

  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    Posts: 11,139

    Correct me if I'm wrong but Brad did say he was wearing bodyarmour. If you notice before his death under his jacket it does look as if he's wearing somesort of armour.


    He didn't look to be wearing any body armor at all to me. Not even under his military uniform. As for the armor he spoke of, I took it as he was referring to the armor/shield attached to his gun.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,687
    Nuts do not need armour.
  • Posts: 12,506
    Alot of things i liked with TLD. T name a few would be:
    Aston Martin
    Dalton ofcourse
    Necros
    A first class musical masterpiece by John Barry! ^:)^
  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    edited March 2013 Posts: 11,139
    strawberry JAM!

  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,687
    TLD is the best Bond movie ever put out; it blows FRWL, OHMSS & CR out of the water with its spot-on Dalton performance, its incomparable Barry score, its tight & simple direction, its restrained yet effective humour, its lush photography, its awesome AM Volante, its crazy sexy Moneypenny, its peerless fight scenes & stunts, and its overall impeccable combination of the best of literary Fleming & to-that-point cinematic Bond.

    Well... at least that how I feel every time I watch it. :\">
  • 007InVT007InVT Classified
    Posts: 893
    Here's a great re-cut trailer by this guy 'Chigawa' http://www.youtube.com/user/Chigawa/videos?query=james+bond

  • edited February 2014 Posts: 381
    I just rewatched this films yesterday (second time in the past month) and feel that this movie is maybe one of the best (and most underrated) in the series. It's a great Cold-War triller. The plot deviates from the normal Bond formula and has an interesting twist. It was a bit confusing when I first watched it but made more sense with a repeated viewing. Dalton is just fantastic and a nice change-of-pace from Moore (whom I loved as 007). The score, directing, action, etc. are all top notch.

    As for the third act (in the Middle East) being boring, I felt that way at first. However, with a repeated viewing, once I fully understood the plot, I no longer feel that way.
  • w2bondw2bond is indeed a very rare breed
    Posts: 2,252
    There's so many great moments from this gem that I don't know where to start. While there's a few others with less flaws (like FRWL), TLD has so many good moments, and some of the best action/fight/stunt scenes in the series. The villains and plot are a bit meh, but everything else makes up for it. And the score is my favourite in the series. Unfortunately all scores afterwards have been disappointing.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,687
    w2bond wrote:
    the score is my favourite in the series. Unfortunately all scores afterwards have been disappointing.
    Right there with ya. Barry, we miss you terribly....
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    This was the one Bond title I did not understand when it was announced. We do not use that expression in Norwegian, but a similar one: to scare the lifeshit out of someone. Would have made a terrible Bond title-
    TIMOTHY DALTON as JAMES BOND in THE LIFESHIT.
    Loved the film. Dalton was superb, one of the best pre title sequences, the short story beautifully included. Top ten film for sure.
  • Posts: 11,425
    chrisisall wrote:
    TLD is the best Bond movie ever put out; it blows FRWL, OHMSS & CR out of the water with its spot-on Dalton performance, its incomparable Barry score, its tight & simple direction, its restrained yet effective humour, its lush photography, its awesome AM Volante, its crazy sexy Moneypenny, its peerless fight scenes & stunts, and its overall impeccable combination of the best of literary Fleming & to-that-point cinematic Bond.

    Well... at least that how I feel every time I watch it. :\">

    It's always been a top fiver for me. Definitely one of my favourites.

    Best ever? 'Fraid not.
  • Mendes4LyfeMendes4Lyfe The long road ahead
    Posts: 7,969
    Probably a universal top ten Bond film. That freshness is there, like popping the lid on a new era. This is also the first Bond film that belongs to the modern times for me, with that techno score and deeper relationship between Bond and the girl. A great mix of the old and the new in this one.
  • Posts: 11,425
    The last of the truly classic era for me.

    LTK is the beginning of the change - going rogue etc.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,687
    Getafix wrote: »
    The last of the truly classic era for me.

    LTK is the beginning of the change - going rogue etc.
    Agreed. But as Bond said, "I love 'em both."
  • Artemis81Artemis81 In Christmas Land
    Posts: 543
    What really good movie. It's amazing we're celebrating 30 years since it's release. I like all the little bits the james bond facebook page has been posting about it.
  • echoecho 007 in New York
    edited July 2017 Posts: 5,921
    I remember seeing TLD in 1987 and being so excited by a younger Bond (that introduction!), the romance (one of the best), the locations (again, some of the best). It has stood the test of time.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    It was a breath of fresh air after the stale and geriatric AVTAK.
  • edited July 2017 Posts: 11,425
    They don't make them like TLD anymore. Everything SP wanted to be but didn't quite manage.
  • edited July 2017 Posts: 11,189
    Heading to Gibraltar over the next few days with a (non-Bond fan) friend and just showed him the opening to TLD. His response? "Such bad 80s action"

    He wasn't impressed.

    In light of modern action filmmaking I don't think a lot of the 80s movies hold up well.

    To me TLD was one of the better ones though.
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,882
    If that's appreciation, i'd hate to see what his criticism is like. I don't see what is so 80's about it.

    And i'm 4 days late, but happy 30th birthday to The Living Daylights.
  • edited July 2017 Posts: 11,189
    Don't ask me. He's the one that said it

    I still think "bad 80s action" applies more to AVTAK.
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,882
    I don't know, I wouldn't call the action in AVTAK, bad 80's action. It's just bad. The fire engine chase takes the cheese of the Moore era to new heights, and the Golden Gate Bridge fight stretches credibility to breaking point. From a financial view (to a kill) point, Moore could have done TLD, but from any other view, new blood was desperately needed.
  • edited July 2017 Posts: 11,189
    The Golden Gate fight was the best action sequence in the film but that too had its obvious issues. The cartoon-style death of Mortimer and Scarpine with the dynamite has always bothered me.

    Prior to DAD I consider the fire engine chase to be the lowest point of the series.

    TLD is classier and several big steps up after AVTAK.
  • Posts: 11,425
    If you don't like the opening of TLD a then you don't like Bond
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