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Post #434877

Author
ChainsawAsh
Parent topic
Last movie seen
Link to post in topic
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/434877/action/topic#434877
Date created
25-Aug-2010, 1:49 AM

Licence to Kill.

I don't know if I mentioned it in this thread (I think I did, but I'm too lazy to go back and look right now), but I also watched The Living Daylights not too long ago.

And I have to say, I'd only seen each Dalton Bond once before, and it was quite a while ago (during my have-to-own-every-James-Bond-film-on-VHS days, before The World is Not Enough came out), and they are both much better than I remember.

I'm not sure why the Dalton films are so maligned by many Bond fans.  I think both are fantastic, and Dalton does Bond better than Brosnan, Moore, Lazenby, and probably Connery ever did (I'm still on the fence there), and he's at least as good as Daniel Craig, if not better.  He just ... is 007, at least 007 as he should be (to me).

Personally, I feel Licence isn't quite as good as Daylights, but it's still better than the vast majority of Bond films.  I'd say the only ones that are better than it are Daylights, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, From Russia with Love, Casino Royale, and maybe Dr. No (though that's a very boring film today).

I feel one of the reasons it's not as appreciated is that the villain isn't out to take over the world or anything - he's just a drug dealer.  But it works because this isn't a "save the world" 007 film - it's much more personal to James than that.  Not to mention it does the "rogue" 007 better than Die Another Day or Quantum of Solace did (though Quantum comes very close).

It almost feels (to me) that Bond is doing this to vicariously seek revenge for the death of his wife (in OHMSS) as much as getting revenge for the maiming of his best friend.  He knows Felix can't avenge his wife's death himself, being maimed and all, and Bond's been down this road before.  To him, Sanchez may as well have killed his own wife.  Licence to Kill is the kind of film that should have followed On Her Majesty's Secret Service - Bond blinded by vengeance against Blofeld.  Instead we got Diamonds Are Forever (to be fair, I don't remember much of that movie, either - I should give it another go soon).

As much as I love GoldenEye, it pains me that we got that instead of another Dalton Bond.  I could live with losing GoldenEye if it meant we wouldn't have had to put up with The World is Not Enough and Die Another Day.  (Tomorrow Never Dies I could take or leave.)

Anyway, if you haven't given the Dalton Bond films a fair shake in recent years, give them another go.  You might be surprised at how much better they are than you may remember.