A View to a Kill
As part of my ongoing Bond LD crusade, this gets back to the original presentation and looks quite good for LD. Sound is brilliant and far better than anything on the DVDs. As for the film, I know it's flaws but am not as quick to write it off as most. It's a lower-key film for sure, Moore has gotten too old-but this gives the film its best theme-that of Bond being tired, rundown, fed-up and this is what the score continually underlines throughout the film. Stacey Sutton is perhaps the worst or blandest female character in the series, with Zorin being one of the most fantastically interesting villains ever. As with the great Bond villains you simply want him to succeed in order to see what he'll do next, while absolutely fascinated. As I have said many times, Christopher Walken is a genius. I always enjoy the Moore-Macnee banter in the chateau, and overall if you're not too critical this is really a just very sleepy swan song for Moore.
Want a demo for Dolby Surround? Crank the title sequence. Who needs neighbors anyway?
3 balls out of 4.
The Living Daylights
For my money, the best modern-era Bond film, and the last great Bond film period. Stunning that the fourth time around John Glen pulls the rabbit out of the hat with a complete 180 in the style in which he had done FYEO, Octopussy and AVTAK. Barry's final 007 score is one of the great film scores, the cinematography is top notch, the tone ambitiously straddles not only film 007 and Fleming but also fully incorporates both into the Cold War reality of 1987. It is this quality that truly makes the film, especially for big Bond enthusiasts because this all feasibly could actually happen with Dalton seeming to believe 100% that it is. Of course, Dalton is magnificent in the film. There's enough of Dick Maibaum in the script to make everything tick properly (unlike LTK which was mostly penned by Exec. Producer Michael G. Wilson) and of course there's actual espionage going on. Bond must actually think and use his brain to decipher the villain's scheme and maneuver around the ever closing grasp of political machinations.
I love this film.
The LD is stunning, with brilliant picture and perfectly clear sound that exposed things even I had never heard.
4 balls out of 4. One of the 10 best Bond films ever made, and truly underrated.