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Comments
It was just all so overwhelming - put it in another timeframe and it'd do a bit better (enough to move it up a couple of places at most), but not much better. And I think that comes down to the fact that the audiences of 1989 weren't ready to adjust to this type of Bond. What made it worse was that there was too much aftermarket Moore-ness in the Dalton movies. The Living Daylights was like two bites of the cherry - it just wasn't satisfactory for the audiences then, and I think LTK only made things worse.
Yet they're now both remembered as good films, while some of the more popular, large-scale and more ridiculous adventures like YOLT and MR, which did considerably better at box office, are now considered mediocre or poor.
The LTK chase is really well constructed, how Bond destroys each truck in an inventive way. The much admired tank chase from GE is also lacking, Bond in a tank simply crashing through obstacles got real tiresome real fast!
I'm not sure I would agree that the boat chase from LALD gets universal praise. I find it quite boring.
If we were to compare the truck chase and tank chase, then it is clear that the tank chase is shorter, more concise and therefore sustains momentum far better. Yes Bond smashes a lot of stuff and to some people that might get tiresome but so might the repeated and excessive explosions in the truck chase. The truck chase is also undermined by dumb humour (the tourists with the pineapples, the ridiculous truck stunts, etc.) in a way that the tank chase isn't.
1. Bond finds a near dead Felix
Having discovered some big drug lord just escaped, Bond races back to Felix and Della's house to find Della murdered still in her wedding dress laying on the bed. We next see a shattered Bond entering Felix study approaching a large wrapped object on the couch. Unravelling it to discover a bloodied and near to death Felix with a note attached reading, He disagreed with something that ate him.
The sense of utter rage and helplessness that Timothy Dalton displays is fantastic. You can see the anger in his eyes and face, yet also the feeling of being unable to help his friend and the pain that comes from facing something like that. It's one of the reasons I wish we could've got a third, fourth, fifth film from Mr.Dalton. He's a fine actor.
2. Bond has his Licence to kill revoked
A tense scene in which Bond begins his personal vendetta against Sanchez and has M travel to Key West to bring his agent in. With Bond pleading that he intervene as the Americans aren't going to act on the horrible circumstances concerning Della and Felix, a disgruntled M attempts to remind Bond of his impending mission in Istanbul. Again, fuelled by his personal mission to bring down Sanchez, Bond resigns from Mi6. As M reminds him of the ramifications of his actions, then revoking Bond's licence to kill.
I love the way that Bond escapes the two secret service minders that accompany M and the sniper in the tower. Striking the minders, but never threatening M himself. It's a good Bond / M scene and one of Robert Brown's better M scenes.
3. Sanchez demise
Having already been discovered to be an informant and destroying Sanchez convoy of tankers, Bond and Sanchez fight to the death as the final tanker crashes down a slope. As Bond bloodied and bruised attempts to crawl away from the crash a petrol soaked Sanchez confronts Bond wielding a machete to finish off Bond once and for all.
As he push Bond against a rock ready to kill Bond, Bond removes the lighter given to him by Della and Felix, and asks Sanchez doesn't he want to know why Bond wanted to bring him down.
In doing so it delays Sanchez who lowers the machete, giving Bond time to ignite the lighter and thus the petrol soaked Sanchez into a human fireball. The helpless drug baron writhing in agony as flames engulf him, stumbling around as Bond hastily exits the area as a massive explosion goes off as Sanchez sets off the petrol spilling from the crashed tanker truck.
I really don't think there has been a more agonising death for a Bond villain, or a more sadistic turn from Bond. It's a very horrifying scene, but due to the general story and bleakness of LTK it works.
Honourable mentions:
The Wavekrest escape - Having slipped aboard the Wavekrest and now having to escape after Sharky is killed, Bond uses diving gear to at first attempt to flee, but after being discovered by Krest's scuba divers uses a spear gun to fire at a seaplane to aid him in his escape, the scene is well shot and uses some very inventive and impressive stunt work, moving from underwater, high speed barefoot water skiing and then Bond hanging from the inflight small seaplane trying to get inside.
The Tanker chase - probably the best set piece of the movie, as Bond and Pam race to stop Sanchez as he flees with his four tanker trucks full of a petrol / cocaine mixture. Very inventive how Bond dispatches each of them, with some incredible stunt work.
Dario and the cocaine grinder - Sanchez henchman Dario moves in to kill Bond as OO7 hangs above a cocaine grinder, hands and feet bound. As Dario moves above cutting away at Bond's hand binding that will result in Bond falling to his death into the whirling blades of the grinder. Luckily Pam arrives shooting Dario in the shoulder and causing him to fall backward where upon Bond (with hands now free) reaching up and pulling Dario down into the hopper with him. As Bond desperately clings on as his struggles with Dario who slowly falls into the blades and is gruesomely minced up.
Again, a rather horrible death, but in keeping with the tone of the film.
A good film LTK, and when I first saw it back in 1989, I thought how dark and realistic it was. Much more adult in tone than any previous Bond film. Today it doesn't look to bad compared to todays movies, but I do like the revenge story. Where Bond doesn't really kill anyone and unravels the villain by setting the seeds of distrust.
This would set in place a long line of revenge story lines to come.
2. Bond and Pam on the boath
3. Blofeld is he back ?
Forgive me @M_Balje but I'm not sure what you refer to in the three best scenes of LTK with 'Blofeld is he back' can you elaborate please?
The truck chase in LTK, I also loved, so many stunts, Bond gives you your money
worth. :)
Very close at the top
1 = Tanker Chase = 31 Points
2 = Death of Sanchez = 27 Points
3 = Bond and M at the Hemingway House = 21 Points
4 = Death of Killifer = 20 Points
5 = Seaplane Escape = 19 Points
Next up is: Goldeneye
2. Title sequence
3. The rest
Hmmmm...
Ok...
PTS
Car chase with Xenia in France
Alec and Bond in the graveyard of statues
Goldeneye is in my top 3 (depending on mood, my favorite Bond movie sometimes)
really hard to pick out 3 scenes, but of the top of my Mind:
1. Bond and Alec fight on the cradle
2. Bond and Xenia in the casino
3. The whole PTS
2-Goldeneye destroys the Soviet base
3-Train sequence
Title sequence
Bungee jump
Ouromov killing Mishkin to frame Bond.
If not, add Ouromov giving Xenia a quizzical stare when she gets off on machine gunning all those people. (Must be related to Zorin)
1.) The PTS
2.) Interrogation/Archives/Tank Chase/Train Finale. This entire section flows so well.
3.) Bond vs. Alec along the dish.
2. Massacre of Severnaya staff
3. Bond vs Alec
2. Tank chase
3. Q scene
Honorable mention: Mishkin interrogation, attack of Severnaia, Bond vs Alec, meeting Valentine, Bond investigating in Monaco, casino scene, confronting Alec in the train.
2) Severnaya Massacre/Sole Survivor Natalya
3) Derailing/Escaping the Train.
1) Title sequence
2) Robbie Coltrane ("Walther PPK, 7.65 mm...!)
3) Shootout at the archive! (Though not the Tarzan swing through the window!!)
I hate the scene with M in her office. Brosnan sits there like he wasn't even in the same room as her!
2. Escape from the train
3. Monument graveyard
2. TS
3. Bond and Alec fight
Honorouble mentions: tank chase, Q scene, M scene, Zukovsky, statue park, Trevelyan's dialogue at climax - e.g. if all the vodka martinis silence the screams etc.
opening
big fight at end
Best Bond film of the Broz era.
And 1940 was the best year of the war.