It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
^ Back to Top
The MI6 Community is unofficial and in no way associated or linked with EON Productions, MGM, Sony Pictures, Activision or Ian Fleming Publications. Any views expressed on this website are of the individual members and do not necessarily reflect those of the Community owners. Any video or images displayed in topics on MI6 Community are embedded by users from third party sites and as such MI6 Community and its owners take no responsibility for this material.
James Bond News • James Bond Articles • James Bond Magazine
Comments
Title track: LTK (80s cheese, but feels Bond and the GF horns don't hurt it.)
Titles: SP (LTK's is pretty woeful)
Main villain: LTK (Sanchez may be my favourite Bond villain of the 80s. Davi's finest hour.)
Main Bond Girl: LTK (I don't think Lowell is strong, but the part works for the film and she saves Bond a couple of times.)
Henchman: SP (I like Del Toro and even the guy who plays Perez but Hinx is a highlight of the Craig era)
Plot: LTK (Taken from LALD and even MWTGG - strong narrative.)
Dialogue: LTK (Sanchez's dialogue is great especially with Bond. I love the Bond scene with M - there are many memorable lines from this film - 'More of a problem eliminator', 'give her his heart', 'you're only president for life.')
Score: LTK (I'm no fan of Newman's Bond work. Kamen's is a little invasive for me but it has it's moments. And uses the Bond score very well.)
Settings: SP (Rome, Alps, Mexico City - No contest)
Action: LTK (The PTS, the ski/plane scene, the tanker chase is marvellous)
Humour: LTK (I actually like the dark humour from Sanchez - like when he's talking to Krest and says 'flew away - like a little bird'. Even the way the waitress steps around the knocked out guy in the bar scene - like she's still worrying about her future tip.)
Cinematography: SP (Beautifully shot. A real highlight of SP)
Benign Bizarre: LTK (The shark, the wedding death, 'honeymooooon', Krest head explosion, Professor Joe Butcher...)
Suspense: LTK (LTK has this in spades. A clear win.)
Minor Characters: LTK (Milton Krest is a highlight, Truman Lodge, Joe Butcher.)
Glamour: SP (More glamour in the SP train scene than in most of LTK.)
Bond performance: LTK (Dalton on point as Bond. Driven, cold, playing the villain against his allies. His scene with M is a highlight.)
LTK - 12
SP - 6
I just rewatched LTK and I've always loved it - I really enjoy elements like subtle humour and strong suspense. I like the way the narrative moves. The first half is really strong and the dip when they get to Isthmus is a nice breather setting up the second half. There are one or two scenes I'd axe - the bar room brawl and maybe Pam with Joe Butcher - in fact that whole fake preacher sub plot goes nowhere - but it doesn't impact on the central narrative drive too much. SP shouldn't feel too bad - LTK would be knocking at the door of my top ten.
Title track: LTK
Titles: SP
Main villain: LTK
Main Bond Girl: SP
Henchman: SP
Plot: LTK
Dialogue: LTK
Score: LTK
Settings: SP
Action: LTK
Humour: LTK
Cinematography: SP
Benign Bizarre: LTK
Suspense: LTK
Minor Characters: LTK
Glamour: SP
Bond performance: LTK
LTK - 11
SP - 7
PTS: TIE (Both are right around my top 5 - can't decide between the two at the moment)
Title track: SP (I like all Bond title tracks except one, but Gladys' theme has always sat in my bottom 5, still a nice track, but not as powerful as Sam Smith's ROTW)
Titles: SP (Sadly, Binder goes out with a whimper in his last title sequence. We see more computer generated imagery here, but it is incredibly outdated and GE six years later makes this look even weaker.)
Wow! SP off to an early 2-0-1 lead. Can it possibly pull off a miracle upset?
Main villain: LTK (Easy victory as Davi's Sanchez is in my top 5 villains. Love his motivation and virtue driven by loyalty.)
Main Bond Girl: LTK (Pam is underrated IMO. She can handle herself as shown in the bar scene and can be elegant as displayed in the casino scene.)
Henchman: LTK (Dario might be the most sadistic henchman, albeit underused in the middle parts of the film)
LTK storms right back to take a 3-2-1 lead.
Plot: LTK (A tame, realistic, villain plot, but this story is all about Bond's revenge and how his thirst for vengeance gets in the way of the bigger picture. Works much more fluidly than SP)
Dialogue: LTK (Another close one, but I enjoy LTK slightly more. The
'Why don't you ask me' back and forth 'problem eliminator' are standout highlights)
Score: LTK (Dirty Love! Kamen's score is one of my less favorite non-Barry scores of the classic era, but it still outdraws SP's recycling)
LTK pulling away as expected, extending the lead to 6-2-1.
Settings: SP (Apart from Sanchez's pad which is beautiful, SP just has far more exotic and beautiful settings)
Action: SP (The tanker chase has always been underwhelming for me. The waterski and opening scenes are good, but where LTK excels in plot and storytelling, it lacks in action compared to SP).
Humour: SP (LTK's humor relies almost solely on Q who is fantastically used here, but SP has some underrated comedic elements to it)
Cinematography: SP (HVH beautifully shot film wins again over a pretty straight forward, solid, but unspectacular effort by Alec Mills)
What's this? SP storming back to tie it up at 6-6-1! Just when it looked like SP was down and out for the count
Benign Bizarre: LTK (Weird face in Sanchez's pad, winking fish, swordfish fight, etc)
Suspense: SP (Cocaine grinder is slightly edged out by pain needle as most dramatic moment, a lot of tension in the Sanchez assassantion attempt as well, but final chopper chase in SP gives it the slight edge)
Minor Characters: LTK (Q/Leiter/Krest/Sharkey are able to overcome Lupe's shortcomings. Mr. White is solid but not enough to overtake LTK)
Glamour: SP (The clothes alone in SP makes it more glamorous, the use of locales and set decoration seals the deal).
We are still tied 8-8-1 with one category remaining. How is this back and forth matchup going to end?
Bond performance: LTK (Dalton's performance is the best and most believable example of Bond going rogue. Love the way he infiltrates Sanchez organization and yet managed to keep some of the romantic qualities of Bond. Craig is better with the humor and action, but it is not enough to surpass Dalts swansong).
And there you have it. A nailbiting 9-8-1 victory for LTK. SP held up pretty well here vs the elements, but wasn't quite enough to pull off the upset.
Title Track: Spectre - Neither of these are top quality for me, but I prefer Writing's On The Wall to Licence to Kill.
Title Credits: Spectre - Licence to Kill's title credits are a mess.
Main Villain: Licence to Kill - Sanchez is a really good villain. I like how he is personally involved in so much of his own operation. It definitely gets you thinking about characters like Goldfinger. While not necessarily that good, it is a quality Spectre missed on. They act like Blofeld controls everything, but we know from Casino Royale to Skyfall that those villains were very much personally invested into their actions. That part of the villainy falls short.
Main Bond Girl: Spectre - Swann is a much more traditional Bond girl. Pam is over assertive and definitely has an unappealing relationship with Bond as it plays out.
Henchman: Spectre - Hinx by a mile.
Plot: Spectre - I don't think there is a lot of meat on the bones of either plot, but I must say I prefer the spy-oriented plot of Spectre to the Miami Vice style story of Licence to Kill. Licence to Kill was better at executing it, but I just think that's a shallow place to go for Bond.
Dialogue: Licence to Kill - It was definitely part of an era that would put a lot of emphasis on what was said, so it succeeds here for me in the parts where it works. I'm going to place the blame for many of the scenes I don't like on the performances themselves since it is not unreasonable to think the dialogue could be made to work. The Q scenes would play much higher to a portrayal of a Moore or Brosnan than Dalton.
Score: Licence to Kill - Kamen put in a unique Bond sound that neither disappoints nor stands out. This one is pretty close, but I'm going with Licence to Kill because of the originality. Had Spectre not carried over several Skyfall themes, I would easily go with Spectre here.
Settings: Spectre - I will say this: I think Licence to Kill gets more mileage out of the settings they visit. However, it's really bare bones compared to Spectre.
Action: Licence to Kill - Originally I had this for Spectre. It's really close. If Spectre didn't get sidetracked in its action, it would be so much easier for me to praise its action sets.
Humor: Spectre - The efforts of Spectre seem excessive, but it delivers on some. Licence to Kill is probably the least humorous Bond film for me.
Cinematography: Spectre - Some really beautiful shots that enhance the experience immeasurably. Licence to Kill does not provide that readily here.
Benign Bizarre: Licence to Kill - Normally I go with my higher preference choice since this is such a subjective category, but Licence to Kill has a lot of subject matter. Bless your heart.
Suspense: Licence to Kill - The best part of Licence to Kill is when he begins working for Sanchez. The fact that it builds momentum late is a huge plus, compared to Spectre that disintegrates at the end.
Minor Characters: Spectre - Very decisive with a great outing from Q and Mr. White. Conversely, Q is atrociously scripted in Licence to Kill. Everything besides the delivery of gadgets would be better left in the editing room.
Glamor: Spectre - This one is pretty close because Licence to Kill does have a bit of glamor, but it has some unglamorous moments as well. Spectre tries hard not to let you down in that regard (it does, but to a lesser extent).
Bond Performance: Spectre - Dalton goes from living on the edge to living over the edge and it is truly overplayed a bit too much throughout the film. I've always been extremely critical of it because I thought he was almost perfectly on point in The Living Daylights aside from the romance. Craig certainly doesn't give a consistent performance here either, but I think the variation plays much better to the film.
Spectre: 11
Licence to Kill: 7
I know several people are bound to disagree with me. Licence to Kill has never done a lot for me as a Bond film and it is generally overrated on these boards compared to the general popular consensus. Overall they are close in my rankings (17 vs. 20). My lack of enthusiasm for both probably shows up in what I wrote. They both have positive qualities that make them enjoyable watches, but have big flaws that, to me, significantly affect the quality of the product.
Title track: LTK
Titles: SP
Main villain: LTK
Main Bond Girl: LTK
Henchman: LTK
Plot: LTK
Dialogue: SP
Score: LTK
Settings: SP
Action: SP
Humour: SP
Cinematography: SP
Benign Bizarre: LTK
Suspense: LTK
Minor Characters: LTK
Glamour: SP
Bond performance: SP
9-9
PTS: SP
Title track: LTK (I meanwhile don't think that TWOTW is terrible but it still does not sound like a Bond song to me, at least not like a title song)
Titles: SP (I am not a big fan of both)
Main villain: LTK (Sanchez is a highlight, Oberhauser is underwhelming)
Main Bond Girl: SP (I slightly prefer Madeleine, mostly because of the better acting)
Henchman: LTK (Dario fits in better and does stand out, whereas Hinx is to stereotype)
Plot: LTK (since it was the first of all the many revenge films it is the most original one and I like the undercover part in the second half)
Dialogue: SP (SP has some good lines and LTK has some really awfull lines)
Score: LTK (both are not the best but I slightly prefer LTK)
Settings: SP (LTK has the worst of the series)
Action: LTK (both are underwhelming to me but the tanker chase decides it)
Humour: SP
Cinematography: SP
Benign Bizarre: SP (LTK is not bizarre, maybe except for the Ninjas, SP is so confusing and the plot has so many terribly bizarre elements that I have to give it to SP)
Suspense: LTK (SP is almost suspenseless)
Minor Characters: SP (the minor characters in LTK are not really that good or memorable, SP has at least Mr White and Lucia)
Glamour: SP (LTK is completely unglamarous)
Bond performance: SP (overall I like Dalton more but in LTK he is overacting quite a lot and SP is my favourite performance by Craig)
11-7 for Spectre. I am really surprised but Spectre wins this, even though I actually prefer LTK.
Title track: SP (I like LTK's theme song but Writing's on the Wall has really grown on me)
Titles: SP
Main villain: SP ( While Davi gives a good performance I find his drug lord all a bit meh)
Main Bond Girl: LTK (Pam Bouvier is one of my favourite Bond girls)
Henchman: SP
Plot: SP
Dialogue: SP
Score: SP (Can't stand Kamen's LTK score)
Settings: SP
Action: SP
Humour: LTK (Mainly thanks to Q)
Cinematography: SP
Benign Bizarre: SP
Suspense: SP
Minor Characters: SP
Glamour: SP
Bond performance: SP ( Dalton's performance is one of the worst aspects of LTK. Tragic case of an actor trying too hard and allowing the audience to 'see' the acting. His scene where he discovers Della's body is risible. Shame as his performance in TLD is one of my favourites)
SP - 16
LTK - 2
"Bond performance: SP ( Dalton's performance is one of the worst aspects of LTK. Tragic case of an actor trying too hard and allowing the audience to 'see' the acting. His scene where he discovers Della's body is risible. Shame as his performance in TLD is one of my favourites)"
I feel the same way. I really adore Dalton's performance in TLD. It's amazing how he manages to play the serious parts and the romantic and charming parts. You really buy his emotions for Kara and I guess the reason I like TLD so much has something to do with Dalton's performance. In LTK however he really crosses the line and is overacting. You really see that he is a dramatic actor which does not fit in there. In TLD it was perfect, in LTK it's just too much.
Thanks, @GBF
He was so natural in TLD. I think it's as close to Fleming's Bond as any actor has come in that film.
LTK was a massive disappointment for me coming after such a great Flemingesque thriller like TLD.
I still find it incomprehensible that people think his performance in LTK was good.
Title track: SP
Titles: SP
Main villain: LTK
Main Bond Girl: LTK
Henchman: LTK
Plot: LTK
Dialogue: SP
Score: LTK
Settings: SP
Action: LTK
Humour: SP
Cinematography: SP
Benign Bizarre: SP
Suspense: LTK
Minor Characters: LTK
Glamour: SP
Bond performance: SP
Spectre 10-8 LTK
Often people complain that the romance between Bond and Kara is unrealisitc because Kara is a bit too innocent and makes some mistakes. However, I really buy Bond's feelings mainly because of that. She really has a human and innocent side and Bond knows that he has protect her from the danger around her. Maybe he also wish to have some of Kara's humanity or innocence since he is more or less the complete opposite of that.
You are right that he does not know exactly how to deal with her and maybe even uses her in order to come closer to Koskov but I also always feel that there is some unawareness in his behaviour. He seem to like the mystery around Kara's character and he is affected by not knowing who Kara actually is. He saved her life in the beginning and therefore wants to know more about her. I also like that the romance is slowly developing and hence more believable than others in the franchise where the emotions seem to come out of nowhere.
Title track: SP
Titles: SP
Main villain: LTK
Main Bond Girl: SP
Henchman: SP
Plot: LTK
Dialogue: LTK
Score: SP
Settings: SP
Action: LTK
Humour: LTK
Cinematography: SP
Benign Bizarre: SP
Suspense: SP
Minor Characters: SP
Glamour: SP
Bond performance: SP
SP 13/ LTK 5
Title track: LTK
Titles: SP
Main villain: LTK
Main Bond Girl: LTK
Henchman: LTK
Plot: LTK
Dialogue: LTK
Score: LTK
Settings: SP
Action: LTK
Humour: LTK
Cinematography: SP
Benign Bizarre: LTK
Suspense: LTK
Minor Characters: LTK
Glamour: SP
Bond performance: LTK
13/ 5 IN FAVOUR OF LTK.
Title track: LTK
Titles: TIE
Main villain: LTK
Main Bond Girl: LTK
Henchman: SP
Plot: LTK
Dialogue: SP
Score: LTK
Settings: SP
Action: LTK
Humour: SP
Cinematography: SP
Benign Bizarre: SP
Suspense: LTK
Minor Characters: SP
Glamour: SP
Bond performance: SP
SP 10
LTK 7
TIE 1
Title track: LTK
Titles: SP
Main villain: LTK
Main Bond Girl: LTK
Henchman: SP
Plot: LTK
Dialogue: LTK
Score: LTK
Settings: SP
Action: LTK
Humour: LTK
Cinematography: SP
Benign Bizarre: LTK
Suspense: LTK
Minor Characters: LTK
Glamour: SP
Bond performance: SP
LTK - 11
SP - 7
Title track: LTK
Titles: SP
Main villain: LTK
Main Bond Girl: SP
Henchman: SP
Plot: LTK
Dialogue: LTK
Score: LTK
Settings: SP
Action: LTK
Humour: SP
Cinematography: SP
Benign Bizarre: SP
Suspense: LTK
Minor Characters: SP
Glamour: SP
Bond performance: SP
LTK: 7
SP : 11
About right,these two films are very close in my rankings and it shows here.
Title track: LTK (rather than a knock off of GF, than Smith’s caterwauling)
Titles: SP (a last hoorah from Binder in one of his finest latter day works)
Main villain: LTK
Main Bond Girl: SP (those eyes damn it!)
Henchman: SP (Dario runs him close tho)
Plot: LTK
Dialogue: LTK
Score: LTK (I dig Kamen’s score)
Settings: SP
Action: LTK (one of the best in the series)
Humour: LTK
Cinematography: SP
Benign Bizarre: SP
Suspense: LTK
Minor Characters: LTK (Despite Mr. White, LTK has one of the finest rogues gallery in the series)
Glamour: SP (the sequences in Rome definitely for me)
Bond performance: SP
LTK: 9
SP : 9
A tie, surprisingly, as I have LTK a few spots up in my rankings.
Where is @TheWizardOfIce? The forum needs his caustic humour!
As Trump's main speechwriter he is quite busy at the moment.
Title track: LTK
Titles: SP
Main villain: LTK
Main Bond Girl: SP
Henchman: SP
Plot: SP
Dialogue: LTK
Score: LTK
Settings: SP
Action: LTK
Humour: SP
Cinematography: SP
Benign Bizarre: SP
Suspense: LTK
Minor Characters: SP
Glamour: SP
Bond performance: SP
SP : 12
LTK: 6
Still very surprising given that LTK is frequently in Top 10 lists around here and on average ranks 10-13 among people's lists.
PTS: SP (I had to think about it for a bit, but SP has the slight edge.)
Title track: LTK (no thinking required here.)
Titles: SP (LTK might be the blandest of them all.)
Main villain: LTK (an easy victory.)
Main Bond Girl: SP (another easy victory.)
Henchman: LTK (Dario did more with less.)
Plot: SP (I enjoy the setup of LTK, but it ends up pushing Bond way too far over the edge, and all without any real consequences for him.)
Dialogue: LTK (some strong dialogue throughout, with the exception of a few cringeworthy lines.)
Score: SP (the lesser of two evils.)
Settings: SP (better utilization of its locations.)
Action: SP (a close one, but the train fight puts SP over the top.)
Humour: SP (The misplaced Q scenes really hurt LTK in this category.)
Cinematography: SP
Benign Bizarre: LTK
Suspense: LTK (the last act of SP just kills any momentum that had been built up.)
Minor Characters: LTK (again, Mr. White alone isn't enough to defeat a whole slew of great minor characters like Sharkey, Krest, Professor Joe, etc...)
Glamour: SP
Bond performance: LTK (even though I have reservations with how the character is written, the darker material plays more to Dalton's strengths, while Craig seems a bit out of his element at times.)
LTK - 8
SP - 10
Title track: LTK
Titles: LTK really dislike the SP Titles.
Main villain: LTK
Main Bond Girl: LTK
Henchman: SP
Plot: LTK
Dialogue: LTK
Score: LTK
Settings: LTK
Action: LTK
Humour: LTK
Cinematography: SP
Benign Bizarre: SP
Suspense: LTK
Minor Characters: SP
Glamour: SP
Bond performance: LTK
SP : 5
LTK: 13
Title track: LTK (LTK's has grown on me like TLD's)
Titles: SP (LTK's are meh. SP's are great)
Main villain: LTK (Sanchez is one of the series' best)
Main Bond Girl: SP (Swann has the edge for sure here)
Henchman: LTK (I just prefer Dario over Hinx)
Plot: LTK (LTK has a very good revenge story)
Dialogue: LTK (LTK edges SP out)
Score: SP (not crazy about either, but SP is slightly better here IMO)
Settings: SP (Easy SP win)
Action: SP
Humour: LTK (both have some really solid humor. LTK's still stands out to me more)
Cinematography: SP
Benign Bizarre: LTK (close call, but the lizard gives LTK the win)
Suspense: LTK (I do like SP, but suspense is one of the weak points most of the time)
Minor Characters: LTK
Glamour: SP
Bond performance: SP (Craig is great in all his Bond films IMO. Dalton's best performance is LTK's IMO, but Craig still wins out)
9-9 tie. LTK is 2 ahead of SP in my rankings. Both highly enjoyable Bond films for me.