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Comments
Haha. That’s a shame.
I can understand why Reed was never even a consideration for Bond at that time. Presumably he’d have been too much of a liability.
I just like the idea of Reed playing a mad military man going up against Bond
I could also see him as someone like LeChiffe.
An outwardly calm demeanour but something of a wildcat.
-Kara grates on my nerves, fairly quickly. She just constantly seems so stupid, and James is frequently frustrated by her. For instance, during the climax in the cargo plane, he has to do charades to explain to her to "drive around the back of the plane!" He seems exasperated by having to do this, it pulls us out of the moment, and it casts her in a poor light too. It's no good. Re-write and re-cast her, please.
-JD Baker doesn't really work for me - particularly his character but partly the actor. 'Ruthless arms dealer,' perhaps, but he simply feels too small-time for someone like Bond to worry about. He's the kind of guy Bond should brush aside without a second thought rather than a 'final villain.' I'm always annoyed by their final showdown, when Bond stupidly empties an entire magazine into what is clearly a bullet-proof shield (that covers only a small part of Baker's body anyway). Eliminate this character or re-write him into the sidelines, please.
-As a general direction note, I once heard Dalton described as having a smile "like a mad Alsatian." This is true; direct and film him accordingly.
-Bliss is a fine enough Moneypenny but is directed strangely here; she seems lingering, needy, nerdy . . . weird.
-As was often the case with the Moore films, I think that most of the 'comedy' bits here are OK in isolation but do add up a bit too much. The cello case sledding, for instance, is fine with me but follows rather hard upon the comedy car chase. Removing one of or two gags here and there would help even out the tone, I think.
-Leiter and his 'sidekicks' are oddly written here, and underwhelming. Rewrite or remove.
-Krabbe is a great actor and his role is a tricky one - the doubling double who plays both the joker and the villain -so I'd say leave it in. But perhaps nuance things a bit more, give him some space in the time that's been saved by my other edits to flesh out the backstory or motivations a bit?
-As for things to leave alone: the theme song is fine, the PTS is great, the counter-sniper operation is great, Rhys-Davies is excellent, and the poster is outstanding.
Glad I'm not the only one who noticed Dalton's rather awkward smiling.
What's wrong with his smile?
That one works.
It’s other times when he’s with Kara that it feels a bit uncomfortable.
Like the scene when he’s doing that luvy-duvy grin at her when they are riding on the horse.
Then-again it’s possible the awkwardness was intentional as he was meant to be pretending to court her.
Never bothered me, to be honest. There are other issues with this film I find more annoying, haha!
LOL! Especially in LTK with his version of a grim expression throughout.
A fantastic PTS which could only have been bettered if they hadn't dubbed the girl.
EDIT. Not only a great Bond film, but a great Bond. For my money Dalton is Bond (or rather, was Bond).
My favorite Bond film too, but that plot is wacky. I still couldn't pass a quiz on what the movie was about. Just think it's got cool action and Dalton.
Dalton fan too. I've always wondered what ATVAK would have been like with Dalton, but for the first time, after reading your post, I wonder what TLD would have been like with Moore.
There’s qualities to like about both (I prefer both the title song and score for AVTAK), but from a filmmaking point-of-view TLD is stronger.
Better casting, better direction, better acting and better characters.
Absolutely not. I love both.
Thanks, good to know I am not alone... I know that the films are very different but they also share similarities. Both have a certain dark 80s atmosphere that I really like. The overall tone is quite dark and even violent but there are also some rather Mooresque moments to lighten up the mood. Barry's final scores also add to my overall enjoyment of these films.
Pretty much the same reasons I enjoy both.
Couldn't agree more :D
Again, this is your chance to say whatever you would have done differently with the film, so things like; plot changes, character additions or subtractions. Anything you like. People will be given the chance to give their responses within 7 DAYS from today (this may change so let me know if you want me to extend the time for longer) until the discussion moves on to the next James Bond film. This will run until we reach SPECTRE.
Looking forward to hearing what you guys think. Don't worry if you missed out on discussing any of the films. Once we've finished all the James Bond films, this will become a general discussion about what we would change.
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-Recast most of the clowns in the Florida scenes, who imho overact with shameful abandon
-Give Talisa Soto basic acting lessons before filming begins
-Do something about Dalton’s unkempt mop. What was wrong with his TLD do?
-Tell Carey Lowell to tone it down a bit. Her character is decent but she overplays during the emotional scenes
-Rewrite the awful cheese on the boat (just after the bar fight).
-Advise Dalton to dial it back when he’s being emotional (“Switch the bloody machine off!!!!!”, “Delllaaaa!!!”, “It’s a tough business you’ve picked Ms. Bouvier. Leave it to the professionals!!!”, “You’re bloody lucky to be alive!!!!”). He’s playing James Bond and not some Shakespearean character on stage
-Drop some of the Q scenes in Isthmus. I find his presence a bit annoying.
-Re-choreograph the awful bar fight.
-Drop the winking fish
-Up the budget a bit so Glen has more to work with, particularly in Florida
----
That's about it for now.
I want to see Bond on his own given a hard time on his way to victory. Save the team stuff for later.
First the marketing campaign was atrocious in the States. Tons of competition that summer, and many people weren't aware the new Bond was out. Eon really needed to up their game here considering the film was tailored to succeed especially in the States.
Here are some thoughts:
Odd one here, but I'd have kept the original title LICENCE REVOKED. IMO, it was far more intriguing, relevant to the plot and not so cliched. In fact, LICENCE REVOKED is one of the very few Eon made up titles I liked. The excuse that audiences were too ignorant to understand the meaning of "revoked" doesn't hold up. Look it up if you don't know what it means. Bond fans get an education anyway through the films. How many of us here knew what Faberage Eggs were before we watched OP?
Also, the Bob Peak LICENCE REVOKED poster artwork, I also found interesting as opposed to the last minute posters that were released.
Get Tim and the cast out there more promoting the film. It was quite sparse. Nowhere near the publicity of TLD.
Although apparently John Barry was too ill to compose, I think a score by him would have added more atmosphere. One of the major complaints at the time was it didn't feel like a Bond film. Barry could have addressed that.
That said I do like Kamen's work, which fit in well with other action films of the time. If anything at least use the LTK title song in instrumental form somewhere. The song was so last minute I believe the rest of the score was probably already complete.
Cut the slow motion bit in the PTS or play it at normal speed.
Use a different take of "Goddammit!" Somehow that scene feels like a first time script reading. Same with "This is where it ends Commander". Use a different take.
Consider dubbing Talisa. I wonder what Nikki Van der Zyl was doing in 1989? I love the cast in LTK and wouldn't change much else there, really.
Take a little more time with the M scene. It should have had more impact and been one of the best. Here it feel too rushed.
The blu-ray is beautiful, but the cinematic prints looked dirty. Some reel changes displayed a completely different film stock and colors. The film looked like a Cannon Chuck Norris or Charles Bronson film as seen on the TBS station back in the '90's. Grainy.
I actually preferred that look for LTK, but it was certainly criticized in '89.
Use a medium shot of close up for the "Bond. James Bond" bit. I love that it's understated here, but it didn't need to be presented in a wide shot.
Bond wear Fleming style blue single breasted suits in LTK. Good choice, however, use a cut similar to the suit he wore while interrogating Pushkin. That flattered Tim more.
Lastly, Tim's hair could have easily been fixed. I always felt LTK was Tim's poorly executed version of a Dirty Harry haircut. Little known fact that Dalton is a HUGE Eastwood fan. Considering Tim was thinning at the hairline, a good barber or stylist could have trimmed it similar to Clint's in SUDDEN IMPACT.
Still he looked damn good in The Rocketeer two years later, so it could have been fixed.
1) Keep the original title. Seriously, even as a ten year old I knew what the word revoked meant.
2) Somehow get John Barry to do the score.
3) Rework Pam's character a bit. Definitely not have her sleep with Bond so early in the film. I thought it would be more interesting to have Bond spend more time with Lupe to further incite Sanchez's rage.
4) No Q tagging along.
5) Most importantly, scrub the happy ending. No happy Leiter and no Bond getting his job back without any consequences.
All points I thought of, as well. In fact, I don't think I have anything to add here, other than the film looks so, so bland, and almost TV movie like. What should have been some nice, exotic locations (filmed in Mexico, I believe?), leaves no impression at all. Where the locations in more than a few Bond films looks simply stunning and incredible, the locations in LTK are just flat and uninspired. I wonder what LTK could have looked like, had the locations been presented in a better way.