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Title Track: DN
Title Credits: DN
Main Villain: DN
Main Bond Girl: DN
Henchman: LTK
Overall Plot: LTK
Dialogue: DN
Score: LTK
Settings: DN
Action: LTK
Humour: DN
Cinematography: LTK
Benign Bizarre: DN
Suspense: LTK
Minor Characters: LTK
Glamour: DN
Bond Performance: DN
DN: 10
LTK: 7
I think I was generous on a few category's toward LTK, LTK is a great film though DN is a classic.
Title Credits: DN
Main Villain: LTK
Main Bond Girl: LTK
Henchman: LTK
Overall Plot: DN
Dialogue: DN
Score: LTK
Settings: DN
Action: LTK
Humour: DN
Cinematography: DN
Benign Bizarre: DN
Suspense: DN
Minor Characters: DN
Glamour: DN
Bond Performance: DN
DN: 11
LTK: 6
Title Credits: LTK - I do enjoy the wedding dress trail segueing into the camera and although we are very much in Binder by the numbers territory the DN dots don't blow me away.
Main Villain: Tie - DN the template and whilst Sanchez is a very good villain in his own right he doesn't quite have that over the top Bond villain-ness that's required. He's menacing and evil but a bit too realistic and Bond should really be battling mentalists who want to take over the world not Pablo Escobar.
Main Bond Girl: Tie - Not a fan of either really. Honey overrated, Pam a bit annoying and mouthy and I always hate the 'Bond girl equal' cliché.
Henchman: LTK - Professor Dent is nicely slimy but Dario just about shades it for being a nastier piece of work despite him being criminally underused.
Overall Plot: DN - If in doubt stick with Fleming. LTK's revenge plot and Bond playing Iago to Sanchez's Othello are both solid but they needlessly complicated by the pointless Hong Kong narcotics and stingers subplots which are superfluous and go nowhere.
Dialogue: DN - Got to go for the classic exchanges in the casino with Sylvia, M scene and DN's sneering at dinner.
Score: DN - Yes Monty is mostly terrible (the music at the climax the chief culprit here) but Underneath the Mango Tree, Jump Up Jamaica and the Bond theme played properly see him over the line. Just playing the Bond theme over and over and over again (and terribly in the case of the gunbarrel - to quote Partridge 'That's just noise') does not constitute a score Mr Kamen.
Settings: DN - One of the best films at capturing a sense of the exotic and LTK's similar and uninspired locations are pretty underwhelming.
Action: LTK - As usual with a Glen film the action is top notch and even knocking off a point for the inane truck wheelie it still smashes DN out of the water.
Humour: DN - I prefer lines like 'Sergeant make sure he doesn't get away' and 'They were on their way to a funeral' myself.
Cinematography: DN - The early scenes in Jamaica look really good but neither film stands out in this dept.
Benign Bizarre: DN - Three Blind Mice, tarantulas, metal hands - there's nothing in LTK that really competes apart from feeding Felix to the shark as it is set too much in the real world.
Suspense: LTK - The finale has Tim's cover starts to burn and then he gets trussed up and thrown onto the conveyor belt is cracking stuff. Especially as we know he has no gadgets to get him out of it.
Minor Characters: LTK - Milton Krest probably takes this on his own. A cracking turn by Antony Zerbe.
Glamour: DN - Easy win for DN as LTK is just too Americanised which is hardly a byword for style and sophistication.
Bond Performance: DN - Tim just too hammy in places I'm afraid. Sean's first performance is still unsurpassable.
DN: 9
LTK: 6
Tie: 2
Exceedingly close in a number of categories but DN's classic feel probably the difference.
Exactly. Great Bond villains should be over the top, bizarre, insane, few loose screws. None of this Dominic Greene / Daddy issues crap. Heck, even Gustav Graves did a better job of being a Bond villain.
I miss Richard Maibaum
Best Bond performance ever. No smart arse quips. No overacting. Just Bond.
I gotta say, it seems a little odd to choose Dr No's score over LTK's because you feel Licence to Kill overdoes it with the Bond theme! I mean, whenever Dr No didn't have a vocal tune or Monty's mining disaster movie music, it was just an awkwardly looped Bond theme!
Title Credits: LTK
Main Villain: LTK
Main Bond Girl: LTK
Henchman: LTK
Overall Plot: LTK
Dialogue: DN
Score: LTK
Settings: DN
Action: LTK
Humour: DN
Cinematography: TIE
Benign Bizarre: DN
Suspense: DN
Minor Characters: DN
Glamour: DN
Bond Performance: DN
...8 apiece
Title Credits: DN
Main Villain: DN - The dear Doctor is pure Fleming. Sanchez is a generic drug dealer.
Main Bond Girl: DN - even though Carey Lowell is the best thing in the film
Henchman: LTK
Overall Plot: DN - LTK's un-Flemingesque revenge plot was very disappointing
Dialogue: DN
Score: DN - The Bond theme saves it. Kamen's score is one of the weakest.
Settings: DN
Action: LTK
Humour: DN
Cinematography: DN
Benign Bizarre: DN
Suspense: DN
Minor Characters: DN
Glamour: DN
Bond Performance: DN - No contest. Dalton overacts in so many scenes. You can see the acting.
DN - 15
LTK - 2
Compared to his Die Hard theme (which is presumably what got him the gig) LTK is just extremely repetitive.
I also really hate when the truck does a wheelie how the Bond theme cranks up to 11 like this is something really Bondian when it’s actually impossible, clearly a modified truck and incredibly naff. A Brosnan era moment in an otherwise top notch action sequence.
Monty’s Mining Disaster sounds like a great little film.
Or a level in a Donkey Kong game...
Title Credits: DN
Main Villain: LTK
Main Bond Girl: LTK
Henchman: LTK
Overall Plot: LTK
Dialogue: LTK
Score: LTK
Settings: DN
Action: LTK
Humour: DN
Cinematography: DN
Benign Bizarre: LTK
Suspense: LTK
Minor Characters: DN
Glamour: LTK
Bond Performance: DN
DN : 7
LTK : 10
Wish it was my joke! I actually heard it on James Bond Radio. Apparently it was Peter Hunt (or maybe Terence Young) who characterized Norman's score this way.
Title Credits: DN (LTK's the end of Binder's reign, and unfortunately, measured by his own high standards he goes out on a dud here.)
Main Villain: LTK (DN is high quality but so is Davi as a Bond villain for me. While his aims may not be in the realms of other top shelf villain's plans he is an intense and dangerous physical threat. Veering between ice cold and burning heat. He is integral to the plot and has so many memorable scenes of both action and exchanges, particularly with 007. He also is the drive for Bond's revenge to the point that their final confrontation is one of real satisfaction.)
Main Bond Girl: LTK (While Lowell isn't the strongest actress she has some nice moments and does well in the action scenes. Bouvier is certainly a strong character with a clear focus and saves Bond on a number of occasions.)
Henchman: LTK (Dario cracks me up. Benicio is really swinging for the fences and his death scene is brutally memorable.)
Overall Plot: LTK (DN's plot is classic Fleming but while LTK has ancillary plot strands that don't really matter I like LTK's central revenge plot that has a clear focus with a great narrative drive for Bond. And its genesis is cleverly taken from a darkly memorable moment in Fleming's own LALD novel.)
Dialogue: LTK (this could almost be a tie. I think DN's is classic but there is something about the venom behind some of the dialogue in LTK that resonates. The Bond and M scene is one of the finest in the series. Dalton and Davi's exchanges are razor sharp and bubbling with menace.)
Score: LTK (I feel conflicted on Kamen's score. Sometimes it works, other times it's bombastic. But I think Kamen has a few good moments, the PTS is among my favourite PTS music cues. Dangerous and edgy. And the 'Licenced Revoked' suite is a highlight.)
Settings: DN (LTK's settings aren't that inspiring but DN, especially representative of Fleming's Jamaica while he was still writing there, holds a magical place for me.)
Action: LTK (the PTS, Bond attacking the WaveKrest and that tanker chase.)
Humour: DN (close to a tie but will give this to DN for its deadpan delivery.)
Cinematography: DN (LTK is brightly lit and yet feels a little flat - DN is lush and exotically captured.)
Benign Bizarre: DN (even though there is an unsettling atmosphere to LTK, DN has it beat in this one.)
Suspense: LTK (there's real tension throughout LTK with Bond's Yojimbo style double-crossing and when exactly Bond will execute his revenge.)
Minor Characters: LTK (I like the rogue's gallery of 80s American villains from money hugging yuppie Truman Lodge to good ol' boy corrupt cop Kilifer to evangelical Joe Butcher...bless his heart.)
Glamour: DN (by some stretch.)
Bond Performance: DN (I really love Dalton's performance in LTK, not as much as his TLD performance which is among my absolute top of the series. Connery's trail blazing debut wins this.)
DN: 8
LTK: 9
I love both films and they easily make my top ten but I would rate DN over LTK. However, not for the first time - the opposing film wins the head to head battles. I do think LTK has a great, urgent narrative drive to it and I find it highly rewatchable and plenty of that is down to Dalton and Davi.
There's also a lot to be said for Bond going 'rogue' - this is a cliché now but in 1989 it was electrifying in its novelty within the franchise. The scene where M tells Bond his licence to kill is revoked was everywhere on the TV whenever LTK was being promoted. That was a big deal and the look of hurt and anger in Bond's face was a striking image.
Title Credits: DN
Main Villain: LTK
Main Bond Girl: DN (not close)
Henchman: LTK
Overall Plot: LTK
Dialogue: DN
Score: LTK
Settings: DN
Action: LTK (different eras, maybe not fair to DN)
Humour: DN (nothing funny about LTK)
Cinematography: DN
Benign Bizarre: LTK
Suspense: LTK
Minor Characters: LTK
Glamour: DN
Bond Performance: DN (sorry Tim, can't beat No. 1 in No. 1)
DN : 8
LTK : 9
Good one!
Title Credits: DN
Main Villain: DN (very close)
Main Bond Girl: LTK
Henchman: LTK
Overall Plot: DN (DN scheme is weak but the overall plot is intereting)
Dialogue: DN
Score: DN (close, both are weak)
Settings: DN
Action: LTK
Humour: DN
Cinematography: DN
Benign Bizarre: DN
Suspense: LTK (close)
Minor Characters: DN (most of LTK minor actors are either forgettable or miscast)
Glamour: DN
Bond Performance: DN
DN : 12
LTK : 5
[-X
Title Credits: DN
Main Villain: DN
Main Bond Girl: DN
Henchman: DN (counting Taro, here)
Overall Plot: DN
Dialogue: DN
Score: DN
Settings: DN
Action: LTK
Humour: DN
Cinematography: DN
Benign Bizarre: DN
Suspense: DN
Minor Characters: DN
Glamour: DN
Bond Performance: DN
15-2 in favor of Dr. No
It is very strong. I don’t love Kamen’s music, but it’s a pretty great finale.
Yarp, I'm afraid we have to blame dear old Peter Hunt as the over use of the Bond them, both in DN and FRWL. Well, according to the massive tome, Some Kind of Hero.
But one can't blame him. It's such an electrifying piece of music. Plus, they didn't know that this Bond thing was going to go on for nearly 60 years.
Title Credits: LTK - I dig the dots in DN but LTK is just a much more professional and mature piece of work, even if it's not a series highlight.
Main Villain: DN - this one is extremely close because Sanchez, and I echo what others have already said, is just such a well-rounded and fully-fleshed villain and so beautifully played by Robert Davi that it's almost difficult to compare him to other Bond villains that are more Bondian. Dr. No is the epitome of a Bond villain so I'm giving him the edge here but Sanchez is just a great villain, period, and would fit right at home in any number of slick 80s actioners - from LETHAL WEAPON to DIE HARD. He almost feels like a villain from a different genre but a great villain nevertheless.
Main Bond Girl: LTK - another extremely tough one because Honey is the ultimate Bond dream girl and so iconic, but I also always loved Pam and her determination and resourcefulness and the fact that she saves Bond's bacon more than once. Unlike butt-kicking chicks like Wei Lin or Jinx this one doesn't sacrifice her femininity and beauty. I love her in that turquoise dress at the end when Bond jumps into the pool and pulls her in. Like the end of TLD it's another very romantic ending between Bond and his leading lady.
Henchman: LTK - lots of fine baddies surrounding Sanchez, especially Krest and Dario.
Overall Plot: LTK - no contest here. Some foolishness with radioactive water/rocket toppling can't touch the imaginative way LTK unfolds and the intricate means Bond uses to sow seeds of distrust into Sanchez's mind regarding those closest to him, thus destroying him from within. Crackling stuff! It's true that it doesn't feel like a traditional Bond plot and would probably be at home in a slick 80s actioner starring Bruce Willis or Ah-nuld but I still think it's pretty brilliant and certainly beats the pants off some of the recent Bond plots (SPECTRE or QoS, anyone?) - I'll take this any day over some contrived nonsense about a villain with daddy issues who turns out to be Bond's brother.... geeeeeez, how lame can you get???!!! LTK's plot isn't even original - while I've never seen YOJIMBO I've seen A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS (which of course borrowed the plot from YOJIMBO) and while FISTFUL used this plot point well I thought LTK surpassed it by quite a margin. Basically nobody does YOJIMBO better than LTK! :)
Dialogue: DN - LTK has some fine dialogue (especially between Bond and Sanchez) but just can't compete with the classic Connery-era lines.
Score: LTK - no contest. Monty's random noise versus a legit score by Kamen. It may not be among the best Bond scores and may sound a bit too much like DIE HARD or LETHAL WEAPON in spots but Kamen's rendition of the Bond theme (especially in "Licence Revoked") totally rocks my socks! Just listen to that badass theme when Bond lassos Sanchez's plane or when he pops the tanker wheelie near the end - ear-melting stuff! Also I dig Pam's theme.
Settings: DN - I visited Key West 2 years ago and had a great time checking out the LTK sites like the Hemingway House (where M revokes Bond's licence), Felix's residence (the house has a 007 logo above the doorway and was undergoing remodeling during my visit), the church over which Bond and Felix skydived to the wedding, the Barrelhead Bar, etc. That said, you still can't beat the exotic Jamaica of DN.
Action: LTK - obviously!
Humour: DN - same as with the Dialogue category, you just can't beat that early classic Bond humor. Plus the Dalton films weren't exactly predisposed to humor, especially LTK.
Cinematography: DN - it's not just the Jamaican locale but the cinematic quality of the cinematography that really gives DN that classic mood and feel. LTK is a bit flat here. Ted Moore has Alec Mills beat in this department quite handedly.
Benign Bizarre: DN - easy!
Suspense: LTK - I like to think of the early Bond films as more suspenseful while the latter ones as more action-oriented but I have to admit that the suspense and action go pretty much hand in hand in LTK.
Minor Characters: DN - I suppose LTK has more minor characters but I just find the original M, Moneypenny, Felix, Quarrel, Sylvia more memorable than Sharkey or Grand L. Bush or President Hector Lopez (Pedro Armendariz, Jr.) or Della or even Wayne Newton. Or the new M and Moneypenny. Q's expanded part is really the only big plus in this department!
Glamour: DN - no contest! Classic 60s versus late 80s.
Bond Performance: DN - I have a slight preference for Dalton in TLD (his hairstyle in the LTK casino in particular vexes me!) but even TLD Dalton couldn't beat DN Connery so Connery wins this one again.
DN: 9
LTK: 8
Overall I prefer TLD over DN, but I prefer DN over LTK. The latter is definitely a unique film in the series and it goes against the grain, which no doubt affected its box office performance. Folks just weren't ready for this type of Bond film at the time. While I don't mind a shakeup in the formula from time to time and I'm glad we have LTK, at the end of the day it's the formula that makes a Bond film... a Bond film. When I'm in a Bond mood I'm much more likely to reach for TLD or DN.
Title Credits: LTK
Main Villain: LTK
Main Bond Girl: LTK
Henchman: LTK
Overall Plot: LTK
Dialogue: LTK
Score: LTK
Settings: Tie
Action: LTK
Humour: Tie
Cinematography: LTK
Benign Bizarre: Tie
Suspense: LTK
Minor Characters: LTK
Glamour: DN
Bond Performance: LTK
DN : 1
LTK : 13
Tie: 3
An easy win for LTK.
Title Track: LTK
Title Credits: LTK
Main Villain: LTK
Main Bond Girl: DN
Henchman: LTK
Overall Plot: LTK
Dialogue: DN
Score: LTK
Settings: DN
Action: LTK
Humour: DN
Cinematography: DN
Benign Bizarre: DN
Suspense: LTK
Minor Characters: LTK
Glamour: DN
Bond Performance: DN
DN : 8
LTK : 9
Wow. LTK just edges it. DN is my #4 and LTK is #5, so it's hardly surprising.