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Yeah, I'm torn. I honestly think the Bond-Kara romance is the best in the series: better than OHMSS, better than CR. But having said that, and as oxymoronic as it is, I think their chemistry is almost entirely down to Dalton's performance! She does overdo the naivety, and I don't think the accent did her a lot of favors.
Yeah, I think I'm with you. I'll admit I'm biased in terms of liking Pam as a character and Lowell as an actress, though. But Kara just constantly comes across as bumbling and naive and helpless to the extent that I lose patience with her and wonder why James doesn't too.
Two very different Bond girls, but both playing superbly alongside Dalton!
Ultimately, I think what LTK needed the most was a stronger director. Glen does seem to try, and his heart is in the right place, but I don't think he ever had what it took to have LTK reach its true potential. I think that was the instance Cubby should have considered an American director that had a better understanding of the type of film LTK tried to be.
And it needed a much better DOP. Jan de Bont would have been PERFECT. If there's any film that he would have been most suited for, it was LTK.
I think Glen does a fine job to be honest. It might be that LTK would have had slightly more visual flair and perhaps marginaly stronger acting performances with another director. On the other hand, very few or anyone could direct action like Glen and one of the things that excite me so much with LTK every time I watch it is the incredible quality of all the action scenes. It's of course pure speculation how the film would have turned out with another director at the helm, but I think the film is very enjoyable as it is, one of my favorites. I wouldn't sacrifice the action scenes for any hypothetical improvement elsewhere.
Yes I agree there. I said it on another thread, but the Kamen score just makes me think how punchy it would have been with someone like McTiernan directing it.
Agree. While de Bont would have been perfect for Dalton's third Bond located in Hong Kong, he would have done wonders with a Latin American setting. I also think he would have greatly improved one of the flaws of the film for my taste: the visual interchangeability between Key West and Isthmus.
While ideally the first act of the story should have taken place in a place further north, in my opinion, in order to visually contrast with the main location, the movie makes no effort to really differentiate the locations. Something that could have been greatly improved by someone like de Bont.
Agree with that too; I think as a kid I had a bit of trouble understanding they were different places. A bit like in NSNA where the Bahamas and the French Riveria aren't really hugely different to each other: going from one sunny beach resort to another is kind of pointless onscreen.
Hopefully a bit better than that Soderbergh film Traffic where they stuck different colour filters over the lens depending on which side of the border the camera was :D
Regarding LTK, different color filters would at least have allowed to create more contrast between Key West and Isthmus.
I'm also not as down on Spectre's grading as some people are.
It could be quite interesting to see a graded version of LTK. The colour work on NTTD looks rather nicely done to me.
This is spot on. If you had to choose between the sea plane/tanker truck sequences and the acting/visual style, what Bond fan wouldn't choose the action sequences and therefore Glen?
And FWIW, I think the nighttime warehouse scenes are also well-handled.
It's probably Glen's most cohesive film, tonally.
Very well said!
And I will also back John Glen as Director, yes, the action is superb, but he handles the story element very well. Also, and I'm not sure if this was down to Glen, or the casting, but I find the minor characters in LTK whether its the Bank Manager elated at Bonds suitcases full of money, or the Casino head,or Sanchez men, they all have their moment to shine!
I dunno, I think LTK is a lot more tonally uneven than TLD’s because its serious moments are so much more serious and its silly moments are if not sillier, then at least seem sillier because of how dark the dark moments are. One second it’s super gritty and the next there are ninjas and Wayne Newton and truck wheelies. TLD’s tonal peaks aren’t nearly as sharp so I find it to be a much more even experience.
I will echo the sentiments that Glen is a fantastic action director though.
Excellently put. Dalton-d'Abo for me is the best couple of the franchise. A believable romance if there ever was one.
Having just watched TLD this evening I can't say I disagree. Kara is extremely likeable in every. It's a shame she has some stupid and annoying moments like when she has to steer the plane... But on the whole a great character and a convincing performance.
That is where I'm at with her, too. I'd be inclined to agree. One moment from her I really like is when she kicks off after the Russian convoy, ahead of Shah's men. Ballsy, but the effect is somewhat diluted for me by the dimness displayed later.
The tanker chase is a highlight, but I always wonder why the seaplane sequence isn't really remembered as one of the all time best. He escapes an underwater fight by harpooning onto a seaplane and waterskiing his way out of there: that's a superb idea. Plus it's actually an action scene upon which the whole movie pivots- without that Bond can't do anything that he does in the next half of the film. And yet... it's good, but it's not great. I feel like that should be one of the all time best Bond moments (and I'm sure some people do consider it one of their favourites) but it's not really up there as one of the classics and I think the execution must be letting it down somehow.
I love the seaplane escape! Agree thatit should be higher on the action-radar.
The scene is underrated for sure. And I don't think the problem is the execution, but rather the audience ;)
Yeah something has held back that sequence for me as well despite all the great stunt work going on. But LTK grows more and more on me every time I watch so maybe next time that sequence will do more for me? The tanker chase is an all-timer though, maybe the best third act action sequence in the series?
Nice post. I'll add the smaller moments when Dalton lets his face express things - the look he gives after the living daylights line; the way he flirts with Moneypenny; the look of not buying Koskov's story at the safe house; and I could go on and on.
It may not be apparent to some fans just how refreshing TLD was back in 1987. After the stale horrid double-entendres, unsexy scenes and raised eyebrows of AVTAK, TLD was what was needed to refresh the series. A big deal was also made of the monogamous relationship between Bond and Kara, as the AIDS crisis was in the headlines at the time. But it really made for a closer experience to the novels and was also refreshing, even if I find Kara to be possibly the least attractive of the main Bond women.
TLD's ending was also the polar opposite of AVTAK - a genuine romantic moment opposed to the shower scene with lines like "That is not the soap."
I'm also a fan of the seaplane escape and also find it underrated among the most inventive and fun action scenes of the series. I think it's forgotten simply because it's LTK whereas an overblown bore like GE's tank chase gets recalled easily.
The tanker truck chase has the emotional stakes though, I think it's a very powerful moment when Dalton sits on that rock and sighs to himself overlooking the battlefield when it's all over. Really subtle but fine acting there.
Couldn't agree more. Bond has an unusual fire burning in him in LTK and I absolutely love the revenge plot! You can tell a story about anyone who's out for some payback, but what will happen when you cross paths with 007 and get on his bad side? He's not going to just barge in with guns blazing; he will work out strategies, concoct clever plans, infiltrate, seduce, dig himself in, and all of that to see the enemy slowly cripple, corrupt and destroy his own organization. Bond has fought baddies before, and he knows what he's doing. This is the one professional you do not want to lock horns with. So when you make things personal besides just being a supervillain--to quote Lex Luthor's nephew--boy, are you gonna GET it! That's one of the reasons why I like LTK so much. Bond is maximizing his efforts for himself this time, and it's serious. (It's also the reason I don't need any of the Q scenes in this film, as discussed last week.)
Agreed. I think the audience's rejection of Dalton is similar to that of Lazenby, causing their films to fade a bit. And in all three of those films, the action sequences tend to be overlooked by the general public (plane fight in TLD anyone?).