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For me,out of those films you mentioned,TLD will always be rock bottom of my list,and im not greatly keen on FYEO,but QOS is #4 and OP #6 .
Although I'm still relatively new here, I've come across your distinctive taste when it comes to TLD and a certain Bond girl many a time thus far..
You will,alas.
There are also those of us, that place TLD in a higher regard. Top five for me. I also actually like Kara. Not sure why you gets so harshly criticised. It's refreshing to see a leading lady that wasn't part of another spy agency, or was Bonds equal.
+1.
Perhaps one of the most overlooked films in the James Bond series, this one brought things back down to Earth for the series. Timothy Dalton is perhaps the most underrated actor to play James Bond, due to his rather brief stint as the character. He is terrific in both his films, and gives 007 a brooding that Bond has not had in any of his previous films. The movie is also good because the romance between Dalton and Mariam D'abo is there and is wonderful to see. As soon as he got the part Dalton went straight back to the source material..ie Ian Fleming's novels & it shows on the screen...the bond in the Living Daylights is the Bond character jumping right out of the books. I love it.
I agree, TLD has always been in my top 10. I don't think that will ever change.
The post-credits sequence is also one of the series' very best scenes.
I also agree that Kara is a superb Bond girl, I think the final act in Afghanistan and somewhat forgettable villains restrict it from being up there with the very best of Bond for me. The pre and post credit sequences have always stood out as two of my favourite scenes since I was a kid and that scene in the hotel room Pushkin is simply Bond at his best.
I disagree on Kara though. I think she brings the whole film down a few notches. Right idea, but wrong actress, again imho.
I can understand how some may have issues with her but I thought the actress did a good job and I tend to prefer Bond girls that allow Bond to shine, rather than trying to compete as his equal like Jynx or Wai Lin. She reminds me a little of Tatiana in FRWL; Kara is admittedly less useful but one of the more human bond girls imo.
I too don't have time for 'equal to Bond' b/s. Nobody can equal Bond and it's about time some of these Bond 'girls' come to terms with that.
+1
TLD is brilliant. It's got everything in it. Necros might be the last great Bond henchman. Exploding milk bottles, speaks accents and languages flawlessly, the walkman providing his own personal killing soundtrack - and extremely prescient seeing how many people I see headphones on these days!)
The car is brilliant. Dalton is intense, dangerous and violent. But he's also alternately compassionate, caring, suave intelligent and loyal. TLD features John Barrys final Bond score and it's brilliant as well.
I dug Kara and Bonds relationship. The films direction here is not great, but initially Bond is just using her to get to Koskov. His coldness to her following Saunders murder in Vienna is telling. Her betrayal of him in Tangier similiarly so. But they come to genuinely care for each other, as evidenced by the cliff hanger at the end, when we're meant to believe Bond has stood her up.
I wrote elsewhere that I understand due to his health, Walter Gotell was only briefly in the film. The character of General Gogol was meant to be the central figure on the Russian side; instead the writers were forced to write Mishkin, John Rhys-Davies character into the film. This is a shame, I think he would have leant weight to the plot and helped bridge the gap between Moore era Bond and the new era.
The film slows down in Afghanistan, and it's not TLD fault that subsequent events in that country have made much of the second half of the film uncomfortable viewing. Horse riding mujahideen toting guns, transporting and protecting opium to bay the bills, and waging jihad against the evil Soviet juggernaut. In light of the Taliban that followed the Soviet withdrawal, it comes across as more naive nonsense than it ought to. But that is not the films fault.
Luckily the fight between Necros and Bond saves the last half of the film. It is jaw dropping stuff, literally awe inspiring. With Roger Moore in the role, scenes like this were no longer plausible. Dalton has no such issues. He is utterly believable throughout. TLD has also aged really well IMO better than GoldenEye that followed eight years later.
I can understand that Dalton isn't everyone's cup of tea but I can appreciate his more vulnerable/frustrated turn as Bond. Even looking back to Connery, the character rarely ever felt in danger or capable of sympathy. Every actor since has been informed by Dalton's more human take on the character.
As for Kara, she deserves more credit. Not Bond's equal, not out for revenge, simply endearing. She is exactly what we needed in my opinion.
I like her but can see why some people (@barry007) hate her. For me it is better to have a leading lady who is actually relevant to the plot. I also like that there is some mystery about her and that she is quite credible as a young musician who is a bit naive being brought into a completely new environment where she doesn't know whom to trust. I also like her vulnerability. Some people might call her dull because of that, I would call her realistc. I must say that I don't care much about all the very tough Bond girls, especially those who are not really essential to the plot and are just there for the sake of tradition. I don't care much about all the other female agents who actually do not add much to the plot but just team up with Bond since they more or less have the same mission. I rather prefer the more mysterious Bond girls: Vesper, Elektra, Severine, Melina, Octopussy, Andrea, Solitaire and also Kara.
1. GOLDFINGER
2. FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
3. DR NO
4. THE SPY WHO LOVED ME
5. THUNDERBALL
6. ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE
7. CASINO ROYALE '06
8. OCTOPUSSY
9. NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN
10. THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS
11. LIVE AND LET DIE
12. GOLDENEYE
13. A VIEW TO A KILL
14. LICENCE TO KILL
15. SKYFALL
16. DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER
17, YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE
18. FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
19. SPECTRE
20. MOONRAKER
21. THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH
22. THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN
23. TOMORROW NEVER DIES
24. QUANTUM OF SOLACE
25. CASINO ROYALE '67
26. DIE ANOTHER DAY
1.OHMSS
2.FRWL
3.CR
4.QOS
5.TB
6.OP
7.SF
8.GE (+2)
9.TWINE (+2)
10.LTK (-2)
11.TSWLM (-2)
12.SP (+1)
13.DN (+1)
14.TND (-2)
15.GF
16.AVTAK
17.LALD
18.DAD(+2)
19.YOLT(-1)
20.TMWTGG (+1)
21.FYEO (-2)
22.DAF
23.MR
24.TLD
02. FYEO
03. FRWL
04. GE (+1)
05. OHMSS (+1)
06. SF (+8)
07. GF (-3)
08. AVTAK (-1)
09. YOLT
10. LALD
11. TSWLM (+6)
12. CR (-4)
13. OP
14. DAF (+5)
15. TWINE
16. DN (-5)
17. TB (-5)
18. TMWTGG (-2)
19. LTK (-1)
20. MR
21. SP
22. TND
23. QoS
24. DAD
Thanks! The rest of my top 10 are mostly nostalgia. I imagine in a few years when SF and SP become older I'll get a nostalgia kick for those as well and up their rankings.
Few moves on my Bond ranking. About six months since I did this so...
1. From Russia With Love (+2)
2. Dr.No (-1)
3. Casino Royale (+3)
4. On Her Majesty's Secret Service (-2)
5. The Living Daylights (-)
6. Octopussy (-2)
7. Goldfinger (-)
8. The Spy Who Loved Me (-)
9. Thunderball (-)
10. Goldeneye (+1)
11. Live And Let Die (+2)
12. For Your Eyes Only (-2)
13. You Only Live Twice (+2)
14. Spectre (-2)
15. Licence To Kill (-1)
16. Skyfall (-1)
17. Diamonds Are Forever (-1)
18. Die Another Day (+2)
19. Moonraker (-)
20. The Man With The Golden Gun (-2)
21. Tomorrow Never Dies (-)
22. A View To A Kill (-)
23. Quantum Of Solace (-)
24. The World Is Not Enough (-)
Few jumps in the middle of the ranks. Nothing too drastic.
Top 10 remains largely the same. Though GE has finally cracked the 10.
That's true. I usually like it a lot when I watch it but I haven't watched it for a while. The thing is that all the films between 8 and 20 do not differ sp very much in quality for me so bigger changes do not mean that I don't like these films anymore.
1. Casino Royale
2. Thunderball
3. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
4. From Russia With Love
5. Skyfall
6. Quantum of Solace
7. The Living Daylights
8. Dr. No
9. The Spy Who Loved Me
10. Spectre
11. Licence To Kill
12. For Your Eyes Only
13. Goldfinger
14. You Only Live Twice
15. Moonraker
16. Live and Let Die
17. The Man With The Golden Gun
18. GoldenEye
19. Diamonds Are Forever
20. Octopussy
21. A View To A Kill
22. Die Another Day
23. Tomorrow Never Dies
24. The World Is Not Enough
1. FRWL
2. TB
3. CR
4. TSWLM
5. OHMSS
6. DN
7. GE
8. SF
9. OP
10. LTK
11. LALD
12. FYEO
13. TLD
14. QoS
15. GF
16. TMWTGG
17. TND
18. DAF
19. YOLT
20. MR
21. SP
22. AVTAK
23. DAD
24. TWINE