Dalton VS Dalton THE POLL

Which movie is better?

  • The Living Daylights (1987)

  • Licence To Kill (1989)


Results are only viewable after voting.
Kevin Roegele said:
In his favour, Dalton did two good movies, whereas Connery, Moore and Brosnan all did atleast one lame movie (Diamonds are Forever, A View to a Kill, Die Another Day).

I don't think LTK was so good, not as a Bond movie anyway because it was an atypical Bond, but it sure wasn't as bad as the worst of Connery, Moore and Brosnan. And Dalton was a better actor than Lazenby (OHMSS was good in spite of Lazenby, not because of him).
 
meh, Dalton's Bond was mediocre in my book... too much the typical 80s action TV show... i could just as easily (and more happily) watch The A-Team or Knight Rider over either one of Dalton's movies... granted, each Bond actor is very much the product of his times, but i guess the 80s is one time i wish he wasn't... if you follow what i'm saying...
 
politically speaking, the 1960s, heck even the early parts of the 70s were considered to be a more prestegious period than the 80s.

I chose LTK as the better movie.
 
Something that annoyed me in Dalton's movies was that the badguys were so boring. Sanchez was threathening enough, but he didn't belong to a Bond movie. But the ones in TLD, in spite of the overall quality of the movie, were so bland.
 
Kevin Roegele said:
Dalton had good action, but For Your Eyes Only, Tomorrow Never Dies, Octopussy and The Spy Who Loved me have the best action sequences.

Well, Dalton is my Bond, so I am a little biased. However, since he only had two films, which I thought kept the standard of action quite high, I'll give him the nod lol.

Although yuo're right, how can anyone not love FYEO. Moore playing an older, more serious Bond. Great PTS (Blofeld and the helicopter,) great ending sequence (climbing the cliff) great action in between (car chase, ski chase) just good $hit all in all for any Bond fan.
 
Dalton had okay action, with some really good stuff thrown in now and then, but I wasn't particularly impressed by a good deal of it. That bar fight in LICENCE TO KILL actually makes that film lose "action film" points because it sucks so bad.

Give me the good ol' fights of the Connery/Lazenby days. That Red Grant/Bond fight from FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE beats anything the franchise has to offer beyond that point (and that film also features the great gypsy camp fight!), there's the great fight with Oddjob from GOLDFINGER, the sumowrestler fight in YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE, the terrific bobsled chase from ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE, the elevator fight from DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER... just great moments in these films.
 
Even though I was young for a few of the Moore films, Dalton will always be the Bond I grew up with. Even though he only did two movies (I voted LtK) he's my Bond.
 
Everyman said:
Something that annoyed me in Dalton's movies was that the badguys were so boring. Sanchez was threathening enough, but he didn't belong to a Bond movie. But the ones in TLD, in spite of the overall quality of the movie, were so bland.
Actually, I think Sanchez was a great villain. What was nice about him as well is that he managed to be very menacing without being the typical Bondian meglomaniac.

LICENCE TO KILL is a film that I think had oodles of potential as a Bond film. The idea of Bond out for vengeance is fantastic, and it is executed pretty well (you have to love how Bond manipulates Sanchez and turns him against his men).

But the film does lack a lot of the exoticism Bond should have, and the drug angle is a snoozefest. If the villain wasn't a drug dealer, and rather some other type of criminal, it would be much better.
 
The Living Daylights is in the style of a classic Bond movie in all respects (I'd go as far as to say it's the last Bond movie made in the original style). Yet Licence to Kill is a better movie. It's more dramatic, the characters are stronger, the storyline is clearer and tighter.
 
I liked LICENSE TO KILL..........just got to see a darker side of Bond, which I liked. Although....I dug Daylights...althogh it kinda felt like an Indiana Jones flick in the second half with the desert stuff....but, it was still cool. I used to kinda hate Dalton's 007.....but, looking back now.....he was pretty cool. I'd say I liked him better than Moore too.
 
ChrisBaleBatman said:
I liked LICENSE TO KILL..........just got to see a darker side of Bond, which I liked. Although....I dug Daylights...althogh it kinda felt like an Indiana Jones flick in the second half with the desert stuff....but, it was still cool. I used to kinda hate Dalton's 007.....but, looking back now.....he was pretty cool. I'd say I liked him better than Moore too.

I think Dalton's reign had to be short. Seeing his intense portral every other year would be too much. He almost came across as a Bond with a death wish, and, especially in Licence to Kill, it seems like he gets closer and closer to the grave every second. Along with the increased realism in his films, it is simply beyond suspension of disbelief that Dalton's 007 would last repeated missions. If you imagine a continued storyline for him after Licence to Kill, he wouldn't last very much longer.

There is a line from Blade Runner which sums up the Dalton era;

"The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long - and you have burned so very, very brightly."
 
This is a great thread. It's good to see props to my favorite Bond. Yes, Dalton is my favorite. I always felt kind of alone in this. I didn't realize there were other Dalton fans out there. Most people I talk to either love Connery, simply because he was the first (lame reason) or Brosnan, because he was the latest and greatest.
Dalton also has the distinction of starring in my favorite (TLDL) and my least favorite (LTK) Bond films. LTK is my least favorite just because it doesn't feel much like a Bond movie. I don't care for a story that's just about Bond seeking revenge. It just seems out of character for him. Bond is all about the mission. Revenge is too personal.
 
the chicks in licence to kill are hot...

dalton's the best bond ever....I wished he would have been around to do casino royale, i think this sort of new era of bond would have fitted in with his bond perfectly.
 
The one that doesn't have that terrible scene where he rides a cello case down the side of a mountain like a toboggan. That film was horrible.
 
Yeah, I really wish Dalton would have done more. He was great. He would have been good in Goldeneye. Don't get me wrong, I really liked Brosnan. I just wish we would have had a little more of Dalton before moving on.
Everything I've seen and heard about the new one has me excited about Daniel Craig, though. I have high hopes that he might just be the best yet.
 
I've found those great manips of what would look a poster of Timothy Dalton in GoldenEye

st_goldalton1.jpg


st_goldalton2.jpg


My personal fav is the second one.
I didn't make those. You can find them on http://007art.free.fr/mygalleries/alternat.htm
 
As evidence by the thread I started for it, The Living Daylights, easily. It has one of the most realistic and grounded plots of the series, great villians in Koskov and Whitaker, an awesome theme tune by a-ha, some excellent action sequences, a great Bond girl and a fantastic debut performance by Dalton.

As for LTK, well I don't hate on it as much as others do, as a matter of fact, I rather like it a lot. But it has flaws, quite a few to be exact.

For starters, this is quite possibly the most un-Bond like film ever. In all honesty, the main character didn't even need to be James Bond, and it will still essentially be the same movie. It's a typical 1980s' actioneer that, while fun, isn't Bond.

Also, as mentioned: the production values SUCK HARD. Bland direction is present throughout, and the set pieces occasionally look very poor in their design.

My biggest complaint is Dalton. He's nowhere near as good as Bond in this one as he was in TLD. He acts out of character quite a bit in the film as well. I always cringe during the scene when Bond kicks M in the stomach and beats up the guards when he gives his resignation. It just felt incredibly out of character. If it was Connery, Moore or Brosnan, they would've done it in a more dignified and 007-esque manner. Dalton giving M and MI6 a cold-shouldered sendoff rather than simply going out of control and beating everyone up would've been far more effective in my opinion.

And last but not least, Wayne Newton is in it. With practically no purpose.
 
My biggest complaint is Dalton. He's nowhere near as good as Bond in this one as he was in TLD. He acts out of character quite a bit in the film as well. I always cringe during the scene when Bond kicks M in the stomach and beats up the guards when he gives his resignation. It just felt incredibly out of character. If it was Connery, Moore or Brosnan, they would've done it in a more dignified and 007-esque manner. Dalton giving M and MI6 a cold-shouldered sendoff rather than simply going out of control and beating everyone up would've been far more effective in my opinion.

And last but not least, Wayne Newton is in it. With practically no purpose.

Dalton never hits M. He kicks the agent to M's left and then smacks the agent behind him before jumping over the ledge to avoid the sniper in the tower.

The only difference between Craig's Bond and Dalton's Bond is the fact that the script was willing to travel where it needed to go in Casino Royale. The script was very well written unlike LTK, where the script still held onto normal conventions, clinging to old Bond cliches while half heartidly stepping out into uncharted waters. It wasn't going to work because the script could not support what Dalton was trying to accomplish. It wasn't willing to take the journey Dalton was prepared to take.

From a hypothetical standpoint, you look at LTK as one of Bond's last missions. Where the years have taken their toll and Bond's values have changed. Queen and Country no longer matter to him, friendship and loyalty are more important. However, the script simply skims over this matter and it doesn't make a good point of drawing a parallel to Della and Traci's deaths.

But I still feel what LTK was trying to accomplish was special, and its still one of my absolute favourite Bond films. The action is superb, Dalton is most cold blooded and Sanchez is one of the most underated villains in the franchise.
 
For me it's TLD. That movie is so under-rated.
 
The Living Daylights is a better Bond film, but Licence to Kill is a better film.
 

Staff online

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
202,327
Messages
22,086,563
Members
45,885
Latest member
RadioactiveMan
Back
Top
monitoring_string = "afb8e5d7348ab9e99f73cba908f10802"