Shocked! License to Kill...

[Nightcrawler]

I'm watching the 1989 James Bond flick, License to Kill, on TBS as I type this. The movie stars Timothy Dalton (whom I've read best represents James Bond as he was orignally intended to be). It's just started, but something suprised me in the opening sequence.

Bond (and some DEA agents) were running around with guns....and they didn't have their fingers on the trigger. Bond was carrying a Beretta 92, a popular choice in 80s action flicks, though it seems a little un-Bond-like to carry such a big pistol (Walther P5 compact would've been a better choice, in my opinion).

It's weird to see halfway decent gun handling in James Bond movie. Especially the latest ones, that are as over the top and corny as the ones from the 70s, in my opinion.

Imagine a well-made, big budget James Bond movie. But, with a move believable plot, good gun handling, realistic gun fights, and a believable villian. You could still have the gadgets, the cars, and the babes, without having funny-looking supervillians trying to conquer the world, henchmen in pastel jumpsuits, and shooting from the hip...

 

[BluesBear]

Well, at least you weren't watching a Matt Helm movie.

 

[David Scott]

The Beretta Bond carried in the opening of Licence To Kill was obviously borrowed from the DEA, Bond was attending a wedding when he and Leiter got called away to deal with Sanchez. A PPK in a Berns-Martin SHoulder Holster would have spoiled the set of Bond's formal clothes, so he went unarmed to the ceremony. When the choppers picked them up, I think there's a quick scene of Leiter giving Bond a Beretta and warning him that he's just an oberver.

Licence to Kill is perhaps my favorite Bond movie, and Dalton my favorite Bond. And didn't Gladys Knight kick it with the theme song?

 

[Nightcrawler]

Okay, gettin' goofy...

I didn't know a Mossberg 12 gauge would blow a perfectly round hole in a wall, big enough for a man to crawl through.

I'll have to remember that the next time I have a shotgun and need to escape quickly...

 

[Nightcrawler]

Also

I'm disappointed, if not suprised, to note that Bond's trigger finger discipline seems to have disappeared in the remainder of the film.

 

[clubsoda22]

icence to Kill is perhaps my favorite Bond movie, and Dalton my favorite Bond.

blasphemy

 

[Braz]

( the sound of chairs scrapping back from the table)

Now hang on Club Soda, don't go for that iron. Touchy subject, and I like Dalton's Bond, 2nd best. Fleming's character discription of 007 contained a scared face with a cruel expression. His attraction for women was his agressive personality, rather than pure good looks. That sounds like a dead ringer for his Lordship, Sir Sean Connery.

 

[BluesBear]

#1 Sean Connery
#2 Pierce Brosnan
#3 George Lazenby
#4 Timothy Dalton
#5 David Niven (Casino Royale)
#6 Roger Moore

I never could stand Roger Moore as Bond.
He was brilliant as The Saint, however.





etided fro speeling

 

[seeker_two]

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
icence to Kill is perhaps my favorite Bond movie, and Dalton my favorite Bond.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



blasphemy

( the sound of chairs scrapping back from the table)

Now hang on Club Soda, don't go for that iron.

clubsoda22: You gonna draw them pistols or whistle "Dixie"?.....

Dalton happens to be my favorite of the Bonds. He comes closest to portraying what Bond SHOULD have been. Also, his Bond resembles the Bond written by James Gardner--the author who took over the 007 books in the '80's--gritty, professional, and a stone-cold killer with a strong code of honor and an occasional tender moment. Just the way I like it...

The only bad thing about the Dalton movies is that they happened when the production company was going through bad financial straits. They didn't have all the special effects & exotic locales that the previous Bond films had. I wish Dalton could have done GOLDENEYE or TOMMOROW NEVER DIES. He would have made Brosnan look like a Greenpeace hippie...

 

[Lone Star]

I won't embarrass anyone by calling names, but a post above misspelled Col. Niven's last name.

David Niven was a war hero and an extremely witty fellow. His autobiography, "The Moon's a Balloon" is worth reading.

Of course, his Bond movie was outside the Broccoli-Saltzman series, and was meant only as a spoof.

My own vote for best Bond is Connery. But Timothy Dalton was very good. However, I had some reservations about Dalton as Gaius Julius Caesar in the TV production of, "Cleopatra" a couple of years ago. Rex Harrison was more plausible in the 1962 movie...

Lone Star

 

[TarpleyG]

Licence to Kill is perhaps my favorite Bond movie, and Dalton my favorite Bond.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



blasphemy

Agreed! Dalton bites!

GT

 

[BHPshooter]

Imagine a well-made, big budget James Bond movie. But, with a move believable plot, good gun handling, realistic gun fights, and a believable villian. You could still have the gadgets, the cars, and the babes, without having funny-looking supervillians trying to conquer the world, henchmen in pastel jumpsuits, and shooting from the hip...

Holy crap... I thought I was the only person on the planet with such delusions of grandeur. Oh, how I wish we could get JUST ONE well made, realistic Bond movie.

Wes

 

[ocabj]

Licence to Kill is perhaps my favorite Bond movie, and Dalton my favorite Bond.

Really? Dalton didn't really do it for me as Bond.

My personal favorite is Never Say Never Again (a really young Kim Basinger), even though it is considered an 'unofficial' Bond movie because it wasn't made by the same studio as the previous Bond and there were licensing issues (which is why there was no Q in the movie).

A View to a Kill (Tanya Roberts is so hot in the movie) and Octopussy rank up there for me too.

 

[wingnutx]

Dalton is second only to Connery. Both of them are better than the swishy prettyboys that make up the rest of the series.

 

[HankB]

I recall when Carnac the Magnificent (aka Johnny Carson) used his psychic powers to come up with the answer "Junk Bonds." Most people thought this had to do with illicit trading on Wall Street, which was quite topical at the time.

The question in the envelope? "Describe the last few OO7 movies."

IIRC this was during the Roger Moore as James Bond years . . .

 

[ChickenHawk]

I once heard on an entertainment show (on TV) that "License to Kill" was originally titled "License Revoked" since 'M' revokes Bond's license when he goes on his personal vendetta.

Before releasing the movie they changed it to "License to Kill" because they were worried the American public wouldn't know what the word 'revoked' meant!

ChickenHawk

edited to add: I thought Dalton rushed the trademark, "Bond, James Bond" line when he said it. That ruined the image for me. What can I say!

 

[4v50 Gary]

I'd like to see John Cleese do James Bond - especially if he does the "walk."

 

[Sunray]

Relax. It's a movie.
"...his Lordship, Sir Sean Connery..." Lowly knights don't get the "Lordship" honorific.

 

[Dr.Rob]

John Cleese is now Q.

And David Niven was Fleming's choice to play Bond.

Dalton was mostly stuck with really awful scripts, he's a great actor. I think he "looked" the part.

Oh wait back on topic... the most un-Bond gun was in Live and Let Die.. Bond packs a Nickel-plated Python at the end for the "final" assault. I'm all for upgunning.. but for that wight he could have packed an Uzi.

Sad Bond scene: "Oh look the new Walther, I've been meaning to get one of these!" Said also as "Oh look the new BMW, oh look the new Starkist caviar" et al.

 

[Dave R]

Of course, his Bond movie was outside the Broccoli-Saltzman series

My favorite was outside the forumla, too. Like ocabj, my favorite is "Never Say Never Again". Connery as a too-old Bond, always the underdog, proving he "still has it". Good stuff.

And John Cleese would have made a fabulous Bond. He's a great Q, but he'd be a fabulous Bond.

 

[Sean Smith]

First of all, Connery is the best, period. He makes all the other Bonds look like prancing sissies.

The much-maligned Roger Moore had his good moments, but his Bond was too jokey and too much of a wuss. He also was VERY long in the tooth towards the end of the series.

Brosnan is getting there. Definitely tougher than Moore ever was.

Dalton was a miserably BAD James Bond. He was an ugly little gnome with the personality of wallboard.

And Lazenby was a disaster... as dynamic as a wet cork, a bad actor even by action movie standards, and the only Bond to get the UGLIEST woman in the room. Truly an utter failure on all fronts.

 

[Penforhire]

I'm with Sean Smith. Connery is the one and only. The rest are pale shadows. I also thought Moore was good in the Saint but his Bond scripts were too goofy (not his fault?). Brosnan grew on me. But Dalton? Yech.

Oh, and I have to wonder about Niven, given that Casino Royale is a favorite of mine.

 

[Archie]

Ian Fleming described Bond as looking a bit like a young Hoagy Carmichael.

Take a gander at www.hoagy.com/bio.htm#

The picture labelled 1946 is probably what Fleming was thinking. I don't recall ever hearing Mr. Carmichael's take on the matter.

I'm a Connery fan. I will always think of him as Bond. Mr. Moore seemed to be doing a version of "The Saint in the British Secret Service", rather than James Bond. Enjoyable, but a different character. George Lazenby fit the physical description of Bond from the books; and I think he is a rather good actor, and I think Diana Rigg was and is one of the best looking women in movies and TV. Timothy Dalton was okay. Brosnan is doing very well, I think, the best since Connery.

Still, I wish they'd do one of the movies the way Fleming wrote it. To me, the best movies are "Dr. No", "From Russia With Love" and "Goldfinger". Probably because they had the least gimmicks.

 

[Russ]

I worked at MGM/UA when this movie was made and released. The UA after MGM is United Artists which distributed all of the Bond movies. When Dalton was cast, Roger Moore was getting old and they needed a younger Bond. The producers, Albert Broccoli in particular, wanted Pierce Brosnan at the time. However, Brosnan was under contract on the Remington Steele TV show, and they would not release him. Broccoli would not have a "TV" star in the Bond films. It was beneath them. Roger Moore used to be on a TV show called The Saint many years ago but by the time he got the Bond role, he was no longer obligated to the TV show.

Most of the women at MGM/UA liked Dalton over Brosnan because of Dalton's "rugged good looks" (their words, not mine). They, most of the women at MGM/UA at the time, thought that Brosnan was too much of a "pretty boy".

Anyway, Dalton was in 2 Bond films as I recall. The producers didn't make any Bond films for a long time and he bowed out because he got sick of waiting on them. When he did, Brosnan was free from his TV obligaitions and a few years on him made him look less like a "pretty boy". Brosnan then became Bond. He is about ready to hang it up now also. I don't know if this franchise will go on much longer but if there is money to be made you can bet it will. It should be interesting to see who they pick next.

If only Chris Farley were still alive!

 

[Dave Markowitz]

Of course Sean Connery is the best Bond, but IMO Dalton ranks a close second. "License to Kill" is a great movie, and Dalton's first entry as Bond, "The Living Daylights" was pretty good, too.

Carey Lowell in "License to Kill" is the hottest Bond babe, ever.