1987-1989 Timothy Dalton Goes Dark
Broccoli’s first instinct post-Moore was to cast another actor with form in a tongue-in-cheek TV show, Remington Steele’s Pierce Brosnan. However, just as the small print had prevented Moore in the Sixties, so Brosnan was tied up here.
So it was that Timothy Dalton – once “too young” but now twenty years older and wiser – got the part, on the proviso that he’d bring a much-needed reality check to proceedings. Dalton was intended as a return to the Bond not really seen on-screen, a fiercely dedicated killing machine.
Out with the gadgets, out with the sex (this being the AIDS-conscious 80s), Dalton was convincingly cold – almost too much, lacking the dry wit of Moore, Connery or even the new generation of wise-guy action heroes like Martin Riggs or John McClane.
The bloody Licence To Kill – the first 15-certificate Bond movie – was a conspicuous attempt to get with the times, but audiences baulked. And then, worse.
After a complicated series of sales and licensing agreements, EON sued MGM/UA to put the Bond series into limbo for the first half of the Nineties.
Dalton was officially still on notice to make his third appearance as 007, but by 1994, even he had had enough and resigned.
Positively Shocking Quip: On seeing bad guy Heller impaled on a forklift truck, Dalton observes, “Looks like he came to a dead end.”
Boys With Toys: Q discovers hip-hop with the Ghetto Blaster: literally, a boombox-cum-rocket launcher. Bring the noise.
Petrolhead: Another Aston Martin in The Living Daylights, this one customised to suit the icy climes of Austria: tire spikes and retractable skies. Alongside the usual array of weaponry, of course.
Girls in Bondage: Maryam D’Abo as Kara Milovy, Carey Lowell as Pam Bouvier
Expecting You To Die: Jeroen Krabbe as Georgi Koskov, Robert Davi as Franz Sanchez
Action! Licence To Kill ends with one of the most sustained chase sequences in Bond, as 007 improvises means of destroying four oil tankers loaded with cocaine solution.
Belting It Out: a-ha scare The Living Daylights out of us with 80s European synth-pop.
James Bland: It’s only obvious in retrospect, but The Living Daylights suffers the same socio-political flaw as Rambo 3. Namely making anti-Soviet mujahideen – precursors of the Taliban and Osama Bin Laden – heroes of the piece. Oops.
Comments
davebau
Apr 28th 2010, 7:38
The information on how Bond got his name is wrong. It came from the name of an author of a bird watchers book. And the name of the estate is Goldeneye, which Flemming owned.
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blade32
Apr 30th 2010, 13:24
daniel craig as bond is dull dull dull. bond movies should be spy + mild comedy + gadets, not jason bourne style muscle. bring back pierce i say!! and get tarantino in too!
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Illustratedman
Apr 30th 2010, 15:59
Here we go with that Monty Norman c**p! Wiki: Norman is famous for writing the music to the first James Bond movie Dr. No, and has been credited with writing the "James Bond Theme," the signature theme of the James Bond franchise. Norman has received royalties since 1962 for the theme, but it was arranged by John Barry after the producers were dissatisfied with Norman's music. Barry claims that he actually did write the theme, but nevertheless, Mr. Norman won two libel actions against publishers for claiming that Barry was the composer, most recently against The Sunday Times in 2001. During the trial, Barry testified on the stand that he had, in fact, composed the The James Bond Theme, but that Norman was contractually obligated to receive credit for the score.
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Chrissie1954
Apr 30th 2010, 18:18
I agree with Blade 32. I can't stand what they've done with Bond now. Craig is a good actor but it's just NO FUN anymore - Bond was always about going to the cinema and waiting for the opening scene, the fast cars, the gadgets and the quips. It's just like any other spy movie now and it sucks.
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