Posts

Showing posts from August, 2022

The Dalton Era (1987-1989) Part 2: Licence to Kill

Image
  Dalton's second and final performance as James Bond was 1989's "Licence To Kill", my candidate for most underrated Bond film. I think it's a great one on all levels and not just for an action film. Originally the film's title was going to be "Licence Revoked", however American audiences didn't know what the word revoked meant, I guess they would think of it as a sequel to "Licence To Drive" that starred the Corys or mainly that would associate that word with driving privileges, I guess it's a rational explanation. The film was initially planned to be set in China, with Bond facing off against a Chinese drug lord. Filmmaker wanted to bring Bond to location that they hadn't taken him yet. There had been planned numerous sequences to take advantage of the location, a motorcycle chase on the Great Wall of China and a fight in a Chinese Museum. However demands by the Chinese Government made filmmakers decide on another option with

The Dalton Era (1987-1989) Part 1: The Living Daylights

Image
  Now, a vacancy had to be filled, with Roger Moore leaving the role of James Bond, he left behind seven films, a lot of gadgets, villain with metal teeth and a bunch of memorable leading lady names. Along with comical aurora of Bond that steered the series away from the suspenseful spy thriller stories Ian Fleming created and it was time for a change. Deciding on a new Bond became a major event, it was like selecting a new pope or US President. The most popular choice at the time was Pierce Brosnan, who best known to audiences for playing titular role in the television series "Remington Steele" that began airing in 1982, he seemed like he would fit the role nicely, his character on the show was a comical suave investigator, Brosnan himself described the character as cross between James Bond and  Inspector Clouseau. It seemed like the show was set up to make him the next Bond.  Another name considered was Sam Neill, who was known to audiences for the show "Ace of Spies&q

The Roger Moore Era: One Moore (1985)

Image
  After twelve years and six consecutive films, "A View To A Kill" would be Roger Moore's seventh and final outing as James Bond. At the time of it's release, Moore was 57, the plausibility of him playing the character was really starting to stretch, but it's a testament to how Moore's Bond endeared himself to audiences to last as long as he did, one could argue that he should have left two or three films ago and many times he came close to doing so, but he decided to squeeze out one more Bond adventure. Aside from Daniel Craig lasting the role at 53 in "No Time To Die" (2021), I don't think we'll see another actor play Bond for such a long stretch of time and do as many films Moore has done. How does AVTAK do as Moore's swansong? It's not a great film, for Moore to have ended on, this film gets a lot of negative attention and there's plenty that warrants it but there is some entertaining and redeeming stuff in it. There are momen