tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post990695870238160565..comments2024-03-08T18:49:51.289-05:00Comments on Classic Film and TV Café: Bond Is Forever: “Licence to Kill”Rick29http://www.blogger.com/profile/08358116647815569722noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-58121154741589705122011-05-28T13:14:39.847-04:002011-05-28T13:14:39.847-04:00Sark,"Licence to Kill" has a decidely da...Sark,"Licence to Kill" has a decidely darker edge to it, for the reasons you list expertly. It certainly brings home strongly that agents should avoid serious relationships because the non agent is often killed, as happened to both Bond and Leiter. It is ironic that the same factor that necessitates "getting" the bad guys also provides evidence of one's humanity. Dalton's Bond is quite believable and well paired with Lowell's Bouvier. Another thought-provoking and remarkable entry in your most excellent Bond series!toto2https://www.blogger.com/profile/09652682900471649463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-65530434806159027572011-05-26T12:59:48.418-04:002011-05-26T12:59:48.418-04:00Can't really add anything except great job on ...Can't really add anything except great job on writing about one of my favorite 007 films. I saw it opening night and walked out exhilarated. <br /><br />Timothy Dalton is my favorite Bond after Connery. Heresy among many, but to me Dalton is doing everything the critics are praising Daniel Craig for. Only Dalton looks more like Bond than Craig does. Like Rick I think the third time would have been the charm for him and I'm very sorry he was not able to continue with the series. <br /><br />What I like about the two Dalton movies, and based on interviews it's what Dalton wanted to get across when he joined the series, is that Bond lives in a very dangerous world. There's danger and violence around every corner, and Bond rarely has a chance to relax.<br /><br />"License to Kill" also contains what is, for me, the single best action sequence in the series, and that is that incredible truck chase sequence at the end where Bond takes out several tanker trucks using his wits and sans any weapons provided by Q branch. <br /><br />And Carey Lowell is one of the best Bond Girls ever. And Anthony Zerbe I'll watch in anything. Just love this film.Kevin Deanyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07697597405552599370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-50903784066682335042011-05-25T19:49:01.076-04:002011-05-25T19:49:01.076-04:00Sarkoffagus, we of Team Bartilucci have always tho...Sarkoffagus, we of Team Bartilucci have always thought Timothy Dalton was one of the most underrated Bonds, so it was great to find you giving Dalton a little love in your LICENSE TO KILL review. Although my favorite of Dalton's two Bond films is THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS, we nevertheless loved Dalton's brooding badass self, using his Heathcliffian wiles to best bad guys!DorianTBhttp://doriantb.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-40176193936793190122011-05-25T12:46:35.826-04:002011-05-25T12:46:35.826-04:00Great review. I liked this film when I first saw i...Great review. I liked this film when I first saw it in the theatre, in a large part because it distanced Bond farther from the slapstick Moore days and allowed Bond to drift back to the mix of action drama with humor.<br /><br />Carey Lowell was one of my favorite Bond girls, but I felt at times Lowell overshadowed Dalton, something that should not happen to Bond.<br /><br />I was amused about your comment about Bond destroying evidence. I have a hard time seeing any Bond villain on trail. "Law & Order" vs Blofeld.michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17812924049258701715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-75139433027444280082011-05-25T12:36:31.408-04:002011-05-25T12:36:31.408-04:00This is Becky. Blogger is acting up, so I have to ...This is Becky. Blogger is acting up, so I have to comment as Anonymous.<br /><br />I may have said this before about another of your Bond series, Sark, but to date, this is the best article you've ever done. I, the Sean Connery hold-out, really liked Timothy Dalton as Bond. I always wished he had taken over and continued as Bond. <br /><br />First, I have to laugh about the Hemingway comment, which I had forgotten. You know from my comments on all your Bond posts that I am rabidly pro-Fleming novels, and never liked the way they changed them so much, both in story and particularly in Bond's persona, making him a sexual spoof. Although I love Connery, there was always too much of the sexual one-liners, and Fleming's Bond is not like that at all. You are absolutely right that Licence to Kill, although not taken from a Fleming story, is more faithful to the books in Bond's investigatory role, as well as his character. It really doesn't matter that it WASN'T a Fleming story, considering how the preceding movies always mangled them anyway. this was actually better in that way.<br /><br />I haven't seen this in a while, and now want a re-viewing! It's funny, but I've lately been thinking about re-reading the whole book series, which I'm lucky enough to have. Really excellent article, Sark. Kudos!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-62430221608248971042011-05-25T08:09:17.139-04:002011-05-25T08:09:17.139-04:00Sark, this is a banner review of the only Bond fil...Sark, this is a banner review of the only Bond film in which I've done a complete 180-degree reassessment. When I first saw LICENCE TO KILL, I left the theatre mumbling: "That wasn't a Bond picture." I held it in low esteem for a couple of years. But as I've revisited LICENCE TO KILL over the years, I've come to admire its virtues (so expertly highlighted by you). It has--to my surprise--become one of my favorite 007 movies, too. Dalton was OK in THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS, but I think he made great strides in "becoming" Bond in his second appearance. Just as it took Roger Moore three films to hone his Bond interpretation, I think Dalton might have become a bankable Bond if given one more film. That didn't happen, of course, and I have no qualms with Pierce Brosnan's run. Still, I think Dalton is very good in LICENCE TO KILL. And though Q's appearance is hard to buy, Desmond Llewelyn brings some subtle humor to a film that has a harder edge any of the Moore outings. I like how you point out where LICENCE TO KILL reflects the Bond formula, but I also admire how the film strays from it at times. I admit that I really like the title song. The closing song by Patti LaBelle, "If You Asked Me To", was later recorded by Celine Dion and became a big hit. It's a nice song, which doesn't seem to fit with a James Bond film. Thanks for another outstanding review in your super Bond series.Rick29https://www.blogger.com/profile/08358116647815569722noreply@blogger.com