Screen Vistas: Timothy Dalton

Thursday, October 11, 2012

BONDATHON: LICENCE TO KILL

Timothy Dalton's second and final outing as James Bond, Licence To Kill deserves some credit, in that it strips away the vast majority of the Bond formula tropes. Unfortunately it simply trades one set of conventions for another. Instead of a Bond film, this is an 80’s cop movie with spies, Lethal Weapon 007 if you will.

The film brings back CIA agent Felix Leiter (David Hedison). Bond’s friend and frequent partner. Felix is doing really well. He’s captured infamous drug lord Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi), and he’s getting married. There's a big party, dancing, presents. Felix is on top of the world. It’d be a real shame if Sanchez where to escape, kill Leiter’s wife and feed him to a shark. Bond wouldn't like that. Why, he would swear revenge and go on an all out killing spree.

The cop cliché’s pile up as Bond meets an informant (Carey Lowell) in a strip club (the kind where the girls keep dancing through bar fights). Bond is shocked to discover that his contact is a woman. She scoffs at Bonds assertions that a woman can’t be a cop and makes fun of his Walter PPK. Of course, the cop movie transformation wouldn't be complete without a scene where Bond goes rogue after M (Robert Brown) essentially orders Bond to hand over his gun and his badge. "You're a loose cannon Bond!"

Licence want's you to think that it's darkest, grittiest film in the franchise. But quite frankly it's just as ridiculous as always. The only thing keeping it from the camp of the Roger Moore days is the relentless violence. Apart from the hot cheese of the 80's cop cliche's we have scenes where someone tries to stab Bond with a swordfish, a mack truck that does wheelies while Schwarzeneggerean explosions go off in the distance, and we haven't even gotten to the gadgets.

I half expected that truck to roar

After Bond quits/is fired from the service, Q (Desmond Llewelyn) takes it upon himself to provide Bond with some gadgets that might help him out. They are not his best, the worst is a Polaroid camera that takes X-rays AND shoots lasers at the same time for some reason. I kept waiting to see how Bond would use this insane, ill-conceived gadget during the climax, but sadly he never does.

The idea of Bond going rogue could be an interesting idea. Taking away all of 007's tactical support, and forcing him to fend for himself could be dramatically fascinating. But the thing is that Bond is never on his own in this film. He has Q giving the same tactical support he always has. Consequently I still don't believe that Bond can survive on wits. Sure he applies some Yojimbo like manipulations to Sanchez and his men, but none them are believable. The film asks us to buy that Sanchez doesn't know Bond is his enemy when Bond was there doing most of the work when he was apprehended in the first place. Even if Sanchez never saw Bond (which is a stretch), it's firmly established that Sanchez has moles in Leiter unit who probably saw the whole thing.

The use of Felix Leiter in this film is a bit odd. Ostensibly his inclusion is a way to trade on the mythology of the series, but it can't get that right either. Hedison's casting makes little sense, he played Leiter once before way back in 1973's Live And Let Die where he was as forgettable as most of the actors playing Leiter. If you're trying to build a consistent universe and build the world, why not bring back John Terry who played the role briefly in the last film?

This is a film of lasts in the Bond franchise. Firstly it was the last film for screenwriter Richard Maibaum who wrote or co-wrote the lions share franchise. Secondly it was the last film for title designer Maurice Binder who had grown too ill to continue. Most importantly, this is the last film for Timothy Dalton as Bond. Dalton was scheduled to do a third film but between the low performance of Licence, rights issues with the franchise and the end of the Cold War, it was decided to replace Bond yet again with the next film.

But Dalton would be fine. He’s that rare anomaly, the only actor who’s arguably more known for his post-Bond roles. People of my generation are likely to recognize Dalton for Hot Fuzz, Rocketeer, Toy Story 3, Flash Gordon, Doctor Who, Chuck, and having an awesome British voice long before James Bond. Still, he was a excellent Bond, who's darker energy would eventually provide an important template for the current incarnation. But that said, as dark as these films are, with all the murder and bloodshed, the last image we get in a Dalton Bond is of a giant stone fish winking at the audience.

Grade: C

Enjoy these other Bondathon entries:

Dr. No

From Russia With Love

Goldfinger

Thunderball / Never Say Never Again

You Only Live Twice
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Diamonds Are Forever
Live and Let Die
The Man With The Golden Gun
The Spy Who Loved Me
Moonraker
For Your Eyes Only
Octopussy
A View To A Kill
The Living Daylights
Licence To Kill
Goldeneye
Tomorrow Never Dies
The World is Not Enough
Die Another Day
Casino Royale
Quantum of Solace
Skyfall

Saturday, October 6, 2012

BONDATHON: THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS

The idea of the reboot is fairly new. The concept of starting a franchise over to correct irrevocable harm done by a previous incarnation, gained a lot of prominence in the 2000's. Usually there is an all new cast, and an origin story to returns to the "edgy roots" of the franchise. In 1987, The Living Daylights became a rough template for this modern idea. This film is not the origin story it was initially conceived as, but it does shake up the cast somewhat with a new Bond (Timothy Dalton) and a new Moneypenney (Caroline Bliss) and most importantly, it captures the tone of the Ian Fleming stories better than any of the other Bonds until 2006's Casino Royale.

What's impressive about the film is it's momentum. Other Bonds have struggled integrating story and action, usually having to chose between one or the other. Living Daylights manages to have lots of action and 3 times as much story as the average Bond adventure. We meet our new Bond, as he foils Soviet assassins that have invaded a mock combat exercise. Then, before we've had a chance to recover, he's off to Czechoslovakia to help extract a KGB defector who has knowledge about a new program to kill foreign spies. But something about the whole thing seems fishy to Bond, he's dealt with the Russian general who's supposedly behind it all and he doesn't seem the type for unprovoked attacks. There's also the matter of the female cellist/sniper Bond foiled back in Czechoslovakia and the arms dealer (Joe Don Baker) and the Afghan opium ring.

The film is a bit of a coming out party for director John Glen, who directed all of the late period Moore films. But his down to earth style never fully jived with the whimsy of the Moore-era, but it does fit with Dalton. Dalton plays the role with an intensity and tenacity that are more reminiscent of Fleming's Bond than Connery's or Moore's. He's a killer and he enjoys being a killer. Very few things are as satisfying in cinema as people who enjoy being good at their jobs. Credit should also go to veteran Bond scribes Richard Maibaum and Michael Wilson for actually creating a script where Bond is genuinely interested in the mystery and does proper espionage instead of bumbling about until he gets captured by the bad guy.

The strong script keeps the films many action scenes from feeling gratuitous. The scenes are well done even if they still depend more on gimcrackery than craftsmanship. Oh, it's been a while but we also get our first real Bond gadget car since Spy Who Loved Me. I'm really surprised how rarely the series gives 007 a gadget car seeing how I grew up in the Brosnon-era where they were as obligatory as the shaken martini's. This one is an Aston Martin Vantage and it resembles the 90's Bond cars quite well, it's bullet proof, naturally, and has heat-seeking missiles, snow skids and a rocket engine. Or as Bond calls them: "extras."

While we're on the subject of formula elements, lets talk about music. After the success of the Duran Duran single for the previous film, it was decided that this film would have not one but three original songs. The title track is by a-ha (I've never heard of them either) and the other two are by The Pretenders. All of them are pretty terrible as is the score by John Barry (his last for the series). The 80's school of pop just feels so out of place in this darker, more serious Bond. At the very least it dates the film badly.

Despite some bad music, this is one of the better entries of the Bond franchise. The strong script and the darker tone is a welcome break after 7 Moore films. Dalton is a fantastic Bond and it's a pity he'll only get to do one more film.

Grade: B+

The Living Daylights is currently streaming on Netflix Instant.

Enjoy these other Bondathon entries:

Dr. No

From Russia With Love

Goldfinger

Thunderball / Never Say Never Again