tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post6215321356126778647..comments2023-11-05T02:01:53.847-06:00Comments on Antagony & Ecstasy: A BOND IN THE ROADTimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09491952893581644049noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-52348144921252510282016-06-12T06:06:18.119-05:002016-06-12T06:06:18.119-05:00I'm definitely in the 'this is the most un...I'm definitely in the 'this is the most under-rated Bond' camp for this one - yet still agree with most of this review. Back in my pre and early teens I read the Fleming books and was simultaneously engrossed by the plotting and pacing and appalled by the racism, sexism, homophobia, elitism, snobbery, and general level of ignorance on permanent display. But I remember how they felt - and this film is the closest film in the series to the tone and feel of those books - even the films that stick, more or less, to Fleming's plotlines (films 1,2,3,4(ish), and 6) have a very different tone to Fleming's pulp fiction (although his latter novels - written after Dr No hit the big screen, changed to match the films; Bond in particular became funnier - and suddenly had a Scottish past never mentioned before!). Even as a teenager it seemed to me that the films were a considerable improvement on the books - and yet something was still lost in the transition. The Bond books were far fetched but (for a few of them) vaguely plausible, and while Bond was an indestructible hero, he wasn't an indestructible superhero - a narrow distinction but a real one; he got scared, he got hurt etc. And only Dalton and Lazenby ever gave that impression in the films. LTK is vaguely plausible (remove Q and its almost there), and this Bond is a hero but not a superhero. This is a Bond film, through and through. But it's come from an alternative universe where there's an entirely different series of Bond films. So I love it - as a Bond film, but still don't think it fits the series.<br /><br />P.S. re the whole Bond/Leiter relationship thing - that's from the books as well (in the films he's simply the greatest master of disguise in the spy world; looks different everytime!). In the novels, Leiter is really the love of Bond's life. As the Bond of the Fleming books despises homosexuality, believing it to have been caused by (I kid you not) giving women the vote which, according to Bond's logic, has confused men and women's sense of identity!), it's a platonic love, but a real one. Bond screws women, but he loves Leiter. An attitude reinforced by the results of the only two times he tried something different (Vesper/Tracy). They didn't end well.Andrew Hollidayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12041201177912631727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-13113841460198535172015-05-07T23:35:05.069-05:002015-05-07T23:35:05.069-05:00The gun fight in the aquarium was another sequence...The gun fight in the aquarium was another sequence that this film borrowed from the <i>Live and Let Die</i> novel. There were so many cool sequences in that book that did not make it into the "Live and Let Die" movie (the keelhauling sequence that finally appeared in "For Your Eyes Only" for example) that I have to wonder why they even bothered making "Live and Let Die" without its best parts. "License to Kill" also borrowed Milton Krest, his awesome yacht, and the stingray whip that he uses on his girlfriend from Flemming's short story <i>The Hildebrand Rarity</i>.<br /><br />"License to Kill" aged incredibly well. The stunts and action sequences all have a gritty intensity that is sorely missed in this era of CGI everywhere. Taken out of context of the 1989 Summer of blockbusters, "License to Kill" is a pretty damn solid action movie.<br /><br />Folks say that it did not feel like a real James Bond movie, but I think that in this case the devil was in the details. It would have done wonders for the Bondish atmosphere if the title song had been something more along the lines of what Tina Turner would do for "Goldeneye" six years later. If Bond had played baccarat instead of blackjack at the casino it would have felt a hell of a lot more like him. A good quip at the Big Bad's death would have been the perfect climax to the whole film. Just those few little touches would have made it one of the great Bond movies.<br /><br />As it is, I thuroughly enjoyed it.David Davidsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10925577836541414330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-88325902191857036292014-12-18T08:45:48.644-06:002014-12-18T08:45:48.644-06:00Well, given that it was basically the McBain movie...Well, given that it was basically <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vyANa71gvU" rel="nofollow">the McBain movie</a> from the Simpsons, that wasn't too bad. But yeah, there's a point where you're not really a Bond movie anymore and this is it. <br /><br />That said: I liked Bouvier a lot more than you apparently did. She's right up there with Melina from <i>FYEO</i> and Romanova from <i>FRWL</i> on my list of Bond girls who are actually competent and interesting. Like Melina, she never even gets a single damsel in distress moment! The only weak spot for me was the introduction scene, which hits all of my Strong Female Character bullshit alarms, so much so that I was kinda surprised at how much of an actual strong female character she ended up being.Not Fenimorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05135812849405775125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-77969041427672630312014-09-17T01:13:06.620-05:002014-09-17T01:13:06.620-05:00Dalton truly was a good Bond. Better than I rememb...Dalton truly was a good Bond. Better than I remembered. It really is a situation, though, where the previous formula was just too hard to let go (which is not good) or, as in this film, a desire to "fit in" to the present mold of popular action films. Once again, the review is right on. The Daltons fall somewhere in the bottom of my top ten. Entertaining, but just not really a true Bond, sadly.redwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07359138209814839680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-77556519402878409762012-09-24T15:49:58.867-05:002012-09-24T15:49:58.867-05:00I love Dalton's Bond. It's a real shame he...I love Dalton's Bond. It's a real shame he didn't get at least one more movie. jjjonatronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11572727325348235494noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-88488039179230056462012-09-23T15:39:32.195-05:002012-09-23T15:39:32.195-05:00I think Dalton gets unfarely maligned. I enjoy his...I think Dalton gets unfarely maligned. I enjoy his work as Bond. But I'm a big Bond fan and can appreciate each incarnation of the character for it's own particular charms (I haven't seen Lazenby's portrayal yet so I can't judge that one). Heck- I even like Moonraker in its own campy sort of way (I thought the space effects held up quite well on the bluray).<br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04634087887519608773noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-57429417904046632912012-09-23T11:50:46.105-05:002012-09-23T11:50:46.105-05:00I am waiting with bated breath to count the N64 re...I am waiting with bated breath to count the N64 references in your next Bond film review.David Greenwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03666205737413060006noreply@blogger.com