MovieChat Forums > The Living Daylights (1987) Discussion > Dalton was simply awful

Dalton was simply awful

posted 13 years ago by IndianaDoctor
56 replies | jump to latest

I've heard a lot of praise for Dalton for Bond, but I found is performance very plain. He was just too dark, now okay Roger Moore's Bond got to jokey, if you get my drift but his films was very entertaining. Dalton was simply boring, as we've all heard the production for Living Daylights wanted Prosnan, also Prosnan wanted to be bond. However Remington Steel squashed any hopes for Bond, so they went for second choice Dalton ,too serious & too boring. I've got nothing against Dalton a talented actor but just doesn't suit the secret agent atmosphere. I just wouldn't what it would be like if Prosnan took the role early.

[–] AFriendOfMrWhite 13 years ago

Well, they actually wanted Brosnan, but Dalton himself had been considered for the role a while back. So, even if Dalton was the second choice in 1987, it's not like his name was never in contention for the role until Brosnan became unavailable.

And it's really up to your taste if you like Moore better than Dalton, you'll find that plenty of people will agree with you on this and plenty of people will disagree also. I just don't think that Dalton didn't "suit the secret agent atmosphere", as he's often considered to be very close to Ian Fleming's source material. Close to Fleming or not, I think his style was great, but it was, yes, a departure from Moore's parodic mannerisms. I like them both, knowing that they have different approaches to the role.

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] Herreken 13 years ago

I've been going through all the Bond movies, which I have never done before. The only Bond movies I've seen in their entirety were Golden Eye & Casino Royale. After watching all the Connery & Moore films, I grew very tired of the Roger Moore era. The Living Daylights was like a breath of fresh air. Now, I didn't grow up watching these movies so maybe that's why I think Dalton is better than Moore & even Connery. I much prefer the more serious (some call it boring) portrayal of Bond.

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[–] MovieMaster95 12 years ago

Completely agree with this ^^^

[–] lilwith 9 years ago

Yes!!!

[–] Irishdrummer007 11 years ago

" So, even if Dalton was the second choice in 1987"

But Dalton wasn't the second Choice. He was first choice. But Dalton was busy filming another movie (Brenda Starr I think). Then they contacted Brosnan. But by the time they found out Brosnan could not take the role. Dalton was done with The Movie He was shooting.

[–] FridayOnElmStreet 13 years ago

Dalton was a great Bond.

Craig is pretty bad though.

[–] White_Thunder 13 years ago

Dalton's films and Goldeneye are better than the films that followed...

[–] Irishdrummer007 13 years ago

I personally think Dalton was the Best Bond. Dalton played the part the way Fleming wrote Bond. I also think Dalton should had been in A View to A kill as well. But in saying that I thought that was Roger's best performance as Bond.

[–] gwnightscream 13 years ago

Dalton is definitely one of the best Bonds and I wish
he could've played him at least once more. I also
agree he should've did "A View to a Kill" because
it's Moore's worst, in my opinion.

[–] jmbwithcats 13 years ago

Moore is great in AVTAK.

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[–] oakcourt 12 years ago

No, Maryam D'Abo's character was the worst. I've never seen such a clingy well quite frankly airhead as this Bond character.

[–] Mr_Blonde3 12 years ago

She's not the strongest of Bond girls, but she's not supposed to be. She's a far cry better than Tanya Roberts in AVTAK.

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[–] mungreluk 12 years ago

I agree there, A view.. was appalling because Moore himself was far too old for the role and by then he'd made a sort of mockery out of the Bond character. It might have been a much more interesting film had Dalton played the lead, and I also think he would have improved Goldeneye had he played that one as well.

Moore started off very well and did indeed add some black comedy to the role in Live and let die and The Man with the golden gun. But as with all of the Bond actors, they run out of time eventually and the role demands a new actor once again. So for that reason, Dalton came along at just the right time in the late 80s and will go down as a very important part of the Bond film chain.

[–] Dukeking3 13 years ago

I think Timothy Dalton did a great job playing Jame Bond!! It was a different take on the character. He was more serious and there was less camp! Each James Bond has their own style to it! If you look at Daniel Craig, he is even more serious than Timothy Dalton. By the way, I like all the James Bonds!! Each one is different for each generation of fans.

[–] pawtrax67 13 years ago

Dalton was Bond going back to being a ruthless assassin. People forget in the novels, he was pretty nasty at times.

This was the movies going back to the source material. Dalton was a very good actor in it. License To Kill however, the writers couldn't find a way to adapt to the post-cold war world, and it fell apart to your typical 80's action movie with no Bond elements to make it good.

[–] cjgalwey 13 years ago

Dalton was EXCELLENT!! Best Bond ever.

[–] Lexuses71 12 years ago

I ALWAYS dug Dalton, even when others did not. I like Moore in some films, but for different reasons than the other actors playing Bond. Connery set the bar. Like many said, Dalton WAS Fleming's 007. I appreciated his seriousness, yet he had a unique charm and sensitivity. . And he conveyed emotions subtly without being over the top. Looked killer in a suit or tux. Had a elegant manner of speech. I think people in retrosepct have come to appreciate Dalton's Bond much more now. And I do agree Dalton should have done AVTAK. Would have been a much better film. Each actor has put their own 'spin' on the role, as it should be.

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[–] ryuheikitamura 12 years ago

Dalton did the same thing that Craig is getting recognition for now, but audiences just weren't ready for a dark and mature Bond at the time. Personally, I think Dalton is one of the best actors to ever step into the role and I think his performance is extremely underrated.

[–] Skye_Reynolds 12 years ago

I'll be honest, I liked Dalton's performance a lot more than I expected I would. The only scene in which I didn't like his characterization was the one in which he held Kara at gunpoint and ripped her blouse off to distract a guard. But that's on the screenwriter, or possibly a producer, not on Dalton.

I can see why audiences wouldn't take to him though. It was something of a rough transition from the James Bond of Sean Connery and Roger Moore. And even though it featured a retiring General Gogol, I really couldn't accept the film as a direct sequel to A View to a Kill and the films which followed.

They considered making the film a reboot. It's probably for the best that they didn't because they underwent a six year hiatus following a legal dispute and had to reboot the series in 1995, but the Dalton films still feel like their own dualogy rather than a part of the 25 years of continuity which preceded them.

The film itself wasn't the best, but Dalton did much better than I had expected. I kinda had my mind made up going into the film that Dalton wasn't going to be entertaining, and that I wasn't going to view him as Bond, but I ended up being pleased with his performance.

[–] dsgolden2112 12 years ago

The whole film is simply awful. Bond movies are a joke. With the exception of the early Connery films, which are entertaining solely for their historical value, they aren't good films relative to the best the medium has to offer. Bond movies stink. Crappy acting, *beep* cinematography (I've seen episodes of The A Team that look better than The Living Daylights), cheesy stunts (wow - five guys with machine guns all shooting at Bond and he comes away without a scratch - amazing!). Bond films are crap.

Sorry to troll but that's my opinion.

[–] Cult_of_Kibner 12 years ago

Then why are you wasting your time on a Bond board?

The book is not always better.

[–] CanadianBill 10 years ago

The only scene in which I didn't like his characterization was the one in which he held Kara at gunpoint and ripped her blouse off to distract a guard

It wasn't Kara (Miriam D'abo's character) he did that to, it was the general's girlfriend Rubavitch (played by Virginia Hey) whose clothes he tore off and held at gunpoint.

And I rather liked that scene. Actions like that shows that Bond still has a raw edginess to his character and can still make bold moves to get the job done. Dalton is very likely my least favorite of all the bonds but he does have his moments, and for me this was one of them. His attempts at humor mostly came off as lame, but when he turns on that hard edge is where his strengths as Bond truly lay. For me anyway.

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[–] VValkyrie 12 years ago

Just finished watching Living Daylights. I remember seeing this when movie came out & thought Dalton was GREAT. Very handsome, fills out a tux quite well & saves the day.

[–] davcamp2 12 years ago

My favorite Bond, to be honest. Didn't try to be a player, took his job seriously. My favorite bond flick is License to Kill, where he just kicks ass left and right. I grew up on Moore movies, and loved them till I read Flemings' work, and realized what Bond was supposed to be. Now I can't watch them at all, except for The Spy Who Loved Me, and that's because it had a freakin' Lotus that turned into a freakin' submarine.

[–] HumpierShaggy 12 years ago

Dalton was also considered for On Her Majesty's Secret Service, but It was decided he was too young.

[–] 12 years ago

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