https://screenrant.com/living-daylights-movie-roger-moore-better-final/
Roger Moore's James Bond run ended on his worst movie but had he starred in The Living Daylights, he could have retired on a stronger note.
As someone who regards TLD as among the weaker films in the series, I'd argue one of its few saving graces is introducing Dalton as Bond.
If Moore was in TLD the script would presumably be sillier (e.g. including the "flying carpet" scene deleted from the finished product) and you'd continue to see complaints that he's simply too old to play Bond. It'd end his Bond career on a stronger note, but it'd also make TLD less memorable.
'As someone who regards TLD as among the weaker films in the series, I'd argue one of its few saving graces is introducing Dalton as Bond.'
Ditto.
I like Roger as Bond and some of his Bond films but no. He was 60 by this point. He once commented "It was getting ridiculous. I wasn't just older than the Bond girls, I was even older than their mothers".
Granted, Moore was a funny bloke and well known for his self deprecating humour but he had a point. They just about got away with it in Octopussy because Maud Adams looked a more mature woman than your average Bond Girl but he probably shouldn't have done A View To A Kill. That should've been Timothy Dalton's first outing. I'd have loved to have seen him go up against Christopher Walken.
He only would've retired on a stronger note if had he passed on the torch to Dalton much sooner. It would also have made his last couple of movies less silly.
shareThis is pretty much a Roger Moore Bond film anyway, with the wrong guy playing Bond.
If Brosnan had come in on this one it may have worked better as he seemed to have a better grasp on playing cinematic Bond than Dalton but the spectre of License To Kill would still have loomed large over the series.