MovieChat Forums > Licence to Kill (1989) Discussion > The ending feels a bit bittersweet

The ending feels a bit bittersweet

posted a year ago by TMC-4 (20123)
5 replies | jump to latest

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0oQGuZePlI

I suppose that one on end, it's more or less, a prototypical Bond movie ending. The bad guys are dead, Bond gets the girl, and we then await for his next adventure.

But it feels bittersweet knowing now, that we would never get to see Timothy Dalton play James Bond again. With only two movies under his belt, it was like we were saying goodbye to him just as we were saying hello.

And now knowing that there wouldn't be another Bond movie on the horizon for a long six and a half years, Licence to Kill really indicated that things were never going to be exactly the same on the other side.

Even Patti LaBelle's "If You Ask Me To" being used during the closing credits somehow makes me emotional. I don't know how to properly explain it but, it does lend itself well to the finality of it all.

[–] Ace_Spade (9544) a year ago

It's still a shame that Dalton only got two films to show off his Bond. He was a top-grade Bond, and I personally think superior to all others - save Connery - to date.

I thought you were going to talk about how, while Bond dealt with the villains, it doesn't alter the tragedy of the beginning, where Felix and Della were subjected to such brutality.

[–] christomacin (4655) a year ago

Very sad that he didn't start his tenure with "For Your Eyes Only" in 1981, caught the tail-end of the Cold War wave, and gotten three or four more under his belt by the end of the Decade. The "80s Bond" that might have been.

[–] Ace_Spade (9544) a year ago

I think Dalton was basically ahead of his time. The '80s had a flashy vibe that didn't gel well with his "serious" approach to 007. Ironically, all of the stuff that made Dalton unpopular for his two films - "gritty," and more grounded, tough, serious, etc. - were attributes that garned a tonne of praise for Craig's performances.

[–] christomacin (4655) a year ago

For Your Eyes Only is rather an anomaly in Moore's Bond tenure in terms of tone and style. It was decent (and did fairly well at the box office) but would have benefitted from a younger, more vigorous actor and a fresh approach (which they only half-heartedly attempted with Moore). Hard to say how a FYEO with youthful Dalton instead of an aging Moore would have landed, but I do believe Dalton would have had a better choice of pulling in off if he had gotten started sooner. When he finally did get the role, the ending of the Cold War and Cubby Broccoli reaching old age didn't help matters.

[–] Ace_Spade (9544) a year ago

It would be interesting to see FYEO with Dalton. I'm glad Moore got a more serious one, though.