https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8EAwCOYQrA
For all you Timothy Dalton defenders out there, this could be the video you have been waiting for! In it we discuss the merits, the portrayal, and the films that Dalton has brought to the table and ask a simple question- why has it taken us so long to appreciate his version of James Bond? And is he the ULTIMATE Bond?share
No. But he could have been. If had two or three more movies.
shareI think he was just in the wrong era. The '80s was a time for brash action stars and one-liners. Dalton was basically doing the Daniel Craig version of Bond a couple decades before it was cool.
shareHear, hear
shareYeah. I agree too. TLD was awesome. LTK wasn't that good, but it was enjoyabe. If the rights to the franchise hadn't been held up for years, and he'd done a couple more Bond films he'd have a better legacy with the character. However, I don't think he cares. In the few interviews that I've seen with him he seems to be glad that he isn't really remembered that much.
shareSee, I actually love Licence to Kill. Benicio Del Toro is one of the nastiest Bond villain sidekicks ever. Dalton's revenge game is brutal and cold. I love the way he actually does spycraft for once, faking an identity and sowing the seeds of discord in the enemy ranks. It's fun espionage.
It does lack a certain amount of panache that Bond often has, but it's not like it never has fun. Overall, it's a pretty good flick, and one of my favourite Bonds (top 10 for me, or at least 11, 12).
When was it cool? The Daniel Craig Bond movies are bigger snoozers than Dalton's. In fact, Daniel Craig Bond movies are so bad he redeemed Timothy Dalton.
shareThat's a very recent attitude. Casino Royale was released to MASSIVE success and article after article talking about how Craig was the best Bond ever. These commentaries would always talk about how serious and dramatic Craig was and how he brought much-needed gravitas to the series (this was in particular relief after Die Another Day went over-the-top with invisible cars and CGI ice surfing). People really loved Skyfall, too. I still think those are great movies, and I mostly liked Spectre (wasn't wild about the plot twist). Quantum sucks and I haven't seen NTTD, but overall his tenure has been welcome as far as I'm concerned.
This cycle happens a LOT. A movie comes out, hailed as "the best", then later on the naysayers come out and say it really sucked. Time then sorta decides if it will be a perennial stinker or a forgotten work of genius or somewhere in between.
The idea that Craig was/is hated and always has been is a fiction, although he does have a lot of detractors at this time.
I don't know but he was a damn good Rochester in Jane Eyre (1983).
No, but he's very good. He's thankfully not as silly as Moore, but he just lacks the charm of a ladies man like Brosnan or Connery. He should've replaced Moore much earlier and done a couple of more movies.
shareHis ideal entry point would probably have been For Your Eyes Only in 1981. Yeah, I love Dalton as an actor (and as Bond) but the films themselves just aren't top drawer enough Bond to justify calling him one of the greats. Too bad, really.
shareMeh, I enjoy him the most after Brosnan and The Living Daylights is one of my favourite Bond movies. I feel that Dalton alone would already have improved those early 80s movies.
shareI feel like his characterization most closely embodied the original character but the movies he was in were crap. Cant really jump out and say hes the best after just 2 films. Would have been nice to see him do more but his characterization was not so audience friendly. JB was after all a raging misogynist. He is my second favorite after SC.
shareBack in the days when he dared to replace Roger Moore I was a little pissed off. But through the years I get used to him. Great actor. Just needed 1 or 2 more Bond movies to convince me...
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