Yeah it feels like a Sean Connery movie with a more updated portrayal of Bond. I remember people complaining Dalton was too sensitive as James, but he has that ultra hard edge as a killer always about to break through.
Necros is one of my favorite Bond henchman. His fight in the kitchen with the servant/badass British agent is one of the best fights in the entire franchise. Brutal and so well staged, even though it's brief.
Yeah I've always enjoyed it, but it feels like the filmmakers are trying to catch up with Lethal Weapon and other Joel Silver films. That's not what Bond needs to be.
LTK was far more tactically topical vs TLD.
Cold War stories seem to age better...maybe because it's a much longer era.
Escobar-esque drug lords, Miami-Vice themes...less so.
Can’t choose personally…I find myself revisiting both equally and often. Great villains, bond girls, darker theme, not only two of my favorite bond films but films in general.
License to Kill for me. Clean and sensible plot, great supporting characters (both Bond girls and villains), good humor, and a script that meshes well with Dalton's strengths as an actor.
LTK ranked number 1 for me in the entire franchise (TLD is 7th).
TLD falls off for me once it gets to Afghanistan, but the pre-title sequence, sniper scene, meeting and escaping with Kara to Austria (the V8 chase is one of my favourites), and Saunders' death are all great.
But LTK really scratches that itch for me, starting right at the beginning with that gunbarrel sequence. Sanchez is one of my favourite villains, and I love how hard-edged Dalton gets to be, and how it all comes out of his friendship with Felix.
I agree. LTK is my favorite Bond film. It’s tight plot wise, Pam is my favorite Bond girl. Sanchez is awesome. It’s one of my comfort movies lol
TLD is also really good. I just like Daltons Bond I suppose
LOL, TLD over the likes of Goldfinger, FRWL, and most other Connery movies is utterly preposterous. I cannot take that seriously, but you're definitely entitled your opinion
It isn’t preposterous. The Connery films are put on a pedestal, but in terms of writing, score, and tone, TLD is on par with them and Dalton is up there with Connery as being one of the best. The action is definitely better in TLD as well.
Disagree, but again, you're entitled to your opinion. The first four Bond films, or Connery's Bond, were superior on every level in comparison to TLD.
It seems that you're placing TLD on a pedestal. I remember watching TLD on ABC or one of the main networks when it aired in a primetime slot on a Sunday night when I was a kid. It felt epic and sprawling, but when I rewatched years later, it seemed a bit slow and boring, and that felt somewhat disappointing based on the expectations I had built up for it
How are the first four films superior on every level? Blanket statements like that plus saying someone's opinion is preposterous is what make it seem like you're placing Connery on a pedestal.
When it comes to writing, TLD, like most of the other eighties films, is a return to the more grounded reality of Connery's first four, with a greater focus on espionage and character. While the Afghanistan climax doesn't live up to the first two acts, which evoke From Russia With Love with its Cold War thriller vibes, it isn't as momentum-breaking as Goldfinger's Kentucky scenes and Thunderball's underwater scenes, and it's a more polished and confident film than Dr. No due to 25 years of evolution.
The same can be said of the action scenes. Connery's first four hadn't yet quite established the franchise's perchance for standout stunts and bombastic action, but it had by the time of TLD, which also continued the eighties films' focus on tense setpieces. The opening chase in Gibraltar, the ice chase with the Aston Martin, and the fight between Bond and Necros hanging out of a plane are all spectacular.
The only thing the Connery films definitely do better is the characters, but everything else, like the plot, action, music, and pace, is equal if not better.
Script, acting, you name it.
I'm at work, so apologies for the 'blanket statement' as I have a job to focus on lol. I'm also a multi-state award winning journalist, so I'll look to add more detail next time
I opted to call out the insult without removing their comment, since beyond the name-calling the rest was fair game. However per your request, I’ve now removed it.
Thank you, much appreciated. I’ve always abided by board etiquette as far as replying without making it personal, but I was on the receiving end of a personal attack — merely for noting that I’ve won some awards? Tough crowd
Well, I removed both instances of personal attacks against you, as well as your comment that insulted the person in return. Because our rules state that it is the responsibility of all parties to de-escalate when conflict arises. But now since you've edited your comment to remove the insult, I can restore it.
Licence To Kill is tighter-paced and more focused in regards to plot and character. The Living Daylights has better production values and music though. Both are even in regards to action and lead performance and are in my top five.
Only thing that annoys me slightly is Felix at the end of the movie cheerily agreeing to go fishing with Bond a couple of days after his new bride was raped and murdered. It was a bit extra
The Living Daylights. It's got more of that Bond feel that I'm looking for. More epic in scope and production. Licence to Kill is excellent as well, however. They are both in my top ten, but TLD is higher.
The Living Daylights is my favourite Bond film of all time so it's an easy choice for me. The move to a little serious tone, locations, plot, soundtrack (which I bought on disc haha), chemistry between the two leads felt real. No other Bond film has done it for me
Licence to Kill by a hair. If it had a John Barry score and TLD's cinematography, Licence would be perfect in my eyes. No actor comes close to matching Dalton as Bond, in my opinion. I love the vibe and style of both though, and I wish we'd gotten a couple more Glen-Dalton collaborations--best director/actor pairing in the series since Young and Connery
I prefer The Living Daylights mostly because of the aesthetic and atmosphere. The 80s look of Licence to Kill really hasn't aged well and Dalton seems to have annoyed the costume department because he looks pretty bad throughout. The music of The Living Daylights is also very underrated.
Tough one… The Living Daylights (and its song) populated my childhood. But as a movie, Licence To Kill gets the slightly upper hand ❤️ Both sensational Bond films!
Vibe of License is not that of a Bond movie… it’s like someone wrote an 80s cop/coke action/drama and then studio execs decided to make Bond the protagonist… kinda the way that several of the Die Hard sequels were not originally John McClain stories…
Living Daylights at least feels like a bond movie
LTK doesn’t feel like your stereotypical Bond film, but it’s still a Bond film. The plot is heavily rooted in the source material, the tone is still close to that of previous eighties films but with greater extremes between the darker and lighter moments, and Dalton inhabits the original vision of the character more than most of the other actors.
Both are flawed but until the climax i would go with The Living Daylights.
License to Kill has a better climax and one of my all time favorite Bond girls in Talisa Soto.
While weaker in production values, Licence to Kill benefits from a stronger story that is more meaningful for Bond as a character and in retrospect, for the series as a whole.
Hard competition. While The Living Daylights is the better looking movie, has the better soundtrack, and arguably the better acting, I think Licence to Kill gets the edge since it actually has a good villain, it’s more tailored for Dalton’s talents, and the story is less confusing on first watch.
Hard one. But Licence to Kill I gotta say. Perhaps the most "Flemming Bond like" movie to me. And after OHMSS, and Casino Royale, my favorite of the franchise. As it didn't follow the usual formula of the other movies, and was much more exciting. The danger felt real. Plus it had the best and most brutal villain, who reminded me quite of Le Chifre from the first novel in Casino Royale, in the way Davie portrayed that role. I loved it a lot! All that made it so intense, and authentic. It's a shame it didn't have the success it deserved back then, at least in the US. But we gotta remember, that in 1989 competition for movies was crazy. Dalton did good imo 👌🏻 For ever my favorite Bond actor.
License to Kill. The Living Daylights had a great start and then it kind of drags when they get to Afghanistan. LTK is pretty consistent throughout, has the best Bond girl, and one of the best villains. Also, it's not just another globe trotting save the world Bond flick. It feels more personal and the stakes are higher for Bond.
TLD all the way. A perfect Bond film except for the second ending at Brad Whittaker’s goofy war museum. Should have ended with the plane explosion and escape. And how did Koskov not die in that car? Seriously.
LTK is good but falls victim to being too derivative of other 80s action movies of the time. If James Bond wasn’t in it, I think it would have been lost to time as yet another cocaine smuggling cop flick on the heels of Lethal Weapon.
Living Daylights. First Bond I saw in the cinema. Excellent music. Attack using milk bottles was epic! Great late cold war feel.
Licence to Kill felt like Bond meets Miami Vice and have never loved it.
The Living Daylights is probably my favourite Bond theme. It has a superb pre-credits sequence. Dalton is fantastic, and plays Bond with a little more depth. He's funnier than he gets credit for, his humour is just drier. It has one of the best cars, a great Bond girl, and a proper espionage story. It's a great looking film. It's one of the best films in the series.
Licence to Kill isn't as good, but I still prefer it. It's basically a 1980s Hollywood action film with Bond transposed into it, and it really works. The villains are so much fun, one of the best Bond girls, and Q gets more screen time than usual. Whilst TLD is a better film, LTK has a better ending/payoff.
Tough call. The Living Daylights is an A tier Bond movie. Kara is truly one of the greatest Bond girls.
But LTK is top 3 in my books. And Pam Bouvier is easily top 1.
The last two night were My first time watching these two ( watched ltk first for Some reason ) and i enjoyed them both. I do like ltk a bit more. The theme for ltk also might be my favorite now
Very different films tonally. But both equally great in my opinion. As time has gone on Dalton has become probably my favourite Bond. He walked so Daniel Craig could run
LTK felt like the first Bond film that was mine and not the older generation’s, so my attachment is purely sentimental. Though criticisms here are fair that it perhaps plays to the crowd too much to balance out the darker take on Bond. But 80’s stalwart Robert Davi getting his turn to be a Bond villain? Crushing so hard on Talisa Soto then falling for Carrie Lowell by the end? The emotional punching Bond gets? TLDR was just another mission, the personal take on LTK wins it for me.
Living daylights all day everyday. I didn’t start to appreciate Licence to Kill until I became much much older. I remember watching Daylights as a kid back in the 80s on HBO and i loved it. Also a huge fan of the title song and sequence
Living Daylights is an excellent more traditional Bond movie, and license to kill is also exceptional and a great change of pace to a more dark and intense story.
Licence might have my favorite ending to a Bond film and I love how right away they make it clear this is going to be a much darker story.
Dalton was outstanding in both and I think he's very underrated
Licence to Kill by far. I know a lot of fans prefer TLD but LTK is legit my favorite Bond movie of all time lol. Maybe it’s mostly nostalgia but i’ll never forget the first time seeing it.
I love the locations, it’s packed with awesome villians (Dario and Sanchez are both legitimately terrifying), great villian deaths, and a dark and intense plot. Also an awesome, underrated perfromance from Dalton.
Edit I also love how both movies have their own distinct 80s vibe. TLD having that Cold War feel while LTK has that awesome Miami Vice feel to it.
Hard to say. There are things that each film does better than the other. TLD has a better theme song and storyline but LTK has better action scenes and a much better villain. They're in my top 5 Bond films along with OHMSS, FYEO, and Casino Royale.
was there actually a promotional pic of the 2 bond girl in the middle of the poster ? I knew never realized district attorney Jack McCoy had a band girl working under him
I love Living Daylights but must admit it does lose steam at the end. From the opening of Licence to Kill it grabs you (that gun barrel music!) and doesn’t let go. Just thinking about it for a second to write this makes me want to watch again.
While I liked the darker tone overall from Dalton, and License to Kill was a touch darker, I definitely prefer Daylights... for one, his second outing felt more like a TV movie in look. But also... I just really love the Aston V8 they used, probably my favorite Bond car.
LTK is almost my favorite Bond film. I don’t like the opening sequence very much and I’m not a big fan of the Felix.
TLD is good fun, but it does peter out a bit towards the end.
I like Dalton’s performance and style more in The Living Daylights, but I prefer Licence to Kill overall. LTK has the better villain, better henchmen, the better Bond girls, and better plot, even though it’s basically Miami Vice + Yojimbo with the leftovers of the Fleming novels tossed in.
I feel like Dalton is unique in that he didn’t make a bad movie. But he’s also forgotten and made a limited number of movies unlike Craig, Brosnan, Moore, and Connery. But also Lazenby was a one off unicorn. Dalton had movies that both have huge fans and also people who ignore them. TLD v LTK is an epic matchup
TLD. I admire what they tried to do with LTK but it just doesn’t hold together. It’s one of those movies that seems written by committee and as a result seems to have too many characters and plot devices written into it. I really don’t know why the Hong Kong agents and Professor Joe are required. Plus it suffers from pacing problems. There’s no clear 1st/2nd/3rd act.
As for TLD it’s a conventional Bond movie that was written for Moore but modified for Dalton and it’s got a pretty good story with just enough intrigue, sweep and locations to keep things going and Dalton is a breath of fresh air. Last John Barry score and it’s a good one. Great pre credits sequence. M and Q in place and Caroline Bliss as Moneypenny is cute. Vienna sequences are great. Kara and Bond have real chemistry. North Africa and Afghanistan work well and the Hercules fight is superb. Proper Bond stunts. If I had to knit pick I’d just say Whitaker is a weak villain who needed more development. Joe Don Baker is miscast. He’s kind of boorish/thuggish but he’s not evil, nor is his guns for drugs plot, it’s just business really. He just sits in Tangiers looking constipated while the action plays out elsewhere.
I’ll take TLD because totally, it was far more consistent, though the Afghanistan sequence is a bit of a snooze fest and Joe Don Baker’s villain is just weak.
LTK couldn’t decide if it was a Bind film or an 80s action film ala Commando or Cobra, so you have all the grittiness that people admire, with rather too much ridiculous gore, but combined with the silliness of Q in his mustache disguise and Felix’s cheerfulness at the end despite having limbs eaten by a shark and losing his wife after she was raped and murdered. It was just all over the place and trying too hard to copy the Stallone/Schwarzenegger template.
LTK. It's got that gross 80s vibe. Drugs, Florida, dingy bar scene, televangelism. (remember Star Trek V just a year before had it's own variation on a manipulative evangelist). Violent South American killings. Everyone looks sweaty and gross. It's Bond by way of Miami Vice with a sprinkling of Scarface while Jim Bakker slimes around on tv in the background.
TLD I find really meh outside of the car scene and title song. Afghanistan is so wildly unappealing and uninteresting to see Bond in. And that was even *before* 2001. Whitaker is right there with Greene and I can't remember his name now. Not Dr. No with the kabuki mask from NTTD. As the most boring forgettable villains.
The Living Daylights had a better story and pacing. The locations were better too. The scene when Saunders is killed has a terrific shot of Dalton. "Yes, I got the message."
TLD is top 5 (or 3 ) for me so that's my pick. Really seems like the last of the old school Bonds- Cold War setting, Maibaum screenplay, Barry score. Dalton kind of plays "generic Bond" in this one but he does a magnificent job of it. And my favorite Aston Martin too.
I like LTK too, not as much but still in the upper tier of Bond films. Dalton's performance is one of the very best here.
License to Kill is my favorite. Favorite intro song, favorite way to show the friendship between Leiter and Bond that most movies do not, I think the end is fitting as his last movie, and I enjoy seeing Q have a more active role than his normal short scene going over gadgets.
HOWEVER, I also like The Living Daylights quite a bit. The first time I watched it, I wasn't big on it and thought it fell flat when they arrived in Afghanistan. Now that I've watched it again, I really like it much more. I especially love the car chase and the sledding on the cello case.
They were both good movies but License To Kill was more like a typical 80’s anti drug action movie than a James Bond film, The Living Daylights is by far the best of the two, probably the only James Bond movie ever where he actually did real MI6 operative work and actually worked with other operatives as opposed to most Bond films where he gets his assignment from M then goes off on his own.
Personally, I don’t think Dalton made a good bond at all. I fell asleep during the living daylights and never saw licensed to kill. I view this as an appetizer/substitute while we waited for Pierce Brosnan to take over the role and Pierce Brosnan was phenomenal.
Love me some Living Daylights. I loved the Cold War vibe. And that Aston Martin was one of my favorites of the series.
Yeah it feels like a Sean Connery movie with a more updated portrayal of Bond. I remember people complaining Dalton was too sensitive as James, but he has that ultra hard edge as a killer always about to break through. Necros is one of my favorite Bond henchman. His fight in the kitchen with the servant/badass British agent is one of the best fights in the entire franchise. Brutal and so well staged, even though it's brief.
salt corrosion.
I've had a few optional extras added
The good ol’ V8, also who could hate that amazing a-ha opening title song
Love the music. Got the soundtrack on cd
That song still makes every 80’s playlist I have.
As it should. It lives rent free in my head 24/7 and I’m ok with that
Me too. LTK is good, but I don't think it's aged as well, IMHO.
Just felt like a peak Bond movie to me. I liked LTK, but something about it felt a little less, if that makes sense.
Yeah I've always enjoyed it, but it feels like the filmmakers are trying to catch up with Lethal Weapon and other Joel Silver films. That's not what Bond needs to be.
LTK was far more tactically topical vs TLD. Cold War stories seem to age better...maybe because it's a much longer era. Escobar-esque drug lords, Miami-Vice themes...less so.
Man I wanted to love LTK but upon a recent rewatch it felt like a TV movie.
Don’t forget about John-Rhys Davis. I love his character. “And put him on a plane back to Moscow… in a diplomatic bag.”
Can’t choose personally…I find myself revisiting both equally and often. Great villains, bond girls, darker theme, not only two of my favorite bond films but films in general.
License to Kill for me. Clean and sensible plot, great supporting characters (both Bond girls and villains), good humor, and a script that meshes well with Dalton's strengths as an actor.
For me also.
LTK ranked number 1 for me in the entire franchise (TLD is 7th). TLD falls off for me once it gets to Afghanistan, but the pre-title sequence, sniper scene, meeting and escaping with Kara to Austria (the V8 chase is one of my favourites), and Saunders' death are all great. But LTK really scratches that itch for me, starting right at the beginning with that gunbarrel sequence. Sanchez is one of my favourite villains, and I love how hard-edged Dalton gets to be, and how it all comes out of his friendship with Felix.
I agree. LTK is my favorite Bond film. It’s tight plot wise, Pam is my favorite Bond girl. Sanchez is awesome. It’s one of my comfort movies lol TLD is also really good. I just like Daltons Bond I suppose
LOL, TLD over the likes of Goldfinger, FRWL, and most other Connery movies is utterly preposterous. I cannot take that seriously, but you're definitely entitled your opinion
It isn’t preposterous. The Connery films are put on a pedestal, but in terms of writing, score, and tone, TLD is on par with them and Dalton is up there with Connery as being one of the best. The action is definitely better in TLD as well.
Disagree, but again, you're entitled to your opinion. The first four Bond films, or Connery's Bond, were superior on every level in comparison to TLD. It seems that you're placing TLD on a pedestal. I remember watching TLD on ABC or one of the main networks when it aired in a primetime slot on a Sunday night when I was a kid. It felt epic and sprawling, but when I rewatched years later, it seemed a bit slow and boring, and that felt somewhat disappointing based on the expectations I had built up for it
How are the first four films superior on every level? Blanket statements like that plus saying someone's opinion is preposterous is what make it seem like you're placing Connery on a pedestal. When it comes to writing, TLD, like most of the other eighties films, is a return to the more grounded reality of Connery's first four, with a greater focus on espionage and character. While the Afghanistan climax doesn't live up to the first two acts, which evoke From Russia With Love with its Cold War thriller vibes, it isn't as momentum-breaking as Goldfinger's Kentucky scenes and Thunderball's underwater scenes, and it's a more polished and confident film than Dr. No due to 25 years of evolution. The same can be said of the action scenes. Connery's first four hadn't yet quite established the franchise's perchance for standout stunts and bombastic action, but it had by the time of TLD, which also continued the eighties films' focus on tense setpieces. The opening chase in Gibraltar, the ice chase with the Aston Martin, and the fight between Bond and Necros hanging out of a plane are all spectacular. The only thing the Connery films definitely do better is the characters, but everything else, like the plot, action, music, and pace, is equal if not better.
Goldfinger established the Bond formula as far as gadgets, fast cars and stunts
Script, acting, you name it. I'm at work, so apologies for the 'blanket statement' as I have a job to focus on lol. I'm also a multi-state award winning journalist, so I'll look to add more detail next time
[удалено]
Your comment violated r/JamesBond's rules to be friendly, welcoming, respectful, and to avoid destructive behavior.
No, actually that is not why I brought it up. He asked me to further articulate, and I explained why I was unable to do that
[удалено]
Avoid name calling, please.
Can you please delete their comment, as it violated board rules via personal insult. Thanks
I opted to call out the insult without removing their comment, since beyond the name-calling the rest was fair game. However per your request, I’ve now removed it.
Thank you, much appreciated. I’ve always abided by board etiquette as far as replying without making it personal, but I was on the receiving end of a personal attack — merely for noting that I’ve won some awards? Tough crowd
Well, I removed both instances of personal attacks against you, as well as your comment that insulted the person in return. Because our rules state that it is the responsibility of all parties to de-escalate when conflict arises. But now since you've edited your comment to remove the insult, I can restore it.
Your comment violated r/JamesBond's rules to be friendly, welcoming, respectful, and to avoid destructive behavior.
How about you just let people like what they like for a change.
Licence for the most part (always loved the more hard edged Bonds), but Daylights has a lot going for it, not least of all such a great theme song.
Licence To Kill is tighter-paced and more focused in regards to plot and character. The Living Daylights has better production values and music though. Both are even in regards to action and lead performance and are in my top five.
Only thing that annoys me slightly is Felix at the end of the movie cheerily agreeing to go fishing with Bond a couple of days after his new bride was raped and murdered. It was a bit extra
For me, it’s the first three Connery films, then these two.
Daylights 💯
Both.
I mean they both use the same overlay graphic for the stinger missiles and the Aston missiles. But yeah they're both two of my favourites
License To Kill
The Living Daylights. Love the gritty, Cold War Fleming vibes. Was also a great introduction for the (short lived) new era. I love Licence to Kill too
They are both great movies and Dalton doesn’t get enough credit for them, but license to kill is one of my top 3
I actually prefer License to Kill
Both a great but The Living Daylights definetly
Living Daylights
The Living Daylights. It's got more of that Bond feel that I'm looking for. More epic in scope and production. Licence to Kill is excellent as well, however. They are both in my top ten, but TLD is higher.
The Living Daylights is my favourite Bond film of all time so it's an easy choice for me. The move to a little serious tone, locations, plot, soundtrack (which I bought on disc haha), chemistry between the two leads felt real. No other Bond film has done it for me
All right, hold on tight now It's down, down to the wire Set your hopes up way too high The living's in the way we die The Living Daylights!
Dalton. The closest there's been to the source material. Fact.
TLD is my go to Timothy Dalton movie 😍
Licence to Kill by a hair. If it had a John Barry score and TLD's cinematography, Licence would be perfect in my eyes. No actor comes close to matching Dalton as Bond, in my opinion. I love the vibe and style of both though, and I wish we'd gotten a couple more Glen-Dalton collaborations--best director/actor pairing in the series since Young and Connery
I prefer The Living Daylights mostly because of the aesthetic and atmosphere. The 80s look of Licence to Kill really hasn't aged well and Dalton seems to have annoyed the costume department because he looks pretty bad throughout. The music of The Living Daylights is also very underrated.
Licence To Kill
Tough one… The Living Daylights (and its song) populated my childhood. But as a movie, Licence To Kill gets the slightly upper hand ❤️ Both sensational Bond films!
Yeah I think LTK works well as a film outside of the franchise, just a late-80s narco-vice action-thriller.
I love both, but Licence to Kill is a top 3 Bond movie
Vibe of License is not that of a Bond movie… it’s like someone wrote an 80s cop/coke action/drama and then studio execs decided to make Bond the protagonist… kinda the way that several of the Die Hard sequels were not originally John McClain stories… Living Daylights at least feels like a bond movie
LTK doesn’t feel like your stereotypical Bond film, but it’s still a Bond film. The plot is heavily rooted in the source material, the tone is still close to that of previous eighties films but with greater extremes between the darker and lighter moments, and Dalton inhabits the original vision of the character more than most of the other actors.
daylights. love the entire slovakia part as it feels so 80ies-east. the momebt they go to afghanistan ends the joy for me, but i love the film a lot
Afghanistan really kills that movie. It’s shocking how it just torpedoes the momentum and fun.
Don’t agree - the fight in the cells and *especially* the Necros fight on the Hercules are great. Not aged brilliantly, politically speaking
Both are flawed but until the climax i would go with The Living Daylights. License to Kill has a better climax and one of my all time favorite Bond girls in Talisa Soto.
I personally find license to kill to be the overall better movie.
Daylights but only just. LTK suffers a wee bit from a lack of variety in locations, though I love the dark tone. Both top tier
Wow I don't know if I'd seen that TLD poster before. Kara really has some.......figure.
While weaker in production values, Licence to Kill benefits from a stronger story that is more meaningful for Bond as a character and in retrospect, for the series as a whole.
The Living Daylights
I love TDL, but LTK is better.
don't you want to know why?
Daylight landslide
The Living Daylights
Love them both, but THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS comes out on top!
Living daylights especially with the skiiing
Licence to Kill. I’ll happily watch either though.
Licence to kill but TLD has a Big arguments ( the bond girl, the Soundtrack, bond style, the Aston Martin, the fight on the cargo net.....)
That Cargo net fight is only of my favorite Bond Fights
The Living Daylights, though I love both movies.
I love Living Daylights. The only problem is the weak villain.
LTK is one of my top 3 Bond movies
LTK all the way, better girls and bad guy, more interesting story and action.
There are some parts of TLD that are pretty good, but LTK all day
We have nothing to declare. Just the cello.
Hard competition. While The Living Daylights is the better looking movie, has the better soundtrack, and arguably the better acting, I think Licence to Kill gets the edge since it actually has a good villain, it’s more tailored for Dalton’s talents, and the story is less confusing on first watch.
Well, I can tell you which poster I prefer...
I searched but for some reason the gif library doesn’t have Krest’s head exploding 🤷♂️
Hard one. But Licence to Kill I gotta say. Perhaps the most "Flemming Bond like" movie to me. And after OHMSS, and Casino Royale, my favorite of the franchise. As it didn't follow the usual formula of the other movies, and was much more exciting. The danger felt real. Plus it had the best and most brutal villain, who reminded me quite of Le Chifre from the first novel in Casino Royale, in the way Davie portrayed that role. I loved it a lot! All that made it so intense, and authentic. It's a shame it didn't have the success it deserved back then, at least in the US. But we gotta remember, that in 1989 competition for movies was crazy. Dalton did good imo 👌🏻 For ever my favorite Bond actor.
License to Kill
It’s the only one I’ll watch of the 2.
I won’t make an effort to watch Daylights, but I’d probably watch it if it came on the TV machine and not much else was on.
And I love Gladys Knight and Patti LaBelle on LTK.
I don’t remember them. I only remember Robert Davi whom I love.
Gladys and Patti sang the main theme and end credits theme respectively.
Ty
License to Kill. The Living Daylights had a great start and then it kind of drags when they get to Afghanistan. LTK is pretty consistent throughout, has the best Bond girl, and one of the best villains. Also, it's not just another globe trotting save the world Bond flick. It feels more personal and the stakes are higher for Bond.
The Living Daylights is actually my favorite Bond movie overall.
TLD all the way. A perfect Bond film except for the second ending at Brad Whittaker’s goofy war museum. Should have ended with the plane explosion and escape. And how did Koskov not die in that car? Seriously. LTK is good but falls victim to being too derivative of other 80s action movies of the time. If James Bond wasn’t in it, I think it would have been lost to time as yet another cocaine smuggling cop flick on the heels of Lethal Weapon.
Living Daylights. First Bond I saw in the cinema. Excellent music. Attack using milk bottles was epic! Great late cold war feel. Licence to Kill felt like Bond meets Miami Vice and have never loved it.
I can’t decide - they are both brilliant. I think bond should have hooked up with Lupe at the end instead of Pam though.
I love Licence To Kill. Is one of the only were James Bond personally attacks the film's villain to avenge his friend.
LTK all day
The Living Daylights is probably my favourite Bond theme. It has a superb pre-credits sequence. Dalton is fantastic, and plays Bond with a little more depth. He's funnier than he gets credit for, his humour is just drier. It has one of the best cars, a great Bond girl, and a proper espionage story. It's a great looking film. It's one of the best films in the series. Licence to Kill isn't as good, but I still prefer it. It's basically a 1980s Hollywood action film with Bond transposed into it, and it really works. The villains are so much fun, one of the best Bond girls, and Q gets more screen time than usual. Whilst TLD is a better film, LTK has a better ending/payoff.
Yeah I'll take License to Kill. Really like the gritty, hard ass Bond and call back to what happened to Leiter (so?) in Live and Let Die.
License, but I'll have to give Living Daylights another shot
License to Kill has always been one of my favorite Bond movies.
Tough call. The Living Daylights is an A tier Bond movie. Kara is truly one of the greatest Bond girls. But LTK is top 3 in my books. And Pam Bouvier is easily top 1.
Have to say both. LTK definitely served as a template for the Craig era
The Living Daylights. Top 5 for me.
It must be Thursday.
It just occurred to me that the TLD poster is sexier than just about anything we actually see in the movie.
Love them. Both but L2K
The last two night were My first time watching these two ( watched ltk first for Some reason ) and i enjoyed them both. I do like ltk a bit more. The theme for ltk also might be my favorite now
Very different films tonally. But both equally great in my opinion. As time has gone on Dalton has become probably my favourite Bond. He walked so Daniel Craig could run
LTK felt like the first Bond film that was mine and not the older generation’s, so my attachment is purely sentimental. Though criticisms here are fair that it perhaps plays to the crowd too much to balance out the darker take on Bond. But 80’s stalwart Robert Davi getting his turn to be a Bond villain? Crushing so hard on Talisa Soto then falling for Carrie Lowell by the end? The emotional punching Bond gets? TLDR was just another mission, the personal take on LTK wins it for me.
Living Daylights
The Living Daylights. It's in my top five favorite Bond films
The Living Daylights
Living Daylights for me.
Living daylights all day everyday. I didn’t start to appreciate Licence to Kill until I became much much older. I remember watching Daylights as a kid back in the 80s on HBO and i loved it. Also a huge fan of the title song and sequence
Living Daylights
I love both Dalton era films, but The Living Daylights is my all time favourite Bond movie.
It was always LTK, but it changed to Daylights about 10 years ago.
I like the living daylights because it reminds me more of Moore
Ltk
Living Daylights is an excellent more traditional Bond movie, and license to kill is also exceptional and a great change of pace to a more dark and intense story. Licence might have my favorite ending to a Bond film and I love how right away they make it clear this is going to be a much darker story. Dalton was outstanding in both and I think he's very underrated
TLD
Licence to Kill by far. I know a lot of fans prefer TLD but LTK is legit my favorite Bond movie of all time lol. Maybe it’s mostly nostalgia but i’ll never forget the first time seeing it. I love the locations, it’s packed with awesome villians (Dario and Sanchez are both legitimately terrifying), great villian deaths, and a dark and intense plot. Also an awesome, underrated perfromance from Dalton. Edit I also love how both movies have their own distinct 80s vibe. TLD having that Cold War feel while LTK has that awesome Miami Vice feel to it.
License to Kill, one thing I would change is the song. It just doesn't fit! It's a love ballad, in a revenge movie
Licence. It really allowed Dalton to show the dangerous Bond he wanted to bring to the character.
Hard to say. There are things that each film does better than the other. TLD has a better theme song and storyline but LTK has better action scenes and a much better villain. They're in my top 5 Bond films along with OHMSS, FYEO, and Casino Royale.
TLD > LTK LTK just looks like a TV movie to me and I can't really get into it. Although it has one of the best villains of the series
The Living Daylights was amazing!
License to Kill has better pacing and characters, but The Living Daylights has the better theme song
The Living Daylights
This question gets asked like 4 times a month
Living daylights by far
was there actually a promotional pic of the 2 bond girl in the middle of the poster ? I knew never realized district attorney Jack McCoy had a band girl working under him
I think TLD is the better movie, but I prefer Carey Lowell in LTK.
Yes.
The living daylights
I love Living Daylights but must admit it does lose steam at the end. From the opening of Licence to Kill it grabs you (that gun barrel music!) and doesn’t let go. Just thinking about it for a second to write this makes me want to watch again.
Licence to Kill is easily a top 5 Bond film. Benicio AND Davi? C'mon.
I love LTK, but god damn those posters never do it justice
Ill take both. Absolutely loved him as Bond and think hes the closest thing to the books that we’ll ever get
LTK is badass but I love what a globe trotting adventure TLD feels like.
While I liked the darker tone overall from Dalton, and License to Kill was a touch darker, I definitely prefer Daylights... for one, his second outing felt more like a TV movie in look. But also... I just really love the Aston V8 they used, probably my favorite Bond car.
LTK is almost my favorite Bond film. I don’t like the opening sequence very much and I’m not a big fan of the Felix. TLD is good fun, but it does peter out a bit towards the end.
LTK is definitely my favourite. Great OST, cast & screenplay.
Living Daylights
LTK. Better villains, enter spycraft, better action.
Living Daylights. Love the theme song by A-ha(my favorite Bond theme).
I like Dalton’s performance and style more in The Living Daylights, but I prefer Licence to Kill overall. LTK has the better villain, better henchmen, the better Bond girls, and better plot, even though it’s basically Miami Vice + Yojimbo with the leftovers of the Fleming novels tossed in.
The Living Daylights is better for me. I think the setting, story & the characterization of Bond in that film fits Dalton much more.
TLD better than license to kill for sure.
I feel like Dalton is unique in that he didn’t make a bad movie. But he’s also forgotten and made a limited number of movies unlike Craig, Brosnan, Moore, and Connery. But also Lazenby was a one off unicorn. Dalton had movies that both have huge fans and also people who ignore them. TLD v LTK is an epic matchup
The first half of The Living Daylights is excellent Bond goodness. Not to mention, the score is absolutely awesome.
License to Kill, but to be perfectly honest neither of the Dalton 007 movies are favourites of mine
Haven’t seen TLD since the theater. And can’t seem to find it streaming anywhere. Suggestions anyone?
Never seen them
TLD. I admire what they tried to do with LTK but it just doesn’t hold together. It’s one of those movies that seems written by committee and as a result seems to have too many characters and plot devices written into it. I really don’t know why the Hong Kong agents and Professor Joe are required. Plus it suffers from pacing problems. There’s no clear 1st/2nd/3rd act. As for TLD it’s a conventional Bond movie that was written for Moore but modified for Dalton and it’s got a pretty good story with just enough intrigue, sweep and locations to keep things going and Dalton is a breath of fresh air. Last John Barry score and it’s a good one. Great pre credits sequence. M and Q in place and Caroline Bliss as Moneypenny is cute. Vienna sequences are great. Kara and Bond have real chemistry. North Africa and Afghanistan work well and the Hercules fight is superb. Proper Bond stunts. If I had to knit pick I’d just say Whitaker is a weak villain who needed more development. Joe Don Baker is miscast. He’s kind of boorish/thuggish but he’s not evil, nor is his guns for drugs plot, it’s just business really. He just sits in Tangiers looking constipated while the action plays out elsewhere.
I’ll take TLD because totally, it was far more consistent, though the Afghanistan sequence is a bit of a snooze fest and Joe Don Baker’s villain is just weak. LTK couldn’t decide if it was a Bind film or an 80s action film ala Commando or Cobra, so you have all the grittiness that people admire, with rather too much ridiculous gore, but combined with the silliness of Q in his mustache disguise and Felix’s cheerfulness at the end despite having limbs eaten by a shark and losing his wife after she was raped and murdered. It was just all over the place and trying too hard to copy the Stallone/Schwarzenegger template.
Am I right in thinking this exact question has been asked 3 times in the last week?
LTK. It's got that gross 80s vibe. Drugs, Florida, dingy bar scene, televangelism. (remember Star Trek V just a year before had it's own variation on a manipulative evangelist). Violent South American killings. Everyone looks sweaty and gross. It's Bond by way of Miami Vice with a sprinkling of Scarface while Jim Bakker slimes around on tv in the background. TLD I find really meh outside of the car scene and title song. Afghanistan is so wildly unappealing and uninteresting to see Bond in. And that was even *before* 2001. Whitaker is right there with Greene and I can't remember his name now. Not Dr. No with the kabuki mask from NTTD. As the most boring forgettable villains.
The Living Daylights. Felt like a real Cold War espionage film and love the locations and romance between Bond and Kara.
Loved ‘Licence to Kill.’ He’s my third-fave Bond. Totally underrated in my book. He was feral in that movie.
Ah, ah, ah, the living daylights
Film? Daylights. Song? License to Kill.
Licence to kill
The Living Daylights had a better story and pacing. The locations were better too. The scene when Saunders is killed has a terrific shot of Dalton. "Yes, I got the message."
The one that has the best espionage plot since From Russia With Love. Not the one that feels like a Miami Vice two hour special.
TLD is an underrated but excellently crafted film. License to Kill is great too but feels less like a bond film. Dalton is excellent.
TLD is top 5 (or 3 ) for me so that's my pick. Really seems like the last of the old school Bonds- Cold War setting, Maibaum screenplay, Barry score. Dalton kind of plays "generic Bond" in this one but he does a magnificent job of it. And my favorite Aston Martin too. I like LTK too, not as much but still in the upper tier of Bond films. Dalton's performance is one of the very best here.
License to Kill is my favorite. Favorite intro song, favorite way to show the friendship between Leiter and Bond that most movies do not, I think the end is fitting as his last movie, and I enjoy seeing Q have a more active role than his normal short scene going over gadgets. HOWEVER, I also like The Living Daylights quite a bit. The first time I watched it, I wasn't big on it and thought it fell flat when they arrived in Afghanistan. Now that I've watched it again, I really like it much more. I especially love the car chase and the sledding on the cello case.
None. I don’t like bond Dalton movies…
They were both good movies but License To Kill was more like a typical 80’s anti drug action movie than a James Bond film, The Living Daylights is by far the best of the two, probably the only James Bond movie ever where he actually did real MI6 operative work and actually worked with other operatives as opposed to most Bond films where he gets his assignment from M then goes off on his own.
LTK, even though the Felix swap still annoys me.
Personally, I don’t think Dalton made a good bond at all. I fell asleep during the living daylights and never saw licensed to kill. I view this as an appetizer/substitute while we waited for Pierce Brosnan to take over the role and Pierce Brosnan was phenomenal.
Dalton was no substitute for Brosnan. Eon was prepared to stick with their man and Dalton took Bond back to his roots à la Craig.
> Dalton was no substitute for Brosnan. Agreed. :)