For most people, the name Timothy Dalton is foreign to fans of James
Bond, or just people in general. Dalton, whom had just made two James
Bond film, was sadly short lived between Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan
but the mark he left behind was a unique one.
In 1987, Tim made his debut as the new James Bond. His immediate
predecessor was Sir Roger Moore, who had made a total of seven films as
007 from 1973 through 1985. During Moore's tenure, the Bond character
turned into a slapstick, pretty boy, play-it-safe kind of Bond. Gone was
the sense of danger, espionage and suspense of what Ian Fleming's
original idea of Bond was. James Bond films turned into family
entertainment for all. This was a 12 year experience.
Now, Timothy Dalton's 1987 film, The Living Daylights took all
this away and brought Bond back to his roots as a ruthless British agent
with a license to kill. Now, mind you audiences were not expecting such
a drastic 360 degree turn after Moore. Gone was the pretty boy style
and the jokes and back was the ruthlessness that Connery brought to the
role, and more! Timothy Dalton gave the world his own interpretation of
Bond and brought the character from the written page of Fleming's books.
A Shakespearean trained actor, Dalton took the role of 007 most
seriously. His first film didn't show Bond as a ladies man, but rather a
"one lady" man. He was badass and you would totally buy him as a
killer. He wasn't one to mess around. Even his tagline for a teaser
poster for The Living Daylights read, "The most dangerous Bond. Ever." It was true!
The Living Daylights was an instant hit and made $191 million at
the box office beating the last two previous Roger Moore outings. It
also beat out Die Hard and Lethal Weapon. Dalton was the new Bond and
despite what some of the critics and fans said, he brought Bond back to
his roots.
Two years later, in 1989, Dalton returned as 007. This time, it was a
mission for Her Majesty's Secret Service, but rather, a revenge story.
The new movie Licence to Kill really brought out Dalton's strong
side as James Bond. Bond was on his own and out to avenge he maiming of
his best friend and death of his wife. Bond this time would anything and
everything to kill the man responsible. Roger Moore, or any other actor
that played Bond would not have been able to sell that film the way Tim
did. This was meant for Timothy Dalton in mind. Any weak spots Dalton
had in The Living Daylights would be eliminated and all his strength
would come to play.
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| Filming the climax to Licence to Kill |
The reception for Licence to Kill was unfortunately quite poor.
The violence factor in this film was so dark it became the first ever
James Bond filmed with a PG-13 rating. The Bond series was no longer a
family event and the drastic change came too soon for some. Dalton was
and is the most badass 007 in terms of how he portrayed the character
and his style. I think he even out beats Daniel Craig.
Dalton had originally been signed on for three films, but after Licence to Kill,
there was a lawsuit between distributor MGM and 007 production company
EON which lead to a six year hiatus before there next film would come
out. During this long gap (1989 to 1995), Dalton decided to step down
from the character and the role was given to Pierce Brosnan who
continued on the legacy of 007. The film GoldenEye--which was Brosnan's first role as Bond--previously known as The Propery of a Lady,
was written with Timothy in mind since he was still signed onto play
Bond at the time.
Timothy Dalton stands out as the more ruthless James Bond ever, and he
is a precursor to the current James Bond, Daniel Craig. The world today
accepts Craig as an action killer and less of a spy, because it is much
more accepted...well highly praised for that matter these days;
especially after the influence of the Jason Bourne films. Dalton
certainly came before his time and if he were James Bond today, odds are
he would be far more accepted.
Long live 007 #4!
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