On to Part 3, this time the two films spanning the Timothy Dalton era, 1987 - 1989.
15. The Living Daylights. Truly the dawn of a new era for Bond, and though snippets of the Moore films break through in a couple of the action sequences, most notably the cello case escape down the mountain, they are taken in stride and don't demerit the film. Dalton himself slides effortlessly into the role, channeling Connery rather than Moore, but with added intensity, darkness. The romanticised portrayal of the Mujahideen terrorists lessons the otherwise realistic tone of the film but don't damage it too much, whilst the highlight remains the breathtaking aerial fight upon the netting of a cargo plane. 7/10
16. Licence To Kill. If there's a rulebook to making a Bond film, Licence To Kill to breaks it, and is thankfully better for it. For the first time since On Her Majesty's Secret Service we're let further into the psyche of Bond, as the filmmakers expand on the darkness present in The Living Daylights, strip Bond of his licence to kill and take him on a revenge fuelled quest to take down an drug cartel after an attack on longtime friend Felix Leiter. Though considerably humourless than one would expect from a Bond film there is still a lot of fun to have here, with Desmond Llewelyn providing much of the charm whilst an array of impressive stunt work ensures we never forget which franchise we're watching. The franchise was put on hiatus after this but Licence To Kill should never be under appreciated; and as the tone of the Daniel Craig films suggests this was merely ahead of it's time. 9/10.
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