Before Spectre: Which Film Was Each James Bond Actors Best?

Timothy Dalton - License To Kill

To many (myself included), Timothy Dalton was the perfect Bond, on account of the fact that he gave the truest interpretation of the character seen in Ian Fleming's novels. His portrayal was a breath of fresh air after Moore's increasingly camp take on the role, but sadly he would only play 007 on two occasions, in 1987's The Living Daylights and 1989's License To Kill. This was before a legal issue prevented the release of another film until 1995, by which time he'd opted to move on and let Pierce Brosnan take over. Picking between The Living Daylights and License To Kill is a difficult task on account of the fact that both were spectacular films. The former sees Bond unravel a plot involving a Russian defector and an American arms dealer to profit on a batch of Afghani heroin, whilst the latter is deeply personal affair that sees him undertake a vendetta against the drug lord responsible for maiming his friend and CIA ally Felix Leiter. License To Kill edges it purely because it was such a radical departure from the traditional Bond formula - 007's pursuit of the aforementioned drug lord, Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi), is brutal and merciless, but intriguing at the same time. He does not go in guns blazing, as every other action hero in the 1980s was seemingly obliged to do, instead opting to carefully manipulate his way into Sanchez' organisation and destroy it from within, culminating in him burning his adversary alive with a lighter previously given to him by Felix in the films dying moments. Allegedly based on real-life Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, Sanchez is one the most believable villains in the franchise, as he is not motivated by some megalomaniacal scheme to take over the world. Much of the supporting cast that share the screen with him and Bond are similarly well-written, with Bond girl Pam Bouvier (Carey Lowell) standing out as a strong female presence more than capable of holding her own without becoming a 'damsel in distress'. There is also a surprisingly strong outing for Q (Desmond Llewellyn), who joins Bond in the field and gives audiences one of the funniest moments in the entire series when he nonchalantly tosses away one of his own expensive creations after frequently admonishing Bond for doing so in the past. All in all, Dalton's second outing is a tremendous revenge thriller that is often overlooked in 'best of' lists. Perhaps this is due either to the fact that the film's release was mismanaged (License To Kill was a last minute name change from License Revoked and affected the marketing campaign) or the fact that many are not entirely comfortable with a film that is much more violent and bloody than any of the ones that preceded it, most of which were relatively family friendly. Regardless, it showcases Bond at his finest - a ruthless killing machine determined to deliver justice, no matter the cost.