spoilers

Happy birthday to my Bond. I know my James Bond should be Craig or whoever is next but for now its Mr Dalton & i love him & this is one of the best Bond films that was really ahead of its time. If it was made now people would rate it up there with Skyfall & View to a Kill. Its just brilliant. So lets get to it. Chellos at the ready people.

So growing up as a child Dalton had already been Bond & i had Brosnan as my childhood bond & then for the entirety of my adult life so far its been Craig. So when i got to my teens & Bond was busy being rebranded & updated & then not happening i needed another Bond so i watched both the Dalton films & was like wow these are bloody cool & brilliant & amazing & why does no one like these Bond films & from that moment he became my Bond. If these films were made today they would be deemed a triumph of film making & would be world renowned & praised by everyone. but for the 80s he was just seen as a stop gap.

The opening sequence of this where its meant to be training but its actually much more than that is amazing, also if you didnt know who the new Bond was going to be, to see all those guys die & fall apart & then for Dalton to get through & save the say is an amazing reveal its so cool & clever & is really good. Sets the tone for the film ahead perfectly.

The pipe line defection is brilliant i love that. At the time that was cool & stylish, Bond now tends to use pipe line to get things around quite a bit now. If you see a pipe in Bond you know that shits going down, but this was cool. Especially when its the cellist whos mean to be the assassin & how Bond is kept out the loop & then is the loop, brilliant. Properly cool espionage.

No one really asked anything else about the milk man either before it all goes kaboom. I mean its very odd & freaky why did no one else work it out. I mean its bloody fun & what a cool way to do it. I love it & then later on when you realise double crosses are double crossed that adds even more to it.

The escape of the Cellist which eventually leads to them flying down the mountain on the cello is brilliant. Its one of those set pieces that only Bond can get away with but you do actually think it could be possible. The waving the passports is a nice touch as well. I laugh & am on the edge of my seat throughout this bit of the film.

The faking of the death & all that set up is brilliant you do really believe that yea he is dead. Its a clever way to do it & especially for no one to be in on the joke too. ITs smart its sassy & for the 80s a little bit sexy when he first frames him.

It is odd that after all the film being about the Russians & the KGB & money fraud that we then suddenly end up in Afghanistan & meet a tribe. I mean its a bloody good hindsight to free that guy as he help them out but the film randomly turns into something else 1h20min in. Im not complaining its still bloody good but its such a huge sudden switch to it now being so much more than just the KGB.

The plane escape is madness & is wonderful at the same time. You watch it just thinking nah they are all dead in this no way pepe are they getting out of this & its chaos but its so well filmed & styled perfectly, that it just works. It does then feel a little bit oh really we have to do the Whittaker shootout after that plane stunt. I know the plan had to have failed & everyone else be dead before he died but knowing that the plane is so cool, to then feel do a standard shoot out feels a little meh, but its the 80s so they liked to have a big hero moment like that.

Its also nice that at the end all of the people involved in the film all meet up for the concert & they all get to see her before she reunites with bond. Often in these film especially when its Bond no one else comes back, its just him with the woman, but the fact you think hes not there & then he is, is really nice & sweet.

My moans in this are more about 80s film making & decisions & not the story & how it all pans out. Its a really clever & cool Bond film well ahead of its time & is so smart. When it ended i was like yes James good on you. Your in safe hands but it does always make you think ah okay there is some real danger here.

Well done Mr Dalton, my James Bond.