John-Rhys-Davies Movie Reviews

Cats Don't Dance is a wonderful story about a simple cat from small-town nowhere, looking to make it big in Hollywood, in the late thirties. Naive as he is, he thinks it should only take him a week until he gets his first big part. But that was before he met Darla, a child-star similar to Shirley Temple, but with a much worse temper - and to top it off, she hates animals. And apparently, so does Hollywood. In Hollywood, Cats don't dance, or sing, or act; they meow, and that's it. Danny attempts to beat the odds, and become a big star. This movie is also filled will wonderful musical numbers reminiscent of the jazz age. This is a movie for adults and kids alike, but it is especially for those who enjoy accomplishing the impossible, and for those with a dream they won't deny

"Cats Don't Dance" really took me by surprise. What a clever idea, flawlessly executed! If you enjoy musicals of the 40s and 50s, and if you enjoy bold, fast-paced animation, then this is the movie for you. Set in the 1940s, a naive but talented cat moves from the Mid-West to Hollywood, hoping to sing and dance his way to the top. His hopes are quickly obstructed by the Hollywood machine, which is dominated by Darla Dimple - a hilarious Shirley Temple parody. The villainous Dimple finally gets what she deserves, as does the hopeful Danny the cat. A true gift from Warner Brothers to animated film lovers and their children. The movie really clicks with my kids.

I've been waiting for five years for this to come out on DVD because I know if I buy it on VHS I'll just have to buy more copies after I wear the first one out. This is one of the best animated movies of all times. It's an adorable cartoon without the saccharine overdose that many of them have. The hero is the adorable Danny, who dreams of becoming a movie star. The backup cast is just as enchanting, and are a little more jaded than the average cartoon character. The pacing is almost like speed, and it will sweep you up and hold you until the very end. If you want something deep, buy The Lion King. If you want something fun that will make you feel good, buy Cats Don't Dance. You won't be disappointed.

Cats Don't Dance is a wonderful story about a simple cat from small-town nowhere, looking to make it big in Hollywood, in the late thirties. Naive as he is, he thinks it should only take him a week until he gets his first big part. But that was before he met Darla, a child-star similar to Shirley Temple, but with a much worse temper - and to top it off, she hates animals. And apparently, so does Hollywood. In Hollywood, Cats don't dance, or sing, or act; they meow, and that's it. Danny attempts to beat the odds, and become a big star. This movie is also filled will wonderful musical numbers reminiscent of the jazz age. This is a movie for adults and kids alike, but it is especially for those who enjoy accomplishing the impossible, and for those with a dream they won't deny

"Cats Don't Dance" really took me by surprise. What a clever idea, flawlessly executed! If you enjoy musicals of the 40s and 50s, and if you enjoy bold, fast-paced animation, then this is the movie for you. Set in the 1940s, a naive but talented cat moves from the Mid-West to Hollywood, hoping to sing and dance his way to the top. His hopes are quickly obstructed by the Hollywood machine, which is dominated by Darla Dimple - a hilarious Shirley Temple parody. The villainous Dimple finally gets what she deserves, as does the hopeful Danny the cat. A true gift from Warner Brothers to animated film lovers and their children. The movie really clicks with my kids.

I've been waiting for five years for this to come out on DVD because I know if I buy it on VHS I'll just have to buy more copies after I wear the first one out. This is one of the best animated movies of all times. It's an adorable cartoon without the saccharine overdose that many of them have. The hero is the adorable Danny, who dreams of becoming a movie star. The backup cast is just as enchanting, and are a little more jaded than the average cartoon character. The pacing is almost like speed, and it will sweep you up and hold you until the very end. If you want something deep, buy The Lion King. If you want something fun that will make you feel good, buy Cats Don't Dance. You won't be disappointed.

The cats in this film actually DO dance-quite well! Especially since all the "choregraphy" was done by Gene Kelly (who was totally for the idea). This may be one of those cartoons that has a lot of humor only adults would get. I thought it was great how the included 30's actors, like Mae West, Cary Grant and Clark Gable. The lines were great!
My favorite character was Sawyer, the cat who Danny showed her talents. "So much for preservin' the species," she says. The film's songs are overall great. My favorites are Tell me Lies, Hollwood, and Animal Jam. The only part of the latter one that I like is the dancing sequence performed by Danny and Sawyer.
Bottom line: SEE IT!!

When this film released in 1997, nobody paid attention to it, because Disney's Hercules was the animated feature film everyone assumed to be better. Many animators would prefer Cats Don't Dance over Hercules, why? It is a tap dancing musical that really plays with the art of animation. The movie is directed by Mark Dindal (Emperor's New Groove) and the choreography is by the famous broadway dancing veteran Gene Kelley! It is also the last film involves Gene Kelley. Overall, the animation is wonderful, loveable characters, and unforgettable songs. This is a movie for all ages of animation or musical fan.

"Cats Don't Dance" really took me by surprise. What a clever idea, flawlessly executed! If you enjoy musicals of the 40s and 50s, and if you enjoy bold, fast-paced animation, then this is the movie for you. Set in the 1940s, a naive but talented cat moves from the Mid-West to Hollywood, hoping to sing and dance his way to the top. His hopes are quickly obstructed by the Hollywood machine, which is dominated by Darla Dimple - a hilarious Shirley Temple parody. The villainous Dimple finally gets what she deserves, as does the hopeful Danny the cat. A true gift from Warner Brothers to animated film lovers and their children. The movie really clicks with my kids.

Returning to the sure-fire formula that made RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK such a huge success, INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE is more light-hearted than the previous two adventures, mostly due to the ingenious casting of Sean Connery as Indiana's pop. The father-son back and forth provides some classic moments and Henry Jones calling his son "Junior" never fails to be funny. Considering the whole idea about Indiana Jones came from Spielberg wanting to direct a Bond movie, it makes sense to have the best 007, Connery himslf in the movie. Indeed, the best scenes in the movie are the ones with Ford and Connery providing both hirthero unseen emotional depth to Indy and comical set-pieces. And that's one of the many reasons why LAST CRUSADE is high on my list of all time favourite films. The action is absolutley astounding, from the great opening with young Indy (River Pheonix) in his pursuit for the Cross of Coranado. Here we see the beggining of Indy's fear of snakes, getting the scar, the whip and the famous fedora. Fast forward to the older Indy in 1938 where he finally gets the valuable artifact he's been chasing. Like the start of RAIDERS, the opening 20 minutes has little to do with the main plot of the film, but the action smoothly goes from one adventure to the next, providing an incredible action adventure that amuses and enthralls. Then the breath-taking climax in an adventure to find the Holy Grail, a masterpiece in itself. Compared to both RAIDERS and TEMPLE OF DOOM, this one is a more polished film, and the added gravitas of Connery gives the series an edge that makes it more enjoyable than TOD. John William's heroic score differs from the usual regular use the Raiders March and uses several new cues, including Scherzo for the motorcycle chase. The tank chase alone surpasses most films today. Action dosn't get much better than this. No wonder they're still talking about Indy 4...

"Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" is what I think the best of the three Indiana Jones movie. And one of the most important reasons for this conclusion is not just that it has Harrison Ford doing absolutely great, it has legendary actor Sean Connery as Indy's dad.

Harrison Ford is Dr. Henry 'Indiana' Jones, Jr. When he is asked by Walter Donovan (Julian Glover) to help go in search of the mystical Holy Grail since one of his main archaeologist has disappeared, he refuses. But when Indy is told that the missing man is his father, Professor Henry Jones, Sr., (whom he has rarely spoken to in 20 years), Indy, along with the help of friend Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliott) and Dr. Elsa Schneider (Alison Doody), try to rescue his father from... who? Can it be the mysterious men who are trying to stop him from finding the Holy Grail? Or is there more to just finding his father and the Holy Grail than meets the eye? Indiana discovers that you can't trust anybody when dealing with power seeking men who want to use the cup of Jesus for evil.

The best Indiana Jones movie AND action/adventure movie!! And the script and plot is just perfect, with plenty of lines which are just so funny! The first part where they have 'young Indiana Jones' played by River Phoenix was lots of fun, too. I like it where the explained some things like how Indy got his famous hat. "Everyone's lost but me..."

My favorite parts are when Indy 'rescues' his dad but instead has to escape from the bad guys when he is caught himself and whenever Indy and Dr. Jones are arguing. One thing though is that I didn't think much of Alison Doody as Elsa. Yeah, she was real greedy and everything but I still like Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood in the first Indiana Jones movie, "Raiders of the Lost Ark". And of course John Williams score is just terrific. I can probably hum the whole Indiana Jones theme song!

For those of you who haven't seen this movie, well, I'm telling you to put it on you 'must see' list!

After having taken a definitively dark turn in 1984's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, director Steven Spielberg and executive producer George Lucas decided that the third installment of the series should be thrilling, lighter in tone and more upbeat and humorous. In other words, they wanted to recreate the Saturday-matinee serial fun of Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Lucas, Menno Meyjes and screenwriter Jeffrey Boam wrote a story that once again sent the archaeologist/adventurer Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) on the quest for another legendary artifact -- the Holy Grail. And to avoid the inevitable "ho hum, been there, done that" syndrome that sequels often suffer from, they decided to include a father-son dynamic to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade by casting Sean Connery as Professor Henry Jones.

Although Last Crusade follows the basic structure -- borrowed from the James Bond series -- of the other movies by starting the film with the end of a previous adventure before introducing the main storyline, the film tweaks the formula by showing us Indy's first big adventure...in 1912 Utah, when the future archaeology professor is a Boy Scout (literally) living with his widowed father, Henry Jones. While on a Boy Scouting sojourn in the mountainous desert, young Indy (River Phoenix) wanders into a cave and sees a group of ruffians pilfering the long-lost Cross of Coronado. "That cross is an important artifact," Indy says to a fellow Boy Scout. "It belongs in a museum." Indy sends his friend for help, steals the Cross of Coronado from the ruffians, but ends up being chased as he attempts to escape on foot, horseback and even a circus train. (One of the best scenes in the series: the handsome rogue who was hired to find the Cross by the collector known in the credits as "Panama Hat" tells Indy, "You lost today, kid. But that doesn't mean you have to like it." And in a show of admiration for the kid's spunk and courage, takes off his hat and places it on Indy's head. Spielberg holds the camera on the hat, and in the blink of an eye, we flash forward 26 years and to the conclusion of Indy's search for the Cross of Coronado.)

After this exciting prologue, The Last Crusade gets underway when American millionaire Walter Donovan (The Empire Strikes Back's Julian Glover) commissions Indy to find the missing leader (and his important papers) of Donovan's Holy Grail recovery team. Several clues have been found near Ankara, clues that might lead to the location of the legendary cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper -- a cup that also caught some of His blood at the Crucifixion. But when Indy temporizes, Donovan tells him the identity of the missing team leader...and our favorite archaeologist/adventurer starts out on yet another globe-trotting trek to chase an ancient treasure.

Soon, Indiana Jones, his friend and boss Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliott), Elsa Schneider (Allison Doody) -- a young, sexy Austrian archaeologist who works for Donovan -- and Indy's friend Sallah (John Rhys-Davies) set off on a quest to find the legendary Grail.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, with its crisp script, thrilling music by John Williams, fine directing by Spielberg and a convincing chemistry between Ford and Connery, is one of the best action films made in the 1980s, and its recent release on DVD proves that it, like the other films in the series, has aged well.

Returning to the sure-fire formula that made RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK such a huge success, INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE is more light-hearted than the previous two adventures, mostly due to the ingenious casting of Sean Connery as Indiana's pop. The father-son back and forth provides some classic moments and Henry Jones calling his son "Junior" never fails to be funny. Considering the whole idea about Indiana Jones came from Spielberg wanting to direct a Bond movie, it makes sense to have the best 007, Connery himslf in the movie. Indeed, the best scenes in the movie are the ones with Ford and Connery providing both hirthero unseen emotional depth to Indy and comical set-pieces. And that's one of the many reasons why LAST CRUSADE is high on my list of all time favourite films. The action is absolutley astounding, from the great opening with young Indy (River Pheonix) in his pursuit for the Cross of Coranado. Here we see the beggining of Indy's fear of snakes, getting the scar, the whip and the famous fedora. Fast forward to the older Indy in 1938 where he finally gets the valuable artifact he's been chasing. Like the start of RAIDERS, the opening 20 minutes has little to do with the main plot of the film, but the action smoothly goes from one adventure to the next, providing an incredible action adventure that amuses and enthralls. Then the breath-taking climax in an adventure to find the Holy Grail, a masterpiece in itself. Compared to both RAIDERS and TEMPLE OF DOOM, this one is a more polished film, and the added gravitas of Connery gives the series an edge that makes it more enjoyable than TOD. John William's heroic score differs from the usual regular use the Raiders March and uses several new cues, including Scherzo for the motorcycle chase. The tank chase alone surpasses most films today. Action dosn't get much better than this. No wonder they're still talking about Indy 4...

"Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" is what I think the best of the three Indiana Jones movie. And one of the most important reasons for this conclusion is not just that it has Harrison Ford doing absolutely great, it has legendary actor Sean Connery as Indy's dad.

Harrison Ford is Dr. Henry 'Indiana' Jones, Jr. When he is asked by Walter Donovan (Julian Glover) to help go in search of the mystical Holy Grail since one of his main archaeologist has disappeared, he refuses. But when Indy is told that the missing man is his father, Professor Henry Jones, Sr., (whom he has rarely spoken to in 20 years), Indy, along with the help of friend Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliott) and Dr. Elsa Schneider (Alison Doody), try to rescue his father from... who? Can it be the mysterious men who are trying to stop him from finding the Holy Grail? Or is there more to just finding his father and the Holy Grail than meets the eye? Indiana discovers that you can't trust anybody when dealing with power seeking men who want to use the cup of Jesus for evil.

The best Indiana Jones movie AND action/adventure movie!! And the script and plot is just perfect, with plenty of lines which are just so funny! The first part where they have 'young Indiana Jones' played by River Phoenix was lots of fun, too. I like it where the explained some things like how Indy got his famous hat. "Everyone's lost but me..."

My favorite parts are when Indy 'rescues' his dad but instead has to escape from the bad guys when he is caught himself and whenever Indy and Dr. Jones are arguing. One thing though is that I didn't think much of Alison Doody as Elsa. Yeah, she was real greedy and everything but I still like Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood in the first Indiana Jones movie, "Raiders of the Lost Ark". And of course John Williams score is just terrific. I can probably hum the whole Indiana Jones theme song!

For those of you who haven't seen this movie, well, I'm telling you to put it on you 'must see' list!

After having taken a definitively dark turn in 1984's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, director Steven Spielberg and executive producer George Lucas decided that the third installment of the series should be thrilling, lighter in tone and more upbeat and humorous. In other words, they wanted to recreate the Saturday-matinee serial fun of Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Lucas, Menno Meyjes and screenwriter Jeffrey Boam wrote a story that once again sent the archaeologist/adventurer Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) on the quest for another legendary artifact -- the Holy Grail. And to avoid the inevitable "ho hum, been there, done that" syndrome that sequels often suffer from, they decided to include a father-son dynamic to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade by casting Sean Connery as Professor Henry Jones.

Although Last Crusade follows the basic structure -- borrowed from the James Bond series -- of the other movies by starting the film with the end of a previous adventure before introducing the main storyline, the film tweaks the formula by showing us Indy's first big adventure...in 1912 Utah, when the future archaeology professor is a Boy Scout (literally) living with his widowed father, Henry Jones. While on a Boy Scouting sojourn in the mountainous desert, young Indy (River Phoenix) wanders into a cave and sees a group of ruffians pilfering the long-lost Cross of Coronado. "That cross is an important artifact," Indy says to a fellow Boy Scout. "It belongs in a museum." Indy sends his friend for help, steals the Cross of Coronado from the ruffians, but ends up being chased as he attempts to escape on foot, horseback and even a circus train. (One of the best scenes in the series: the handsome rogue who was hired to find the Cross by the collector known in the credits as "Panama Hat" tells Indy, "You lost today, kid. But that doesn't mean you have to like it." And in a show of admiration for the kid's spunk and courage, takes off his hat and places it on Indy's head. Spielberg holds the camera on the hat, and in the blink of an eye, we flash forward 26 years and to the conclusion of Indy's search for the Cross of Coronado.)

After this exciting prologue, The Last Crusade gets underway when American millionaire Walter Donovan (The Empire Strikes Back's Julian Glover) commissions Indy to find the missing leader (and his important papers) of Donovan's Holy Grail recovery team. Several clues have been found near Ankara, clues that might lead to the location of the legendary cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper -- a cup that also caught some of His blood at the Crucifixion. But when Indy temporizes, Donovan tells him the identity of the missing team leader...and our favorite archaeologist/adventurer starts out on yet another globe-trotting trek to chase an ancient treasure.

Soon, Indiana Jones, his friend and boss Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliott), Elsa Schneider (Allison Doody) -- a young, sexy Austrian archaeologist who works for Donovan -- and Indy's friend Sallah (John Rhys-Davies) set off on a quest to find the legendary Grail.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, with its crisp script, thrilling music by John Williams, fine directing by Spielberg and a convincing chemistry between Ford and Connery, is one of the best action films made in the 1980s, and its recent release on DVD proves that it, like the other films in the series, has aged well.

Returning to the sure-fire formula that made RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK such a huge success, INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE is more light-hearted than the previous two adventures, mostly due to the ingenious casting of Sean Connery as Indiana's pop. The father-son back and forth provides some classic moments and Henry Jones calling his son "Junior" never fails to be funny. Considering the whole idea about Indiana Jones came from Spielberg wanting to direct a Bond movie, it makes sense to have the best 007, Connery himslf in the movie. Indeed, the best scenes in the movie are the ones with Ford and Connery providing both hirthero unseen emotional depth to Indy and comical set-pieces. And that's one of the many reasons why LAST CRUSADE is high on my list of all time favourite films. The action is absolutley astounding, from the great opening with young Indy (River Pheonix) in his pursuit for the Cross of Coranado. Here we see the beggining of Indy's fear of snakes, getting the scar, the whip and the famous fedora. Fast forward to the older Indy in 1938 where he finally gets the valuable artifact he's been chasing. Like the start of RAIDERS, the opening 20 minutes has little to do with the main plot of the film, but the action smoothly goes from one adventure to the next, providing an incredible action adventure that amuses and enthralls. Then the breath-taking climax in an adventure to find the Holy Grail, a masterpiece in itself. Compared to both RAIDERS and TEMPLE OF DOOM, this one is a more polished film, and the added gravitas of Connery gives the series an edge that makes it more enjoyable than TOD. John William's heroic score differs from the usual regular use the Raiders March and uses several new cues, including Scherzo for the motorcycle chase. The tank chase alone surpasses most films today. Action dosn't get much better than this. No wonder they're still talking about Indy 4...

"Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" is what I think the best of the three Indiana Jones movie. And one of the most important reasons for this conclusion is not just that it has Harrison Ford doing absolutely great, it has legendary actor Sean Connery as Indy's dad.

Harrison Ford is Dr. Henry 'Indiana' Jones, Jr. When he is asked by Walter Donovan (Julian Glover) to help go in search of the mystical Holy Grail since one of his main archaeologist has disappeared, he refuses. But when Indy is told that the missing man is his father, Professor Henry Jones, Sr., (whom he has rarely spoken to in 20 years), Indy, along with the help of friend Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliott) and Dr. Elsa Schneider (Alison Doody), try to rescue his father from... who? Can it be the mysterious men who are trying to stop him from finding the Holy Grail? Or is there more to just finding his father and the Holy Grail than meets the eye? Indiana discovers that you can't trust anybody when dealing with power seeking men who want to use the cup of Jesus for evil.

The best Indiana Jones movie AND action/adventure movie!! And the script and plot is just perfect, with plenty of lines which are just so funny! The first part where they have 'young Indiana Jones' played by River Phoenix was lots of fun, too. I like it where the explained some things like how Indy got his famous hat. "Everyone's lost but me..."

My favorite parts are when Indy 'rescues' his dad but instead has to escape from the bad guys when he is caught himself and whenever Indy and Dr. Jones are arguing. One thing though is that I didn't think much of Alison Doody as Elsa. Yeah, she was real greedy and everything but I still like Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood in the first Indiana Jones movie, "Raiders of the Lost Ark". And of course John Williams score is just terrific. I can probably hum the whole Indiana Jones theme song!

For those of you who haven't seen this movie, well, I'm telling you to put it on you 'must see' list!

After having taken a definitively dark turn in 1984's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, director Steven Spielberg and executive producer George Lucas decided that the third installment of the series should be thrilling, lighter in tone and more upbeat and humorous. In other words, they wanted to recreate the Saturday-matinee serial fun of Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Lucas, Menno Meyjes and screenwriter Jeffrey Boam wrote a story that once again sent the archaeologist/adventurer Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) on the quest for another legendary artifact -- the Holy Grail. And to avoid the inevitable "ho hum, been there, done that" syndrome that sequels often suffer from, they decided to include a father-son dynamic to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade by casting Sean Connery as Professor Henry Jones.

Although Last Crusade follows the basic structure -- borrowed from the James Bond series -- of the other movies by starting the film with the end of a previous adventure before introducing the main storyline, the film tweaks the formula by showing us Indy's first big adventure...in 1912 Utah, when the future archaeology professor is a Boy Scout (literally) living with his widowed father, Henry Jones. While on a Boy Scouting sojourn in the mountainous desert, young Indy (River Phoenix) wanders into a cave and sees a group of ruffians pilfering the long-lost Cross of Coronado. "That cross is an important artifact," Indy says to a fellow Boy Scout. "It belongs in a museum." Indy sends his friend for help, steals the Cross of Coronado from the ruffians, but ends up being chased as he attempts to escape on foot, horseback and even a circus train. (One of the best scenes in the series: the handsome rogue who was hired to find the Cross by the collector known in the credits as "Panama Hat" tells Indy, "You lost today, kid. But that doesn't mean you have to like it." And in a show of admiration for the kid's spunk and courage, takes off his hat and places it on Indy's head. Spielberg holds the camera on the hat, and in the blink of an eye, we flash forward 26 years and to the conclusion of Indy's search for the Cross of Coronado.)

After this exciting prologue, The Last Crusade gets underway when American millionaire Walter Donovan (The Empire Strikes Back's Julian Glover) commissions Indy to find the missing leader (and his important papers) of Donovan's Holy Grail recovery team. Several clues have been found near Ankara, clues that might lead to the location of the legendary cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper -- a cup that also caught some of His blood at the Crucifixion. But when Indy temporizes, Donovan tells him the identity of the missing team leader...and our favorite archaeologist/adventurer starts out on yet another globe-trotting trek to chase an ancient treasure.

Soon, Indiana Jones, his friend and boss Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliott), Elsa Schneider (Allison Doody) -- a young, sexy Austrian archaeologist who works for Donovan -- and Indy's friend Sallah (John Rhys-Davies) set off on a quest to find the legendary Grail.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, with its crisp script, thrilling music by John Williams, fine directing by Spielberg and a convincing chemistry between Ford and Connery, is one of the best action films made in the 1980s, and its recent release on DVD proves that it, like the other films in the series, has aged well.

"Where has everybody gone?" That's the song bad guy Necros plays in his walkman whenever he kills some unfortunate soul. We might as well ask the same question, since, being this film one of the best Bond movies ever, none of its actors made it Big Time afterwards (except villain Krabbé, who was already famous at the time).

The movie has a great new Bond (Dalton, second only to Connery in the role), a new Aston Martin that does all sorts of wicked tricks, a new Moneypenny who has to wear eyeglasses to hide her beauty, a great soundtrack by John Barry, a more interesting plot than most in the series and the greatest stunt I've seen in any movie to date: a fight to the death dangling in midair from a plane with loose cargo (no computer graphics here)! Plus, Bond gets to fight (at last!) his original villains from the novels: THE COMMIES! Bond kills more Soviets here than all the Soviets he's ever killed in all precedent movies combined!

But the movie belongs to the best Bond girl ever Maryam D'Abo! Not only she's gorgeous-beyond-compare, she's intelligent, talented, funny, brave, elegant and tender. No wonder Bond remains monogamous through the entire movie!

Maryam, if you read this, you're the kind of girl I'd be more than willing to marry, divorce and pay alimony to without complaining, till death do us part!!!

Timothy Dalton takes over the reigns of the James Bond franchise in this 16th installment. First the bad. The film is devoid of any real malicious villain. The Russian General Koskov is just too nice, he practically hugs everyone he meets. The arms dealer Brad Whittaker isn't given enough screen-time to develop any true maliciousness. Then there's Whittaker's lackey, Necros. He's probably the closest thing to a real villain, but even he has his sympathetic moments at times. Other than that, the movie is great. Timothy Dalton is very convincing as Bond. His seriousness is a refreshing change from Roger Moore's giddy portrayal. Maryam d' Abo makes a very sweet Bond girl, and the film allows them enough screen-time to form a believable relationship. There is no shortage of Bond gadgets in this film, his car is just awesome. The title song "The Living Daylights" was sung by the band A-Ha. It's great. The lyrics aren't anything special, but the beat is lively, and that saves the song. Overall a great movie. Check it out.

A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T GIVE TIMOTHY DALTON CREDIT FOR HIS ROLE AS JAMES BOND BECAUSE THEY ONLY ATTRIBUTE HIM TO LICENCE TO KILL, BUT THEY ARE DEAD WRONG, BECAUSE THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS IS THE BEST BOND FILM OF THE 80'S. THIS ONE HAS IT ALL, GREAT SCENERY, GREAT CHARACTERS, GREAT BABES, AND GREAT GADGETS. THIS ONE IS SURELY A MUST SEE AND I ASSURE YOU THAT YOU WILL NOT WASTE YOUR VALUABLE TIME OR MONEY. BUY IT!!!

More digitally processed landscape shots from New Zealand. More trudging across the tundra. More story lines that resemble nothing in the books. One scale model castle. One scale model castle storming battle. The cavalry arrives in the knick of time. Color fades in and out. Aspect ratio is screwy (and this is the widescreen edition). The highlight of this snore fest are the Ents (talking, walking trees). Not worth 3 hours of my time and barely worth the $4.50 I paid to rent from block buster. You want to see a good 3 hour movie, rent the Longest Day. That was an epic movie.

I have no problem hearing a great argument for or against the quality of this DVD on this forum, so long as it is intelligent. Some of the best pieces of literature are made through winning (or losing, in some cases) debates over the quality and craftsmanship of a piece of fiction, and truly these movies should and will continue to be debated for years to come. Yet fewer of the 'against' arguments made here in this forum (and on many internet forums, for that matter) have any real substance to them, and make extremely broad statements, like 'the movie was boring' or 'it wasn't like the book'. If you are going to make such sweeping generalizations about something, you had better be willing to back them up with some really good evidence, otherwise, you only make yourself look bad. Do you really think that people will listen to what you have to say? Clearly from the audience's point of view (those who actually sift through these reviews to find out information, like myself), they do not like your lack of supporting detail. No review that is simply written to either praise or attack the movie without any helpful reasons why the reviewer gave it such a score ever gets more than two or three people saying that it was helpful. Most reviews of this nature end up with a much higher number of people saying that they do not find your reviews helpful at all.

The question this brings up then is this: Why bother writing a review, if by sheer statistics your detail-less, unsupported argument will be helpful to no one? I, like many people who bothered to scroll through the 1200+ reviews listed here, want to find out information about the DVD, and make an informed, intelligent decision about the quality of the movie based on the feedback listed in these forums and my own observations. If you are a reviewer with nothing more to say than either 'this movie sucked' or even 'WOW! supercool movie!', then shout it out loud, call up a friend, stand on a chair and tell whoever you can - but please, please, PLEASE - don't review it unless you actually have something intelligent to say. And, as a side note, use correct grammar and spelling. I speak for many people when I say that if you can barely write out a complete sentence, let alone spell any of the words in it, I just skip your review.

This brings me to my main point - that this movie is such an excellent tool for allowing the illiterate people in the world the opportunity to experience storytelling at its finest. If you are someone who found reading the 1300+ pages of the books a huge challenge, the movies are truly a gift to you, and do not require your reading of the books in order for you to enjoy the movies whatsoever. I guess the irony of all of this is that an illiterate person will see the length of this review and probably skip it to find a shorter, less 'wordy' review, but please, if you find writing or reading difficult, consider the fact that the movies are to a certain degree a visual way of allowing you the opportunity to enjoy one of the nineteenth century's greatest works of fiction. Do not be so quick to call it 'boring' or 'slow' simply because you could not understand it. Give it some time. This movie, like the books, is one of the pioneers of truly high quality fantasy filmmaking. The books were not an 'instant classic' - they were an acquired taste. Clearly, the movies have become extremely popular within weeks of hitting the screens back in 2001, but this is likely because of the years and years of build up and popularity.

Fantasy genre moviemaking has made huge leaps and bounds through these movies, and will likely continue. As our society puts less focus on reading and writing, and more on visual entertainment, the fact is that you are likely to be in the majority as a person with little to no verbal or written skills. Chances are that more films will come out within this genre that will cater to the millions of entertainment deprived, uneducated people who cannot find entertainment within their own imaginations anymore. If you are already one of these people, and like being a minority, then start reading. These movies may be the last attempt at recreating good fiction. In 40 years, who knows? You may be experiencing someone's virtual reality adaptation of Peter Jackson's 'The Lord of the Rings', and people will be saying things like 'Wow - supercool story! Did you know that it was based on a movie?'. Then you can just sit back and smile while you and the last remaining readers on the planet read to one another from real books, since visual entertainment no longer gives you the same 'fix' as your own imagination does.

Seems like heresy to actually love watching the movies but be semi-bored by the books, but that is my take. For all of you out there that are critical of the movies because they take license with the books content, then too bad. The books are very detailed and will never translate perfectly to the big screen, so let it go. These movies are the next best thing.

More digitally processed landscape shots from New Zealand. More trudging across the tundra. More story lines that resemble nothing in the books. One scale model castle. One scale model castle storming battle. The cavalry arrives in the knick of time. Color fades in and out. Aspect ratio is screwy (and this is the widescreen edition). The highlight of this snore fest are the Ents (talking, walking trees). Not worth 3 hours of my time and barely worth the $4.50 I paid to rent from block buster. You want to see a good 3 hour movie, rent the Longest Day. That was an epic movie.

I have no problem hearing a great argument for or against the quality of this DVD on this forum, so long as it is intelligent. Some of the best pieces of literature are made through winning (or losing, in some cases) debates over the quality and craftsmanship of a piece of fiction, and truly these movies should and will continue to be debated for years to come. Yet fewer of the 'against' arguments made here in this forum (and on many internet forums, for that matter) have any real substance to them, and make extremely broad statements, like 'the movie was boring' or 'it wasn't like the book'. If you are going to make such sweeping generalizations about something, you had better be willing to back them up with some really good evidence, otherwise, you only make yourself look bad. Do you really think that people will listen to what you have to say? Clearly from the audience's point of view (those who actually sift through these reviews to find out information, like myself), they do not like your lack of supporting detail. No review that is simply written to either praise or attack the movie without any helpful reasons why the reviewer gave it such a score ever gets more than two or three people saying that it was helpful. Most reviews of this nature end up with a much higher number of people saying that they do not find your reviews helpful at all.

The question this brings up then is this: Why bother writing a review, if by sheer statistics your detail-less, unsupported argument will be helpful to no one? I, like many people who bothered to scroll through the 1200+ reviews listed here, want to find out information about the DVD, and make an informed, intelligent decision about the quality of the movie based on the feedback listed in these forums and my own observations. If you are a reviewer with nothing more to say than either 'this movie sucked' or even 'WOW! supercool movie!', then shout it out loud, call up a friend, stand on a chair and tell whoever you can - but please, please, PLEASE - don't review it unless you actually have something intelligent to say. And, as a side note, use correct grammar and spelling. I speak for many people when I say that if you can barely write out a complete sentence, let alone spell any of the words in it, I just skip your review.

This brings me to my main point - that this movie is such an excellent tool for allowing the illiterate people in the world the opportunity to experience storytelling at its finest. If you are someone who found reading the 1300+ pages of the books a huge challenge, the movies are truly a gift to you, and do not require your reading of the books in order for you to enjoy the movies whatsoever. I guess the irony of all of this is that an illiterate person will see the length of this review and probably skip it to find a shorter, less 'wordy' review, but please, if you find writing or reading difficult, consider the fact that the movies are to a certain degree a visual way of allowing you the opportunity to enjoy one of the nineteenth century's greatest works of fiction. Do not be so quick to call it 'boring' or 'slow' simply because you could not understand it. Give it some time. This movie, like the books, is one of the pioneers of truly high quality fantasy filmmaking. The books were not an 'instant classic' - they were an acquired taste. Clearly, the movies have become extremely popular within weeks of hitting the screens back in 2001, but this is likely because of the years and years of build up and popularity.

Fantasy genre moviemaking has made huge leaps and bounds through these movies, and will likely continue. As our society puts less focus on reading and writing, and more on visual entertainment, the fact is that you are likely to be in the majority as a person with little to no verbal or written skills. Chances are that more films will come out within this genre that will cater to the millions of entertainment deprived, uneducated people who cannot find entertainment within their own imaginations anymore. If you are already one of these people, and like being a minority, then start reading. These movies may be the last attempt at recreating good fiction. In 40 years, who knows? You may be experiencing someone's virtual reality adaptation of Peter Jackson's 'The Lord of the Rings', and people will be saying things like 'Wow - supercool story! Did you know that it was based on a movie?'. Then you can just sit back and smile while you and the last remaining readers on the planet read to one another from real books, since visual entertainment no longer gives you the same 'fix' as your own imagination does.

Seems like heresy to actually love watching the movies but be semi-bored by the books, but that is my take. For all of you out there that are critical of the movies because they take license with the books content, then too bad. The books are very detailed and will never translate perfectly to the big screen, so let it go. These movies are the next best thing.

This movie clearly departed from the trend of the James Bond series and took a stand of its own. "The Living Daylights" biggest asset is that it has a plot, and that's more than many other Bond movies can say. (Most notably the latest Bond film, "The World is Not Enough", which I enjoyed, but which had no plot).

Joe Don Baker plays a great Brad Whitaker, a weapons and war obsessed arms dealer involved with a russian general selling arms to Afghanistan. And the final showdown in Whitaker's weapons gallery is memorable. Jeroen Krabbe as Georgi Koskov is well cast, and Maryam d'Abo gives a great performance as Koskov's girlfriend, whom Bond falls in love with, another unusual thing, considering he usually "loves em' and leaves em'."

Dalton brings an unusually harsh tone to the James Bond character, but Ian Fleming never meant for Bond to be a "friendly" kind of guy. If you like great action movies with some guts, then this one's for you.

First of all, this is about 10 times better than Timothy Dalton's second flick as 007, Licence to Kill, which was a good movie, but didn't quite make it into my list of fantastic Bonds. The Living Daylights is a charming, romantic, fast-paced adventure, which, in my opinion can hold a candle to movies as historic as Goldfinger and From Russia With Love. Dalton is on top of his career as Bond, and proves right away that he needed no time to adapt to the character as Moore did (3 movies in fact).This film starts off with a bang as an unknown madman, part of an international conspiracy called "smiert spionem" (kill spies), ruins a routine MI6 training session as he kills off several 00 agents, until getting outrun by 007. The movie itself is centered around an important KGB defector who doublecrosses the secret service after promising loyalty, and hooks up with a dirty dealing American arms dealer named Brad Whitaker (played by Joe Don Baker), who wants to help the KGB defector finance his "smiert spionem" conspiracy. Along with a ruthless KGB henchman named Necros, Georgi Koskov (the KGB defector, played by Jeroen Krabbe) fights time and 007 to carry out his whimsical plans. The movie is equipped with fantastic action sequences such as a chase down an Austrian ski slope in a cello case, a fantastic mid-air brawl with Necros and Koskov, and a climatic thriller in Whitaker's villa, where the insane arms dealer tries to fry Bond in his battle room.

This is a fantastic movie not only because it has a great plot, great actors, and a great bond, but because it also has a bond girl who bond seems really attracted to. Kara Milovy, a Slovakian cellist, seems to have a real romance with Bond, which is a nice refresher since most Bond fans are used to the classic "love 'em and leave 'em" plot line. All in all, a great movie!!!! Just for the sake of it, here is my Bond "gold collection" list of 5:

-from russia, with love -goldfinger -the spy who loved me -the living daylights -for your eyes only

The Living Daylights is my favorite bond. This is Timothy Dalton's first bond. There's a lot of action (and not to mention a cool car chase!). They finally brought back an Aston Martin for the first time since OHMSS. The girl could have been better though. But I guess there were a lot of things I would have changed in the film but still my fav.