Seriously though, comical fight coreography notwithstanding he nailed the essense of the character...a bit more "growth" than in the epic but the essential gloryhound mindset and embrace of mortality were spot on

Don't forget the spear-behind-the-neck-and-through-the-shield-divot move seen on many classical vases!

Yeah the tendency to recycle plots is one of the lesser-discussed sins of the Moore era. I mean Moonraker was almost note for note "The Spy Who Loved Me" IN SPACE! And the latter was good for the Moore era as well. View to a Kill would have been incredible if they'd gotten Dalton earlier.

I do still think they should be more willing to call Republican's bluff on the filibuster, but a necessary consequence of that is you're going to eat even more shit until the midterms if they go nuclear.

It takes a lot more than stunts to make up for the rest of the mess. Some good core material in a lot of them, but damn if it wasn't all ruined by corniness, schlocky writing and directing, and an overly smarmy lead who by the latter `70s who should have been playing M, not a field agent.