The characterization of Bond during the Warrior Era follows the pattern provided by the plots:  the reserved counter-intelligence agent of the thrillers and the unconstrained action star of the flicks. Smaller budgets, outdoor locations and morally ambiguous characters were utilized to depict a darker world in search of a moral compass.

Fleming’s Hero Reborn

Moore’s transition from caricature to character can first be seen in the opening minutes of For Your Eyes Only:

This scene is the first time any form of continuity is properly given in the series, the first time Moore’s Bond displays a sense of vulnerability and a callback to the most faithful adaptation in the franchise, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. In a few minutes, Moore mirrors the actions of the US and the UK during the cold war. He abandons the humour of the past decade, recognizes the impact of the past and enters, determined, into a future of conflict.

This opening marks the end of Bond as joke and the moment Bond was taken seriously again…..or rather it marks the first attempt. Roger Moore was still Roger Moore. His trademark ability to release the tension from any situation with a quip never left, but attempts to minimize the humor of Moore were made. A scene depicting Moore’s Bond killing a man in cold blood by pushing his car over a cliff was added to increase the amount of violence within the film (Barnes).

A major development for the Moore films was an increased focus on the Bond girl. Both Octopussy and Melina from your For Your Eyes Only represented a modern idea of the Bond girl. They are given deeper backstories, a larger emphasis in the plot and a talent or ability inaccessible by Bond. Marjorie Bilbow wrote in Screen International how she, “perceived, with relief, that [Bond’s] use ‘em and dump ‘em treatment of his women has been whittled down to a much more likeable selectivity and some caring.” Moore even denies the offer to have sex with a 19 year-old girl; demonstrating his restraint.

All of these changes were maintained through the development of The Living Daylights. Dalton’s Bond eschews the casual humor of Moore to elevate questions of morality to the forefront of his character. Mentally, Dalton’s Bond seems constantly on the edge. In one scene, Dalton forcibly strips a woman nude to distract a man as he enters the room. Dalton then confronts the man and debates killing him despite protests of his innocence. Up until this point in the franchise, the question of innocence behind the barrel was presumed guilty. Dalton forces a reevaluation of the ethics at hand.

The bond-girl of The Living Daylights, Kara, further represents the modernization of the Bond-girl formula. This is the first Bond film with a singular Bond-girl. Kara has a fully realized backstory in the film, is pivotal to the plot throughout the movie and possesses information and connections Bond does not. These characteristics allow for Kara to be less of a conquest and more of a partner.

American Action Star

The stripped-down, back-to-basics, formula employed by the thrillers of the Warrior era is notably absent from A View to a Kill. Instead, these Bond films turned to the trend of American Excess.

The early 80s birthed a movement of excess in art and fashion (Fishman). Colors and accessories became the norm in modern culture, and this fascination with excess soon began to creep into other mediums of art, including James Bond. The fashion, sex and violence of the 80s would eventually come to inhabit the character of Bond.

Moore’s Bond was not exactly a successful conduit for the age of excess. Moore seemed hesitant to adopt the excessive fashion and violence of the era. He was quoted as saying, “That’s not Bond,” in regards to his performance in A View To a Kill (‘James Bond is too violent’). The only aspect Moore seemed capable of accomplishing was the excessive sex. A View To a Kill is the only time in franchise history that Bond beds four women in a single feature.

Dalton, on the other hand, seemed to thrive in his final feature. The script was specifically tailored to highlight the strengths of Dalton, including his predilection for a darker, more Fleming-like portrayal (Chapman). The result was a film steeped in late 80s culture and the departure of the PG label from Bond forever.

Licence to Kill has been criticized for abandoning the Bond formula in order to create an extended Miami Vice episode. Dalton ditches the carefully tailored suits, for the lighter Miami wardrobe. The villains are common drug dealers, instead of the maniacal billionaires the franchise has come to know. The violence was a lot:

But underneath the surface qualities, Licence to Kill contains the most realized version of Fleming’s bond. The going rogue plotline, unique at the time, allowed for an original narrative inspired by the novels. Bond is his most spylike as he has to infiltrate an enemy operation and tear it down from the inside. The extreme violence is comparable to scenes described from the novels. The film even works to incorporate aspects of other Fleming works, such as the maiming of Felix Leiter.

Despite all of its trappings as a proper Bond film, Licence to Kill represents another low point in net gross for the series. Dalton quit after the film and the era of excess for Bond ended as abruptly as it started.

With the release of For Your Eyes Only, the Bond film franchise turned eighteen. If the eras of Bond were compared to the stages of childhood, the Cold Warrior represents Bond’s maturation after the growing pains of puberty. The world demanded a Bond that could represent the growing themes of excess, violence and moral turpitude. Moore valiantly attempted, but age and artistic difference held him back. Dalton saw some success, but legal disputes led to him leaving the franchise. The Bond Series was at a stalemate, and it would be six more years, the longest break between two Bond films, before the series received a new face.