The Living Daylights (1987)

One Of The Greatest Bonds of All Time!
Dalton is fantastic! I can't say enough how much I wish Dalton had been given more films to play Bond in. He is hands down my favorite pre-Brosnan Bond, bringing a humanity and an intelligence to the role that was unparralled up to that point.
If you enjoy your Bond with brains, tons of action and great emotional depth, you need to see this film, (and License to Kill, Dalton's other Bond film.)

Better than most eighties Bond films
The Living Daylights is directed by John Glen. The first stars Timothy Dalton, and co-stars Jeroen Krabbe, Maryam d'Abo, Joe Don Baker, John Rhys-Davies, Art Malik, Robert Brown, Desmond Llewelyn, Caroline Bliss, John Terry, Geoffrey Keen, Walter Gotell, Andreas Wisniewski, and Thomas Wheatley. John Barry contributes the musical score, and A-HA performs the title song. The Pretenders also contribute two songs.

Following a mission with some fellow double-O agents to test the level of security at the Rock of Gibraltar, James Bond is sent on another new mission. A Soviet leader has decided to defect, and Bond is sent to cover his escape. During his getaway, Bond crosses paths with a cellist from an orchestra playing in the area. However, upon learning that the Soviet leader defecting and the cellist were romantically involved, begins to suspect there may be a sinister scheme about to go down. Bond chases him across the globe, aiming to foil whatever evil plot may be in motion.

This isn't a great Bond film, but it's certainly far from bad. I would have to call this one of the "middle of the road" entries in the series. Timothy Dalton's portrayal of Bond is terrific, there are some excellent scenes throughout the movie, and from start to finish, this film doesn't reek of the campy feel that polluted the latter two Moore-era films. A step in the right direction for the series, but not the masterpiece I had hoped for.

Timothy Dalton deserves serious praise for his take on the role of James Bond. With just the right look to portray the character, as well as a no-nonsense attitude more akin to the Bond of the Ian Fleming novels, he plays Bond like no one else. While certainly not my favorte Bond actor (Sean Connery will always hold that position in my mind,) Dalton certainly gives the performance of Bond closest to Ian Fleming's original vision of the character.

Once again we get a hit-and-miss supporting cast. Maryam d'Abo is good as Kara Milovy, the former lover of the so-called defecting Soviet general, whom almost immediately falls under Bond's protection when an evil scheme is realized. There's an interesting variety of characters here, but most of them are forgettable and you won't remember them after you've watched the film. Not that the acting here is bad, by any means, it's just that there are other Bond films that do it better.

The film does have its share of exciting scenes, most notable a scene near the end where Bond pursues a villain, while hanging from cargo netting on the back of an airplane - with a bomb set to detonate all the while. Another one of my personal favorites is a scene where Bond and Milovy are forced to escape down a snowy hill - riding on the latter's cello case. Downhill snow-ski scenes had been done to death in the Bond series at this point, but this film certainly puts a new twist on it.

This was the final Bond film to have its score composed by series regular John Barry. With this film, to fit in with the eighties time frame, Barry used more synths, pianos, drum machines, and other instrumentation usually not used extensively in a Bond film. The result is one of his more unique scores - definitely a nice way to end his over two decades of work on the series. A-HA, the European pop act best known for its classic hit Take On Me, performs the title song to the film. It's distinctly eighties as well and feels dated, but it's still one of my personal favorite Bond film themes. The Pretenders, another popular rock-pop act of the day, also contribute some music to the film, and it too is great. A good film, and good music to go along with it.

Ultimately, The Living Daylights isn't one of the best James Bond films, but it's not a weak entry by any means. Dalton brought a portrayal of Bond truer to the Fleming novels than any actor before him, and this is one of the film's true strengths. If you're a fan of the series, this is an underrated entry you might want to check out. I had reservations, but I am giving it a marginal recommendation.

Thumbs up

As always, the version of the film you should buy is the 2006 remastered one. The frame-by-frame restoration of the picture looks incredible. It's definitely the best looking DVD release on the market.

Better than most eighties Bond films
The Living Daylights is directed by John Glen. The first stars Timothy Dalton, and co-stars Jeroen Krabbe, Maryam d'Abo, Joe Don Baker, John Rhys-Davies, Art Malik, Robert Brown, Desmond Llewelyn, Caroline Bliss, John Terry, Geoffrey Keen, Walter Gotell, Andreas Wisniewski, and Thomas Wheatley. John Barry contributes the musical score, and A-HA performs the title song. The Pretenders also contribute two songs.

Following a mission with some fellow double-O agents to test the level of security at the Rock of Gibraltar, James Bond is sent on another new mission. A Soviet leader has decided to defect, and Bond is sent to cover his escape. During his getaway, Bond crosses paths with a cellist from an orchestra playing in the area. However, upon learning that the Soviet leader defecting and the cellist were romantically involved, begins to suspect there may be a sinister scheme about to go down. Bond chases him across the globe, aiming to foil whatever evil plot may be in motion.

This isn't a great Bond film, but it's certainly far from bad. I would have to call this one of the "middle of the road" entries in the series. Timothy Dalton's portrayal of Bond is terrific, there are some excellent scenes throughout the movie, and from start to finish, this film doesn't reek of the campy feel that polluted the latter two Moore-era films. A step in the right direction for the series, but not the masterpiece I had hoped for.

Timothy Dalton deserves serious praise for his take on the role of James Bond. With just the right look to portray the character, as well as a no-nonsense attitude more akin to the Bond of the Ian Fleming novels, he plays Bond like no one else. While certainly not my favorte Bond actor (Sean Connery will always hold that position in my mind,) Dalton certainly gives the performance of Bond closest to Ian Fleming's original vision of the character.

Once again we get a hit-and-miss supporting cast. Maryam d'Abo is good as Kara Milovy, the former lover of the so-called defecting Soviet general, whom almost immediately falls under Bond's protection when an evil scheme is realized. There's an interesting variety of characters here, but most of them are forgettable and you won't remember them after you've watched the film. Not that the acting here is bad, by any means, it's just that there are other Bond films that do it better.

The film does have its share of exciting scenes, most notable a scene near the end where Bond pursues a villain, while hanging from cargo netting on the back of an airplane - with a bomb set to detonate all the while. Another one of my personal favorites is a scene where Bond and Milovy are forced to escape down a snowy hill - riding on the latter's cello case. Downhill snow-ski scenes had been done to death in the Bond series at this point, but this film certainly puts a new twist on it.

This was the final Bond film to have its score composed by series regular John Barry. With this film, to fit in with the eighties time frame, Barry used more synths, pianos, drum machines, and other instrumentation usually not used extensively in a Bond film. The result is one of his more unique scores - definitely a nice way to end his over two decades of work on the series. A-HA, the European pop act best known for its classic hit Take On Me, performs the title song to the film. It's distinctly eighties as well and feels dated, but it's still one of my personal favorite Bond film themes. The Pretenders, another popular rock-pop act of the day, also contribute some music to the film, and it too is great. A good film, and good music to go along with it.

Ultimately, The Living Daylights isn't one of the best James Bond films, but it's not a weak entry by any means. Dalton brought a portrayal of Bond truer to the Fleming novels than any actor before him, and this is one of the film's true strengths. If you're a fan of the series, this is an underrated entry you might want to check out. I had reservations, but I am giving it a marginal recommendation.

Thumbs up

As always, the version of the film you should buy is the 2006 remastered one. The frame-by-frame restoration of the picture looks incredible. It's definitely the best looking DVD release on the market.