The Living Daylights (1987)

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

How sad is this?

Great Film overall

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Timothy Dalton came across as a refreshing change after almost a decade of Roger Moore's lighter portrayal of Bond. I, for one, have been a supporter of how Roger played Bond after a more serious Connery, but I think it was a tad overdone and needed a fresher take on the character. Dalton got offer to play Bond as early as 1968, but when he finally agreed to play his first one in this, he looked the part. He was intense, more human, the glitter was still there in Bond's eyes, and the cheeky one-liners were missing. You would find shades of Dalton in Daniel Craig later. The Bond girl in this one looked ordinary though, more like a next door chick, but I didn't complain. I loved this new Bond and thought he could have started a little earlier and done a few more from the franchise. The plane scene was well shot, the climax lacked some flow, and the villains too didn't look ominous. But for Timothy Dalton, I give it a 6.5.

Despite being near the least popular actor to play James Bond (the least honor goes to George Lazenby), Timothy Dalton turns in a very good role in "The Living Daylights." And, this 1987 edition of British Agent 007 (James Bond), has a number of pluses going for it. First, it has almost nonstop action and almost no carousing. Second, it has the most advanced special gimmicks for Bond's disposal, which adds to the excitement. And third, it has a complex plot with mystery, intrigue and many twists. All of that makes for a very entertaining film. And, Dalton as Bond has a wry cynicism combined with a smile that says he sees through his adversary of the moment. All of the cast are quite good in this Bond thriller, with the possible exception of Jeroen Krabbe. He plays General Georgi Koskov over the top, with such flamboyance at times that even the most naïve viewer would have trouble believing he could be in the Soviet KGB. This film had a nice touch of the Afghan revolt and the Soviet-Afghan War (1979-1989). It has a smashing chase scene with Bond and Kara Milovy (played by Maryann d'Arbo) in the special weapons car evading and disrupting what looks like half the Russian army. And it has a fantastic fight scene in the air between Bond and Necros (played by Andreas Wisniewski) holding on to just netting around a pile of opium bags suspended below the open ramp of the transport plane. Lots of action and intrigue, and even more globetrotting than usual make this a very entertaining and enjoyable film. It's definitely one of the best plots of the entire Bond series.

Movie Review: "007: The Living Daylights" (1987)Producers Albert R. Broccoli (1909-1996) and Michael G. Wilson bring in actor Timothy Dalton to succeed Roger Moore (1927-2017) in the legendary role of James Bond aka "007". Director John Glen stays true to even more realistic elegant visual image system as "For Your Eyes Only" (1981), which brings the "007" back to beauty and excellency embedded in highly risky stunt work from parachute base jumping, a car chase with all-famous Aston Martin model V8 vantage (manufactured between 1977-1989) sliding over frozen lakes, further features as an overly-done metal-splicing laser, missile rockets and an afterburner engine before enterting a highly weaponized showdown including an interior gunship fight to the death, keeping "The Living Daylights" as one of the most suspenseful picture in the "007" movie series.Most beautiful as stylish customes by reprising designer Emma Porteous as down-to-earth production design by Peter Lamont in his fourth assignment for a James Bond movie, establishing splendid charms with leading actor Timothy Dalton's bold to cool interpretation of "007" being the initial MI6 high-class spying assassin with the "Licence To Kill", sharing reminiscence to Sean Connery in "From Russia With Love" (1963). Actress Maryam d'Abo, at age 26, portraying the versatile character of Kara Milvoy, presents herself with a range from cello-playing to sniper-rifle-pointing along with entering the action with James Bond in a fulfilling desert storm finale furioso, where "007" hunts down an arm trader duo, leading from actor John Rhys-Davies as suit-wearing East-Block cold-war-benefiting entrepreneur Pushkin to Joe Don Baker as war-item-collecting, gun-slinging character of Whitaker toward a convincing interior shot-out with Bond.© 2017 Felix Alexander Dausend (Cinemajesty Entertainments LLC)

After 7 films, it was clear that Moore was done, and the series needed to be refreshed. Cut then, to this: Timothy Dalton making his 007 debut, and the series making a return to a more grounded and less ridiculous approach to the spy thriller. Dalton gets dumped on, but I rather like his brief era, but maybe that's because I'm a fan of a more realistic and dark approach. That's also why I dig Daniel Craig. I will concede that each Bond has their good and bad points though. And Dalton is fine here. He was criticized for being humorless. Well, he's not entirely, but he is really dry with his quips. Okay, the plot. Well, it's immense: Bond is signed on to aid in the defection of a Soviet, only to find himself stuck in the middle of a complex plot that also involves tons of Cold War intrigue, lies, deception, arms smuggling, the opium trade, and the Soviet war in Afghanistan (later revisited in Rambo III). Yeah, it's a lot, but it's all handled surprisingly well, and during its 131 minute run-time the film moves along at a pretty brisk pace. For the most part that is. It does start to drag some and get real drawn out during the final act, but it does conclude quite satisfactorily. Like I said, Dalton is good, but you can tell it's his first film, as he is a bit stiff at times. Again though, I like him. Maryam d'Abo isn't the worst Bond girl, but she struck me as really wooden and rather blah. She's nice looking though. The film fares better with the supporting cast, with top honors going to Joe Don Baker, Jeroen Krabbe, and John Phys-Davies. The stunts and action are staged and executed fairly well, the direction is fairly assured, and overall, this is a really enjoyable, sadly underrated romp. Give it a go.