The Living Daylights (1987)

I love this movie so much

Disappointment for a huge fan!

Brilliant and touching

A lot of fun.

As a lifelong Bond fan, having seen each movie many times, this is absolutely one of the very worst, if not the most stupid, goof-riddled show (Moonraker being the other in contention methinks). Nothing wrong with Dalton or D'Abo, just under-used and over-written. Music is good however - Chrissie, A-ha, Tchaikovsky. All fine there.Even the font used in the credits is lame.Cool filming locations as always.I gave it a 2 score instead of 1 because it is a Bond movie. Nice cars, nice ladies, etc., but because it is Bond one's expectations are heightened. Huge budgets and all. Live and Let Die is crap too but much better that this turd.Have a great day.

So this is the new reboot of the Bond franchise with Timothy Dalton taking on the role as James Bond. After Roger Moore retired from the Bond roles or was forced to. Roger Moore's adaptation of Bond was leaning towards a corny Bond that gets put in super campy settings. No offense to Roger Moore, but I just couldn't picture super beautiful women finding him irresistible in some of the Bond films he is in. Timothy Dalton wanted to go in a bit more serious and darker Bond direction. Timothy Dalton wanted to stay true to the Bond in the Ian Fleming novels. A Bond that is cold and has a bit of inner turmoil and dilemma he is dealing with. He also did most of his own stunts as the character James Bond. Plus he is actually quite believable when women fall for him. However I picture Timothy Dalton playing one of the other 00's like 009 or 004 in the reboot over playing 007. The action in this can be ridiculous at times. Where Bond has all the gadgets needed for just about every circumstances (such as his Aston Martin having a car ski mechanism in it). But it's not as outrageous as the previous Bond films. And the action clearly got a lot better in this, thanks to new technology that could be used for filming. There are few tension filled moments in this, just about everything in this is executed quite well. Maybe it's the lack of iconic parts or over the top scenes like the previous Bond movies. But this is a Bond movie that not many people seem to bring up when it comes to the Bond franchise. Although this is quite a well written Bond film with entertaining action sequences and direction. Plus it has a cold and cool Bond to go with it all. I personally was entertained and focused on the screen the whole time. "The Living Daylights" also introduces a new Moneypenny played by Caroline Bliss. Who is not just the prettiest Moneypenny in the franchise but is one of the prettiest girl in Bond franchise. Overall this is a underrated, cool, darker and entertaining Bond film that I thoroughly enjoyed. This is Timothy Dalton's solid entry into the "007" franchise.7.9/10

At last, at last....a new guy in town. A more novelty kind of Bond enters along with Timothy Dalton, whom I was a lot skeptical to as a 12 year old dude, who's Bond on screen first and foremost was Roger Moore. In Dalton we got a little more sophisticated actor. Though both had stage experiences, Dalton was a more versatile kind of guy, playing the strings for more tones and tunes in his acting.The story itself was kind of dated, though Russians still hanging in there, to the end.... Defectors who's dreaming of affluence and luxuriance of their own, double-cross each side of the (still) cold war. "Build your own castle before the iron curtain falls conclusively". (Some rear-view flashback there, uh?)Title song from then freshly star Norwegian pop-band A-ha is a good, catchy tune of its time. Way more complex and approachable than the terrible "View"-track from Duran Duran two years earlier. My personal opinion that is.Maryam d'Abo was the "try-out girl" (for acting against possible Bonds in test scenes) who hit big time, when impressing so much on the cast team that she got a ticket to ride along the full way. The best 007 woman since Carole Bouquet in ..Eyes Only; sophisticated but kind of secretive is a good mix for taking part in such a production as this.Villains Jeroen Krabbé and Joe Don Baker are as good as they can be. Doing their parts to the fullest, and remains quite memorable in the Bond Calendar. (So does Andreas Wisniewski as evil sidekick Necros.)Comeback for Aston Martin, in shape of their model Volante. (First A.M since "On Her Majesty's.." in 1969.) Equipped and loaded to the fullest! This 1987 debut movie of Timothy Dalton was the start of a four film contract. As soon as the hardcore Roger Moore-fans was soften up a bit, Dalton got plenty of good reviews for bringing back some tightness in the Bond personality.18 years after first time being even considered, he was now filling the shoes of the legendary movie character James Bond.There was more to come from Mr. Dalton.

With the Roger Moore era over, we now welcome a new Bond, Timothy Dalton. His first movie is a great spy thriller that, like "For Your Eyes Only," gives us a more down-to-earth approach to the world's favorite spy.Timothy Dalton is a decidedly different Bond from his immediate predecessor, Roger Moore. He plays Bond as tough, gritty, and mostly humorless. This is a welcome and refreshing new take on the character, and in his first performance, Dalton immediately makes the role his own.Kara Milovy, played by Maryam d'Abo, is the most underrated Bond girl, in my opinion. She and Dalton have some of the best chemistry in the series.The plot, while complicated, is very intriguing and it feels like a real spy thriller. The action in this film is great. We get a thrilling chase in the pre-credit sequence, an awesome snow chase with Bond and Kara riding on a cello, and an engaging climax with Bond and Necros hanging on an airplane.The theme tune by A-Ha is one of my top 5 favorite Bond songs. It gets my blood pumping every time I listen to it. The locations in Europe, Morocco, and Afghanistan have a nice realism to them.The weak point of the film is definitely the villains. Joe Don Baker's Brad Whitaker lacks menace and any real personality. His henchmen, Necros, is basically a Red Grant clone, not a whole lot more. I would also say that the film could have been maybe 15 minutes shorter.However, the weak villains don't keep this from being one of the top 10 Bond films of all time. This was a great spy-oriented adventure and a great debut for Dalton.RATING: B+