Amazon.com: Timothy Dalton made his 007 debut in the lean, mean mode of Sean Connery, doing away with the pun-filled camp of Roger Moore's final outings. He establishes his persona right from the gritty pre-credits sequence, in which he hangs from a speeding truck as it barrels down narrow cobblestone streets, battles an assassin mano a mano, and lands in the arms of a bikinied babe. This James Bond is ruthless, tough, and romantic. The Living Daylights, set during the thaw of the cold war, begins with the defection of Russian KGB General Koskov (Jeroen Krabbé) and his revelation of a Soviet plot to eliminate Britain's secret agent force. Assigned to eliminate Koskov's Soviet boss (John Rhys-Davies, cutting a memorable figure in his brief appearance), Bond uncovers a conspiracy involving Koskov and an American arms dealer (Joe Don Baker). Maryam d'Abo makes a fine Bond girl as Koskov's beautiful cellist girlfriend, a classy innocent who soon loses her naive blush and shows her pluck. The villains are lackluster--Krabbé is a clown and Baker a blowhard--and Dalton hadn't yet mastered the delivery of the trademark quips, but it's a sleek script with a no-nonsense attitude. Veteran series director John Glen's action scenes have never been better--especially the show-stopping mid-air battle on the net of a speeding cargo plane--and he returns the series to the smart, rough, high-energy adventures that made the Bond reputation. --Sean Axmaker
A bad start for Dalton "The Living Daylights" is a disappointment for several reasons. The biggest reason is the surprisingly unengaging plot. The second reason is that Timothy Dalton doesn't seem comfortable playing James Bond. He's not a bad actor but instead of making his own interpretation of the character (like he did in the next movie, "Licence To Kill") he seems to be imitating Roger Moore. The reason is most likely that the script was written with Moore in mind. Lois Maxwell was replaced by Caroline Bliss as Miss Moneypenny and she didn't seem right for the part at all.
"The Living Daylights" was not a good start for Dalton. Luckily the series did improve.
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.
[4.5] A refreshing experience to the franchise Two years after the final Roger Moore Bond film "A View To A Kill", "The Living Daylights" has changed the tone of the Bond franchise. Timothy Dalton being the biggest reason, but everything about this movie is more edgy and punctual, with agressive action and a soundtrack that keeps things moving.
Timothy Dalton is one of my favorite Bond's, and if he had the opportunity to be in more than just two films, he may have even become my favorite Bond. In a way he can be compared to the most recent Bond - Daniel Craig. Though not nearly as tough as Craig, Dalton brings a very stately tune, with little time for goofing around (unlike Roger Moore) and gets straight to the point. His physical appearance is absorbed by the camera, and even his voice is quite strong and fitting for the role. One could say he is even a more mature Bond, limiting himself to one girl in this movie, and even being a little romantic.
The story in The Living Daylights is rather involved and perhaps somewhat confusing - at least for awhile. It definelty requires your attention and keeps you guessing. This is the last of the films during the Cold War era, and again we have Russia as a major part of the plot in the film, including another KGB henchman to give Bond some good fights as always. Pacing was about typical for a Bond movie, as some moments were slow and others were action packed - and when the action gets going it just doesn't stop.
Music is very important to any movie, and the soundtracks to the Bond films has always been a big factor. In The Living Daylights, the score has more of a modern feel with a beat that compliments the action quite well. In prior Bond films, most of the time the music throughout the movie was an orchestral rehash of the opening song (which is fine) but here it expands on that quite a bit. Speaking of the opening song, I rather enjoyed the title song "Living Daylights" by Ah-ha. Its very 80's sounding, but upbeat and gets me in the mood for the film every time.
The action is actually more realistic this time around, but harder. We don't have any huge unrealistic action scenes from movies such as Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, or View To A Kill, but more down to Earth simple chases and fights that keeps things real, yet strong and engaging. If there is a huge and intense action scene in this film, it would easily have to be the fight between Bond and the KBG man, hanging off a net off the back of a cargo plane in mid-air. The scene was shot well, choreographed decently, and put to fitting music.
Locations are not as exotic as they could have been, but Bond does travel to a variety of countries including Czechoslovakia, Austria and Afghanistan. Climate changes from snowy mountains to hot desert thoughout the film too. My favorite scene location-wise, has to be the pre-credits scene at the island of Gibraltar. The shots of the double O's parachuting from the plane to the island are quite nice, as is the following scenes of intense action to set-up the rest of the film.
Not only is Timothy Dalton a refreshing and welcoming sight to the franchise, The Living Daylights has the feel of something new and refreshing too, but still keeping all things Bond intact at the very heart of it all.
Dalton brings back the old Bond edginess Initially skeptical with this new actor, I didn't know what to expect from Timothy Dalton. Suffice it to say that I could rest easy: Dalton makes an impressive Bond debut in "The Living Daylights", making him the best actor in the role since Sean Connery. Dalton takes the role very seriously as the old edgy, dangerous Bond returns after the campy, pun-filled outings of Roger Moore, who sometimes appeared as if he were afraid to get his hands dirty. The plotting is classic Bond too as the secret agent delves into the defection of a KGB general who may have unsavory connections to a ruthless military arms dealer, played with boorish menace by Joe Don Baker. The gadgetry is cool but kept in check as the film is Bond all the way, engaging in great action sequences...and taking time to romance the latest Bond lovely (a beautiful blond Russian cellist). And "Daylights" is climaxed by one of the best white-knucklers of the Bond films as Bond fights a baddy while holding on for dear life from a cargo net dangling from the back of a plane. Spectacular action, scenery and execution---one of the best Bonds in the series!
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