Review of The Living Daylights (1987) by Kai82 — 31 Dec 2020

The fifteenth James Bond movie and debut of Timothy Dalton. It is rated divisive from favorite Bond movie to one of the worst by fans and critics alike. For me it is one of the best in the franchise and a strong first performance by Timothy Dalton.

After the end of the Roger Moore era they wanted a more serious approach. Do not worry as there are also bits of humor but far less than before. In the intro James Bond and two other 00 agents are performing a test infiltration on the British military base on Gibraltar (The guards have just paintball weapons for this occasion).

This goes horribly wrong as a third party uses this for their benefits and after the events it seems that the Soviets were starting an escalation that could turn the cold war hot. He is send out on an investigation to get more information.

I stop here to avoid spoilers. The overall story is one of the best in the franchise. It has good twists and when the allegiances unfold you notice they also have good schemers. The actors were used well and added to the experience.

Lets start with Timothy Dalton as new James Bond. After Roger Moore was not available many names were thrown in the ring. There are rumors that even Mel Gibson was a candidate at one time. At the end Timothy Dalton who was a candidate before when George Lazenby took the role and Pierce Brosnan were left.

Because Pierce Brosnans contract for Remington Steele prevented him Timothy Dalton was chosen. I think he does a great first performance and deliver. Most criticism for me is the fact that he is not like Sean Connery or Roger Moore.

Joe Don Baker as Brad Whitaker is a good villain with human flaws and an ego to big for him. Enjoyable to watch and I think they could / should have done more with him. Art Malik as Kamran Shah was a positive surprise for me.

He has not the biggest role but won me over easily and became a remarkable character. Maryam d’Abo as Kara Milovy is also good. They avoided the damsel in distress really good 8mostly) as she has some remarkable talents but not the best knowledge of human nature (Cant blame her as most of us fail in life with this too).

John Rhys Davies as General Pushkin is also a great addition. He is such a talented actor and performed remarkably. An often underappreciated character is Andreas Wisniewski as Necros. He is one o the most capable henchman in the franchise.

He has a no nonsense approach and is skilled enough to impress even James Bond (Think he would do well as 00 agent). These characters / actors in combination with the story are the reason for my rating as one of the best movies in the franchise.

The rest is good as always for franchise standards. The gadgets by Q are again so enjoyable. I just say Ghettoblaster. Bonus points for the soundtrack. The Living Daylight from a-ha and the performances of The Pretenders are in the top region for the franchise.

Overall this is a highlight for many including me. It has a great cast and delivers. I repeat my warning that it is also for many one of the weaker entries in the franchise but that makes it also a good topic for fans;-).

I recommend it and rewatch it once in a while.