Review of The Living Daylights (1987) by Marcus Y — 10 Jun 2008

This is one of my favourites of the Bond series. I thought Dalton's re-invention of the character was much more in line with what Fleming had invisioned Bond to be. I think he was a little before his time. If this Bond had come out in the late nineties it might have been more widely recieved. Having said that, the story is set in a post-cold war situation and so suits the time it was released. Dalton is far more serious than the former Bonds but that was intentional. He is more of a thinking mans bond showing a more human and vulnerable charater which is not as entertaining perhaps but is certainly more engaging. The only problem is this seriousness spills into the romantic scenes and ruins them!

The first few sequences are among the best I have seen with Bond helping Koskov to defect and then the 'KGB' agent, Necros, stealing him back. I loved how the henchman Necros (Andreas Wisniewski) was a real match for Bond. The way he carried out assasinations with his headphones, his ease to flip accents and his powerful looks made him one of the best and most memorable baddies. The actor then appeared two years later as one of Alan Rickman's henchmen in Die Hard but had a much smaller part.

Its also important to mention the classic theme song. Aha... say no more!