The Living Daylights

Starring: Timothy Dalton, Maryam d'Abo, Joe Don Baker, John Rhys-Davies, Jeroen Krabb, Desmond Llewelyn, Robert Brown, John Terry
Directed by: John Glen
Rating: PG
Genre: Action, Adventure
1987

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: 007 James Bond (Timothy Dalton) uncovers a deadly conspiracy after a KGB General (Jeroen Krabb) defects to the West. He must stop the plot before it unfolds, resulting in untold destruction.

Review:

Tim: After Roger Moore's final outing of 007 in A View to a Kill, the Bond franchise was badly in need of a injection of life and energy. Luckily, the film is exactly what we needed. Whereas Moore was simply too old to play Bond, Timothy Dalton comes in like a breath of fresh air, a younger, colder, more exciting Bond. I certainly wouldn't place him above Sean Connery or even Roger Moore (in his prime) as Bond, but he helped infuse new life into the franchise. For that, I am thankful.

This movie feels like it started to get back to the Bond movies we loved. The last few films, although some were good, felt like they started to stray from the formula that worked so well. This movie has some terrific action sequences, a few moments of lighthearted humor, and a few interesting gadgets. This isn't a perfect movie, but it is exciting and enjoyable.

Timothy Dalton is at least a decent Bond. I thought he gave a good, if safe performance. He didn't so much as try to make the role his own (he would have failed anyway), but instead, tries to simply fit into the role as best he can. For that reason, I enjoyed him in the role. He played it safe, but he needed to if this movie was going to work. I know many fans dislike Dalton in the role, but after one film, I am not in that camp. Dalton isn't the best Bond, but neither is anyone else but Connery. He makes a good Bond and I enjoyed him on screen.

The scene that has to be mentioned is the climactic battle in the back of a cargo plane. This scene is exciting and intense, and represents what we've come to love about the James Bond movies. There are also a number of other good scenes, but felt a bit smaller than many of the other Bond movies. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, as the movie feels more like an exciting action/spy movie, rather than trying to be too epic in scale. It is a smaller movie, but an entertaining one nonetheless. I also really liked the in-movie explanation for the "Living Daylights" title. I'd often wondered why the movie was called this, and now I know.

The Living Daylights may not be a great movie, but it is certainly enjoyable. Timothy Dalton moves the Bond franchise back closer to where it needed to be. I myself, after watching this movie, felt more excited about 007 than I had in a few films. Dalton might not be perfect, but he did what he set out to do. This is an enjoyable, solid Bond movie.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Goldfinger, Thunderball, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Diamonds are Forever, The Man with the Golden Gun, For Your Eyes Only, License to Kill