The Living Daylights

Rating:
Summary: Fleming's Bond returns to the screen
Review: 12 years of Roger Moore's version of James Bond had desensitized movie-goers to what James Bond really was by 1987. Bond is a hired killer employed by his government, a man with a larger-than-life job and an incredible amount of ingenuity that enabled him to stay alive in a job that pushed him to his emotional limit. This is the Bond that Ian Fleming created, and Timothy Dalton was the first actor to portray 007 that had the depth to play Bond the way Fleming designed him. For a fan of the books, this makes The Living Daylights one of the better Bond films. It features a relatively believable plot, some real romance, and some real tension and drama. And the prerequisite action and gadgets that are such a part of the films are still there. All in all, this is an extremely enjoyable thriller that takes Bond back to his roots, and reminds viewers that 007, while he is an exciting, dangerous, and gifted man, is still just a man.

Rating:
Summary: A fine spectacle of adventure. TLDL is top-notch!
Review: Dalton is radiant in his debut as bond. One of the best in the series. A great pick up after its bland prdecessor, AVTAK. A good plot, a beautiful girl (Myam D'abo), and ,unfortunately, 2 annoyingly lackluster villians. Koskov is an immature snake-in-the-grass villian, and Baker is not the villianous type. Features the usual gadget goodies, and a thrilling cliff-hanger of a climax. The title song preformed by a-ha is great and my second favorite theme next to AVTAK. Dalton returns as Bond for the second and last time in the stone cold bomb Licencse To Kill.

Rating:
Summary: "The Living Daylights": Nobody does it better!
Review: With the release of "The Living Daylights", Bond fans finally saw another "Golden Bond Film" in the classic tradition of "Goldfinger". This film was, hands down, the best of the Dalton era films - the only other Bond movie with Dalton being the mildly disappointing "License to Kill". Timothy Dalton replaced Roger Moore as agent 007 when the gray haired Moore decided to call it quits after the release of "A View to a Kill" in the mid-eighties. Naturally, with a new Bond came a new style. I believe that Dalton's style was the most compensating to Ian Flemming's Bond; he wasn't a super man all of the time. He has moments when doubt or fears enter his mind. In other words, Dalton is a much more realistic Bond than Connery or Moore ever were. Unfortunately for Dalton, however, it seems many people like the unrealistic Bond better than the realistic.

"The Living Daylights" has a classic story and action. It's one for all Bond fans to definitely see, while being good enough to warrant the attention of first time viewers. No film (except perhaps "Goldfinger") has done it better than "The Living Daylights".

Rating:
Summary: Truely One of the Better Bond Films!
Review: After a decade and a half of Rodger More's humorous and often cartoonish antics as 007, Timothy Dalton steps in to bring back the sense of rugged realism in witch Connery conveyed in the earlyer films fourty years ago. The plot is much more sophisticated and believable, as opposed to Bond's last few ventures. Action is plentiful in this film, but the plot is much more thought out and concentrated on. The villians are menacing, but a bit more lack-luster than what we have seen in the past. (no one with metal teeth or a decapitating hat.) Bond has much more heart in this one, and seems a bit more human. His jokes are more scarce, but they are there. The gadgets and Q remain the same, and the New Aston Martin rocks. They did not need to replace Money Penny, Caroline Bliss is attractive, but I still prefere the original cause it was tradition. We are treated to a climatic battle about five thousand feet above Moroco, a deadly drop for which one of Bond's nemesis's will have to meet. Truely entertaining, in the style of Ian Flemming's original character that appeared in LICENSE TO KILL as well, except this one is a little more humorous and Bond like. LICENSE TO KILL was drastically serious, and, although entertaining, it was a tough film to watch without a joke in sight. However, DAYLIGHTS is a perfect blend of all the bond elements. Based upon Flemming's novelete of the same name, it promotes the safe sex concept of the late 80's. Bond is a one woman man this time around, but it does not contract from the plot. Enough action and a refreshing plot make this film one of my favorites. HIGHLY RECCOMMENDED!!

Rating:
Summary: A great Bond!
Review: I must admit that I am not very good at writing decent reviews, so I'll simply list why I rate this Bond a five.

1)Awesome "teaser" sequence 2)Best opening credits of all the Bonds by Maurice Binder 3)Great Bond actor, Timothy Dalton 4)Good villians played by very good actors(Jeroen Krabbe, Joe Don Baker) 5)One of the best Bond girls, Kara Milow(played excellently by Maryam d'Abo) 6)Awesome action scenes--could be called the best in the series. 7)Great exotic locations: Gibraltar, Morocco. 8)A decent plot 9)The standard gadgets, welcome as ever [including an awesome car] 10)A good ending, with the last apperance of Walter Gotell as General Gogol.

Rating:
Summary: Great Bond Film
Review: I have seen every Bond film and this is one of the best. It has everything a Bond fan can ask for, and Dalton does a good job as 007. Although the subject matter is a little outdated, it is still an excellent movie.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Bond Thriller
Review: Great movie, the music is amazing and the plot, very interesting. Although Dalton wasn't the best Bond, he does make a great debut as Secret Agent OO7. Maryam d'Abo is as beautiful as ever, and perfect as the leading woman, The globe-trotting of this film is indeed exciting, from the streets of Eastern Europe to the deserts of Afganastan, this is a movie I enjoy watching again and again

Rating:
Summary: A Bond film done ala' Merchant Ivory
Review: I was about fifteen years old when I first saw this film, so THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS made a huge impression on my life. Up til' that point I'd only seen OCTOPUSSY and A VIEW TO A KILL - and I think we can all agree that these were two of the worst Bond films in recent memory. Even THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH wasn't that terrible.

And then THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS came along...and blew me away. This was the Bond that I'd been waiting for, it was as though he had leapt from the page onto the silver screen. Dalton portryaed Bond as being cold, ruthless, a true professional, but also with an eye for beautiful ladies. I had a swagger in my step for the next twelve months after watching this film.

I notice that no one has praised John Barry's excellent score for the film. I wasn't too impressed with A-Ha's theme song, I thought that it wasn't tough enough for a Bond film. But Barry turned that rather unimpressive melody into a rousing theme that runs throughout the entire film. He did the same thing with Duran Duran's A VIEW TO A KILL. Now that is the mark of a truly great composer. Bond films were never the same after he stopped scoring them...at least until David Arnold filled his shoes.

It's unfortunate that Timothy Dalton didn't do a third and fourth Bond film. This film came along at a time in my life when I needed a strong male role-model, and Dalton's portrayal of Bond fulfilled that need perfectly. For that reason alone, I think that Dalton's two Bond films are light-years ahead of the current Brosnan flicks. The current producers would do well to emulate and build upon their success.

Rating:
Summary: Impressive debut
Review: Back in 1987 when I first learned that Timothy Dalton was going to be James Bond I thought to myself, isn't that the Han Solo-ish guy from "Flash Gordon"??? So being a true fan of Connery and Moore I was worried. Then when I when I saw the film in the theaters I was immediately impressed by his performance.

First off, Dalton's 007 is very similar to Connery's. He's a lethal weapon with little to no conscience (but of course we know he does) whose only concern is accomplishing his mission for queen and country. He's intense, brooding and noncompromising. He's a perfect 007 of Fleming's books. Dalton's 007 has hardly any of the quips and jokes which were a trademark of Moore's franchise.

The film's story focuses on Bond uncovering a Russian General's defection from the former Soviet Republic. The Russian General soon joins forces with an international arms dealer and Bond then trys to stop them. I was interested how this Bond installment seemed less like a stereotypical Bond film and more like an action/adventure in the DieHard/LethalWeapon/IndianaJones tradition. The action is fast paced but less dependent on the typical 007 gadgetry and exotic plot to destroy the world.

That leads to another interesting plot development. This time Bond beds only ONE girl (excluding the pre-title teaser of course). This kind of development leads to more credibility to Dalton's performance as he allows Bond to establish a relationship and become just a bit vunerable. This may have been just a stunt by the producers to move 007 into politcal correctness, but I think it works for the film and makes Bond more interesting.

"The Living Daylights" is not the best 007 mission, but it is far from the worst. It's strengths are a more realistic plot, tone and a terrific perfomance by probably the most underappreciated Bond actor; Timothy Dalton.

Rating:
Summary: Good Job All Around
Review: THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS is one of the better James Bond films. I really liked Timothy Dalton as James Bond, the James Bond he gave us in THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS. He was not the hard edged civil servant but more of a thinking man's blunt instrument as he demonstrated his reluctance to get the job done "their" way as opposed to "his" way. John Barry delivered his last 007 score and it is one of his best. I also enjoyed a-ha's rich and lyrical theme song played over Maurice Binder's titles. The music video and the making of the video are on this DVD. This was also the last Bond film made during the actual cold war where we see a much more intelligent British agent discern that the KGB is not made up of a bunch of hoodlums but are actually headed by an equally intelligent counterpart.