After "A View To A Kill," Roger Moore was finally put out to pasture and the search for a new Bond began. They decided on Dalton, who had been considered for the role years earlier when they were thinking about retiring Moore the first time. But famously, "Never Say Never Again" happened, which meant that Dalton would have to wait while Moore puttered about, mugging at the camera and trying not to break a hip. After remembering that they were supposed to be making spy movies, in 1987 they decided that the Bond films needed to grow up a bit and made "The Living Daylights," a fantastic return to form that not only gave respectability back to the character of James Bond, but also to the films themselves since they ceased being borderline comedies.
"Hey man. 'Sup? Naw, bro. I'm just chilling on a yacht. Dude, you should have seen it. I was hanging off the roof of a jeep that went off a cliff and exploded. It was insane. So what're you doing? Oh, hold on a sec man. I think this lady here wants some Vitamin J, you know what I'm saying? Haha. Yeah man. You know it bro! Peace."
This time out Bond is tasked with stopping the killing of British agents. Acting as a counter-sniper, he smuggles a defecting Soviet general, Koskov (Jeroen Krabbé), back to England, who tells Bond that the killings have been done under the orders of the new head of the KGB, General Pushkin (John Rhys-Davies). Knowing Pushkin, Bond is initially skeptical of the general going crazy, but he nonetheless takes the assignment to kill him after Koskov is captured again after an assault on the safe-house, and further damning evidence on the body of 004.
Tracking down the female sniper who tried to kill Koskov during his defection, Bond finds not only his Bond girl of the film, but further information that makes the situation far more complicated. It all involves Koskov staging his defection, Pushkin joining forces with Bond, a crazy arms dealer played by Joe Don Baker, a massive drug deal, and the Russian war in Afghanistan. It gets a little confusing, but then again I suck at following the plot of spy movies. But I suppose if I could follow "Octopussy" this one isn't that troublesome. The important thing is that it's exciting, and you kind of just roll with whatever is happening whether you understand it or not.
What part of "Boom" do you need spelled out for you?
I'll come right out and say that I really, really dig Timothy Dalton as James Bond. He encapsulates the smooth, almost playful smugness of Connery while giving what is arguably the most intense version of the character we've seen. You could argue that Daniel Craig is more intimidating physically, and I'd place Craig really close to Dalton in terms of intensity, but there's just something in Dalton's eyes that is ice cold. It's clear that this man is a killer, and when he gets that look you know some punk is about to eat a face-full of lead. He may not be as charming as Connery, Brosnan or even Lazenby, but I fully believe him when he's kicking someone's ass. After seven movies of not having that, it's a very welcome sight.
He put on his "For Serious" eyebrows today.
That intensity is enhanced by the action, which hits hard, is consistently paced, and is taking itself just seriously enough to not be goofy despite the absurdity. Dalton carries himself very well as he did most of his own stunts, and there are a number of set pieces that are very memorable, including a thrilling opening scene which starts with a parachute jump and ends with Bond hanging on the roof of a truck as it goes off a cliff, the return of Bond's Aston Martin as it takes place in a high speed pursuit involving rockets and a frozen lake, and a climax that is one of the most insane sequences I've ever seen in a Bond film which features 007 fighting a guy while they're both hanging off a cargo net trailing from the tail of a plane. It's a wild flick.
I would also like to note the fact that I actually did laugh out loud at this film, partly because I was having fun, and also because the parts that were funny were actually funny. Like Connery and Brosnan, Dalton can really deliver a funny line if it's written correctly, and thankfully "The Living Daylights" doesn't insult us by spelling out when we're supposed to laugh, giving the jokes an opportunity to actually work. About the goofiest thing in the movie is Joe Don Baker, and he's playing it pretty straight for a crazy person who stages mock battles with toy soldiers, strobe lights and prerecorded sound effects to enhance the drama of his huge dioramas. It's pretty incredible that that character can exist while being played by the same guy who played Thomas Jefferson Geronimo III and Mitchell and it's still not as silly as "Moonraker."
Think you can take him? Go ahead on.
Maryam d'Abo makes for a better Bond girl than we're used to, as she's not horribly incompetent nor irritating. She may be slightly easily duped, but some of that can be forgiven since she's not a spy or anything - she's a cellist. It's not like Agent XXX or Goodnight, two supposed spies who couldn't find their way out of a car wash while strapped to the moving conveyer belt. I'm not going to split hairs over a professional musician being played for a sap by member of the KGB. At least she flies a plane for a little bit with seemingly no training without managing to crash it. I've seen far more useless Bond girls.
All of this adds up to what I found to be a really good time. This is the kind of Bond movie I like: Hard hitting, a little dark, and taking itself seriously while throwing in enough over-the-top stunts and dry wit so as to get a chuckle out of me once in a while. The fact that it also came on the heels of one of the weakest films in the series makes how good "The Living Daylights" is that much more impressive. The pair of Dalton outings are fascinating to me in that they really seem to set the blueprint for what is to come, particularly for the Pierce Brosnan era. From that perspective it's a very important film in the franchise, because they were going to be copying the formula for some time afterwards. And going a couple years ahead, I think that what's to come is potentially one of the best films in the whole series.
Welcome back, 007. I missed you, bro.
Dude, this trailer rocks. That's how you get stuff done, son.
THE BOTTOM LINE - "The Living Daylights" is an awesome movie. If you like your Bond more on the serious side, both this and Timothy Dalton are for you. It's action packed, the acting is fantastic, Dalton is a great James Bond, and it's got John Rhys-Davis and Joe Don Baker. What's not to like?
JAMES BOND
WILL RETURN IN
LICENSE TO KILL
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