The Living Daylights might have one of the worst reputations of any Bond film. Timothy Dalton is looked down upon for his portrayal of 007, the cast is entirely new and different (save for Q) and we’re treated to what is essentially a reboot. But, let’s be honest, after the last few Roger Moore films, a palate cleanser was sorely needed.
This is a darker, grittier Bond than any since, perhaps, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, and sees 007 working to aid in the defection of a Russian General. There’s a larger plot going on, full of nuance and interesting twists and turns, where the defecting Russian general is working for an arms dealer and trying to play the Americans and the Russians against each other. Caught in the middle is an adorable young cellist, in love with the General, but falling for a caring Bond, posing as the General’s friend.
I think this movie has a bad rap, and the more I see it, the more I love it. Hell, just watching that trailer linked above again has me wanting to watch it all over again. The other robots wanted to have a say on this one, so we’re once again opening the floor:
Swank-Mo-Tron: I think the first thing to talk about is Dalton. He’s the polar opposite of Roger Moore. He’s cold and lethal, but caring. He delivers to the part an edge that had been missing since Lazenby and was far ahead of its time. He really does balance the tough and tender elements of Bond in a way the franchise had lost for almost 20 years. And there’s that anger to him we hadn’t seen in quite a while either.
Shaz-Bot: There are two things I dislike about Dalton as Bond, and neither of them actually have to do with Dalton himself. The first is my own perceptions. I’ve seen Dalton in a ton of movies before his turn as 007, and it was difficult for me to accept him as Bond… at first. This movie really won me over. This brings me to my only other complaint about Dalton as Bond: He only got two films before the longest gap in the film series’ history.
Citizen-Bot: It’s no wonder Dalton was on the short list of people to play Bond when they were looking to cast someone after Connery. Dalton turned it down because he didn’t think he was old enough? No offense to Lazenby, but what if we’d had Dalton in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and the films never took their campy turn as Dalton’s Dark Bond kept them more grounded? No lie: all of my favorite Dalton roles, he has been the villain.(Toy Story 3, The Rocketeer, Chuck) Dalton plays Bond in the same way, which is why I call him Dark Bond. I’m sure there’s an alternate telling of The Living Daylights where Bond is the villain, a la Charlie Wilson’s War, helping Mujahadeen soldiers who would eventually become the Taliban and al Qaeda. . . tsk tsk.
Swank-Mo-Tron: One thing I love in this film is Bond’s professionalism. He doesn’t kill the girl because she’s clearly not a professional and that’s really the key to unravelling the plot. When he’s scolded for it, he has one of my favorite lines in the film:
“Stuff my orders! I only kill professionals. That girl didn’t know one end of her rifle from the other. Go ahead. Tell M what you want. If he fires me, I’ll thank him for it. “
Shaz-Bot: Bond’s professionalism actually put me off at first. Sure, he kept the girl alive, but only because he could pump her for information… or so I thought, again. Even then, aside from a few tender moments, Bond is almost all business in this movie.
Citizen-Bot: I disagree. It was refreshing to see someone who wasn’t always thinking with his penis or his ego. Later on when he tells Moneypenny his interest in the cellist is purely professional, there might have been some irony intended, but I could actually take it seriously. This guy’s duty is to Queen and Country, and he can get laid off the clock. He knows there’s a Russian spy killer program out there offing MI-6 agents, and he’s going to stop it. And the way he shows up Saunders in the operation helping Koskov defect, but then still says it’s his operation and he can take the credit for it– no politics, all business. All that being said, when he parachutes onto the boat in the opening sequence and the woman is complaining about not being able to find a real man. . .well, it’s a great opportunity for the rakish Bond to come out, and he does that well.
Swank-Mo-Tron: I also think the supporting cast in this film is great. John Rhys Davies as Pushkin, playing both sides. You’ve got Joe Don Baker as the eccentric arms dealer Whitaker who keeps the story entertaining. Jereon Krabbe is brilliant as the double-sided Koskov. And the girl, Maryam d’Abo, is soft and wonderful, stronger than most Bond girls, more vulnerable, and less likely to fall for Bond’s usual routine.
Shaz-Bot: I’ll give anything with Joe Don Baker a chance. He really puts the ‘fun’ in “fundamentally over-the top”. I have to agree with your praise of Krabbe, too. He played his character very well. At first, I thought he was a great guy, and then of course when he turned out to be a sleaze, I believed that as well. When it comes to d’Abo’s Kara Milovy. I like that she deviated from other Bond girls. She’s beautiful, but not in so much of a traditional sense. She is absolutely more naive, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t smart and resourceful. I’m glad her character wasn’t just window dressing to further the plot.
Citizen-Bot: And she doesn’t just immediately fall into bed with Bond, either. She actually drugs him and turns him over to her boyfriend, Koskov. And it’s good we get more of Joe Don Baker in later movies, too. But John Rhys Davies just steals the movie. And I loved how the henchman Necros was both over the top awesome and deadly, but also grounded more in reality. He’s as deadly as Odd Job, but uses a deadly walkman and molotov milk bottles, but has the Nordic/Teutonic features of Grant in From Russia With Love. It’s great, and completely fun while being completely believeable.
Swank-Mo-Tron: This film also has one of my favorite action set pieces: After taking off in a massive cargo jet from an airfield in Afghanistan, with a bomb in tow hidden in a Red Cross sack. If that wasn’t enough, one of the film’s principal assassins is also on board ready to kill Bond. They open the back of the plane and have a daring fight at 10,000 feet on this cargo net full of supplies, any one of which might be a bomb. It might be one of the best, most realistic stunt sequences in a Bond film and it often goes ignored in favor of flashier set-pieces in other Bond films.
Shaz-Bot: This film really hit the ground running with great action. The opening sequence with the 00-agents skydiving and the subsequent war games/jeep chase is great. The way Koskov is smuggled out of the country is really fun as well. The icing is of course the aforementioned mid-air fight. I liked that one because it didn’t seem manufactured, like a lot of latter day Bond scrapes tend to be. The main draw for me is that Dalton did do a lot of his own stunts. It’s a risk for an actor to do such a thing, but when it pays off, like here, it pays off beautifully.
Swank-Mo-Tron: Overall, this film balances all the elements that make a good Bond film far better than any had since On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Timothy Dalton is an incredibly capable, underrated lead and the story is actually of consequence. This film tried to do what the Daniel Craig films did, but it did so 20 years too early, and so faded into obscurity. Rewatch this film. This film is an oasis after the desert of Roger Moore. I give it 4 Martinis.
Shaz-Bot: I very much enjoyed The Living Daylights, but I can’t give it the full 4 martinis. On one hand, this is a spy movie in every sense of the word. You have plot twists and turns, meaty amounts of intrigue and romance, and plenty of two-fisted action. On the other hand, the movie tends to be a little obtuse at first. Everything ends up making sense in short order, but the opening sequence is just kind of there until you see the attacker there shows up later tying things together. I’m not saying I need my hand held, but I don’t need to feel my way in the dark, either. Regardless, the strengths of this film highly outweigh the faults, so I give it 3.5 Martinis.
Citizen-Bot: It’s a huge palate cleanser after slogging through Moore and two sub-par Connery outings. It’s the first legitimately good Bond film since On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. But compared to those real bars of the great Bond films like that and Goldfinger it’s close, but not quite. Bottom line: people need to give more respect to the Dalton Bond movies, but I’m more inclined to agree with Shaz here, so I’m going to go with 3 ¼ Martinis.