The Living Daylights (1987)

Boring

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Timothy Dalton came across as a refreshing change after almost a decade of Roger Moore's lighter portrayal of Bond. I, for one, have been a supporter of how Roger played Bond after a more serious Connery, but I think it was a tad overdone and needed a fresher take on the character. Dalton got offer to play Bond as early as 1968, but when he finally agreed to play his first one in this, he looked the part. He was intense, more human, the glitter was still there in Bond's eyes, and the cheeky one-liners were missing. You would find shades of Dalton in Daniel Craig later. The Bond girl in this one looked ordinary though, more like a next door chick, but I didn't complain. I loved this new Bond and thought he could have started a little earlier and done a few more from the franchise. The plane scene was well shot, the climax lacked some flow, and the villains too didn't look ominous. But for Timothy Dalton, I give it a 6.5.

Just because Dalton plays a serious Bond doesn't make this movie one of the best Bonds as so many reviewers here want to convince us it is. It has too many flaws to be considered one of the best.First there is the lack of a strong central villain. Koskov and Whitaker are both unmenacing and uninteresting. Neither one of them measures up the villains of the Bond films that came before or after.Second, there is a distinct lack of sex appeal to the entire movie. For the first time ever in a Bond film, he only beds one woman and at the very end of the movie at that.Lastly, the plot is just too rambling and convoluted for words. The best Bond movies always benefited from use of Hitchcock's Macguffin, from the Lektor Decoder in From Russia with Love to the ATAC in For Your Eyes only. This film outsmarts itself and in turn bores the audience with its overly complex plot.In conclusion, don't believe the hype of some reviews of this film. These are from people delighted so much with Dalton's serious portrayal that they are willing to ignore the fact that this is not a great film.

The Longest Continuous Franchise in Movie History did an Abrupt About Face with the Departure of an Aging Roger Moore and the Over the Top Tone, Layered with Comedic Fluff that had been the Formula for a Decade. Abandoning for the 1970's, the Cynicism, "Black" Humor, and the Serious Semi-Realism of the Connery Films.Attempting the Change was a bit Risky since the Bond Films all made Money. Some made a Ton of Money. The Mediocre Box-Office of the Two Timothy Dalton Bonds had Them Second-Guessing. But in Retrospect both of the Dalton Deliveries Deserved, and have Subsequently Received, a Better Reputation. In Fact, after the Pierce Brosnan Films, Daniel Craig and the Producers Picked Up on the Timothy Dalton Take once again.While this, the 15th James Bond Movie, is Not as Good as the Next and Final Dalton, it is Leaps and Bounds Better than most of the Goofy Roger Moore Movies. It Suffers somewhat with a Bloated Plot and a Residue from the Previous Over-Kill that was Part of the Formula. However, Overall it is a Thrilling Cold-War Finale.It's not a Perfect Bond Movie (few are), but it Stands the Test of Time, for those that take Their James Bond Seriously.

For awhile, the Bond films lost the spy elements to the series. Not that there weren't some great installments, there were. But I feel as though The Living Daylights brought the franchise back to its spy roots. The last time a film delved into that was probably The Spy Who Loved Me. And as much as I loved Roger Moore in the role for so long, Timothy Dalton did a fine job as 007. You immediately buy into him as Bond which is something Lazenby really struggled with years before. I also appreciated the pacing of this film. A lot of Bond films over 2 hours are noticeably 2 hours. But this film speeds by, and if it weren't for a rough middle act, this would be one of the best of the series.Obviously I'm watching this nearly 30 some odd years after it's release, but I couldn't help but notice the story resemblances to this years Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation. Both being spy movies is a given, but it's opera house scene, along with the leading lady, and its twists and turns all seem to call back to The Living Daylights. But believe me, that's a good thing. I did like Maryam d'Abo as the main Bond girl with something else up her sleeve, but I thought the writing pushed the romance too much with James. Sometimes a women's role in a film doesn't need to feature a romance with the lead character. Other than that, she provided an interesting dynamic with Bond and the rest of the characters.It was nice to see John Rhys-Davies show up although I wish his role would have had more significance. His character tended to get lost in the jumble a bit with all the other secret intelligence that appear here. But again, I think this film benefited from its surprises and unpredictability. Having so many characters keeps us on the edge of our seat as to who makes it and who doesn't. I was also impressed with the writers decision to included certain lines about why this person wasn't going to be killed or why this person needed to be killed. So often in Bond films, I feel as though characters are killed off without real necessity or explanation. That's not the case in The Living Daylights.As if Bond didn't have enough Ski/snow chase sequences, there is yet another one in this film. We have to be nearing double digits at this point. But the action overall is quite impressive. Besides the explosive finale, there wasn't unnecessary special effects or explosions as there usually are. The middle to third act veers off a little bit for about 20 minutes but other than that, it's a well put together film. Maybe it's because it's a different actor, but I feel like this Bond film was much more modernized and didn't seem as dated as previous installments.+Dalton+Great finale+Unpredictable for the most part+Pacing & timely action-Veers off in the middle-Pushed romance7.3/10