The Living Daylights (1987)

Directed by: John Glen | 130 minutes | action, adventure, thriller | Actors: Timothy Dalton, Maryam d’Abo, Jeroen Krabbé, Joe Don Baker, John Rhys-Davies, Art Malik, Andreas Wisniewski, Thomas Wheatley, Desmond Llewelyn, Robert Brown, Geoffrey Keen, Walter Gotell, Caroline Bliss, John Terry, Virginia hey

Timothy Dalton is the fourth ‘official’ interpreter of James Bond. When Roger Moore retired, at least as far as Bond films are concerned, a search was on for a new actor to play the most famous secret agent. Pierce Brosnan was a big favorite, but due to contractual obligations to the ‘Remington Steele’ series, that party was canceled. Ironically, this series was canceled not much later, but Brosnan, as everyone knows, got the coveted role eight years later.

Dalton’s contribution to the series is not long, after ‘The Living Daylights’ he plays the role of 007 one more time in ‘Licence to Kill’ (1989), but his mark on the series is nevertheless tangible. Dalton’s serious attitude to the job is evident, he has prepared himself immensely for the task by reading all of Ian Fleming’s books about his character. The humor in Dalton’s Bond films is much less than in the one where Roger Moore throws his one-liners around. A few nice ones may mention Dalton (“He got the boot”), but it doesn’t sound like he’s behind it himself. Yet Dalton is a gifted actor, who knows how to portray the more serious Bond. He cannot be compared to Connery and Moore, he lacks the sexual appeal of the first and the humor of the second, but he has managed to give his own interpretation of Bond.

The plot of ‘The Living Daylights’ is, as usual, chock-full and at times hard to follow. One after another exotic location follows one another and many characters are introduced. It’s all about Georgi Koskov, a major role of Jeroen Krabbé, who in the mid-eighties finally made the crossing over the Pacific Ocean with a few roles in international productions, mostly as a villain. Koskov has to be helped west by 007 and that this narrowly succeeds is all thanks to James’ vigilance. He manages to disarm a sniper by shooting the weapon from her hands. “Her” indeed, because in reality it concerns Koskov’s girlfriend, Kara Milovy (Maryam d’Abo). This talented beautiful cellist has been persuaded by Koskov to pose as a KGB agent, so that his flight to the West from the MI6 (the British Secret Service) seems justified. Meanwhile, Koskov tells MI6 that General Pushkin (John Rhys-Davis) has ordered the murder of all British secret agents, and Bond is being deployed to end Pushkin’s life. Meanwhile, Kara has impressed James so much that his ‘pure professional interest’ has quickly turned into falling in love and she accompanies him on his mission. Bond learns that Koskov can’t really be trusted, but teams up with Brad Whitaker (Joe Don Baker), an international arms dealer, to use Soviet money to buy opium and sell it at extortionate prices. Bond then forms an alliance with Pushkin to expose Koskov and Whitaker, and it mounts a tense attack in Afghanistan.

The first part of the film drags on a bit, but once the characters land in Afghanistan, it becomes a thoroughly entertaining film, culminating (literally and figuratively) with the blood-curdling fight scene on the plane between James and Necros (Andreas Wisniewski). This last one is actually the most intriguing of the bad guys too, as you learn little to nothing about his motives. Maryam d’Abo, the only Bond girl of importance in the film, also manages to hold her own amid the (acting) violence of her colleagues and portrays Kara as a brave lady, who is excellent at supporting 007 at important moments. Krabbé is also good to chew, as well as John Rhys-Davis.

‘The Living Daylights’ is a fine action film, in which Bond goes ‘back to basic’ and leaves out most technical gadgets and over-the-top humor. Wonderful entertainment.