The Living Daylights - 1987

Year Released: 1987
Movie Rating: *** (stars of four)

Movie Notes-

  • US Release Date: 31 July 1987
  • Total Worldwide Gross: $191,200,000
  • James Bond: Timothy Dalton
  • Locations: Rock of Gibraltar, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Afghanistan
  • Enemy: Brad Whitaker, Jorgie Koskov
  • Main Bond Girl: Kara Milovy
  • Bond's Friends: Gen. Pushkin, Saunders
  • Pre-title Sequence: Rock of Gibraltar Training Excersise
  • Enemy Plot: Smuggling arms into Afghanistan
  • Music: John Barry
  • Title Track: "The Living Daylights" by a-ha
  • 007's Car: 1987 Aston Martin Volante
  • Q Branch: Spy glasses, Walther2000 Sniper Rifle & Gear, Universal key w/explosive remote
  • Produced by: Albert R. Broccoli
  • Directed by: John Glen
  • Doug's Ranking: The Living Daylights is #12 of 18

    Wow what a difference 2 years makes! A View to a Kill was a terrible disappointment to many Bond fans but the new 007, Timothy Dalton, brought a new style to this film. The Living Daylights is a great movie in every way just like many of its predecessors. It combines the realism of For Your Eyes Only and Octopussy with a tougher 007. Dalton is really good in the role and he had a great script and great direction in his first outing. The plot in this film is very good dealing with the defection of General Koskov to the west with the intention of giving the British information about a Smiert Spionam (Death to Spies) organization.

    Koskov defects but is kidnapped from his hideout in England. Bond is ordered to execute General Pushkin - and this time follow orders. However, Bond has his own hunch and, tracking down the female sniper, discovers she is Koskov's girlfriend who has been duped into being a decoy. Koskov has arranged his own abduction with the help of Brad Whitaker, an American arms dealer. Together, they plan to run guns in Afghanistan using a downpayment of diamonds to finance a separate drugs ring. Smiert Spionam is Koskov's invention designed to frame and eliminate General Pushkin, who is about to close down the Soviet end of Whitaker's operation.

    The stunts in this film are possibly the best in the series and the action sequences never let up. Necros, the big, blonde thug engages in a fabulous fight with bond in the large cargo plane while flying 30,000 feet in the air! Great action sequences in this film make it one of the series's best. James Bond's Aston Martin is definitely one of the best, with all of its laser and missile gadgets. The scene with Bond and Kara eluding authorities in the Volante is definitely one of the highlights of the film.

    The Living Daylights is a very refreshing film and completely overshadowed A View to a Kill; thankfully. Dalton was fabulous, the movie was well-written, and the storyline was great. A very good addition to the best movie series of all time.

    Overall Rating: B

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