Until I began this series of reviews for James Bond films, I had never paid much attention to which of the films in the series had been commercially successful. I knew which ones I most treasured which was all I really needed to know. Recently, though, I've found it a little disconcerting to discover an almost inverse relationship between the commercial success of the various films and how highly I rate them. Apparently what I value in Bond films (spy intrigue, an intelligent story, three-dimensional characters, chemistry between the characters) does not very well match what the majority of theater patrons appear to want (bigger-than-life action, no complexities, beautiful girls, cool toys, and awesome special effects). Heck, the producers of these films could almost use me as a one-man marketing test for their scripts. If I like it, it's sure to bomb and vice versa! Goldfinger stands as a rare exception to that trend, having been both commercially successful and my favorite. On the other hand, my views in relation to the various films comport well with those of at least a fair share of other critics. Perhaps I should forewarn my readers that my ratings for the various films give foremost consideration to the dramatic elements and characterizations. I also enjoy the action and even the farcical elements, but only to the extent that they support the dramatic components of the film, not if they detract.

Historical Background: English director John Glen, who held the reins for a total of five of the films in the series, has played both sides of the great divide on what Bond films should be. Two of his films are strong on plot, drama, and character depth, two others represent the pinnacle (or nadir) of the farcical approach, and his last one pretty much splits the difference between those approaches. John Glen was born on May 15, 1932, in Sanbury-on-Thames, England and wasted no time entering the film industry, as an apprentice at age 15. By the late sixties, he had risen to the role of film editor, in which capacity he worked on three Bond films: On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), and Moonraker (1979). He also sometimes worked as second-unit director on the latter two films. Glen also edited some other major films, such as Murphy's War (1971) and A Doll's House (1973).

Glen finally got a shot at the director's chair with For Your Eyes Only (1981), which I consider the best of the films starring Roger Moore. Glen pleased Bond purists with his no nonsense, back to basics minimalism for this film, eschewing excesses of farce, gags, and gimmicks that were rampant in the predecessor film (Moonraker). Unfortunately, the box-office response was not very strong for For Your Eyes Only and Glen felt obliged to return to the farcical approach for the last two Roger Moore films of the series, Octopussy (1983) and A View to a Kill (1985). Glen reverted to a more dramatic and less cartoon-like approach for the two films starring Timothy Dalton, The Living Daylights (1987) and Licence to Kill (1989), but the commercial failure of the latter film pretty much cost Dalton his job and ensured a return during most of the Brosnan era to a shoot-em-up action approach. After completing his last Bond film, John Glen made only two additional films, both in 1992: Aced: Iron Eagle III and Christopher Columbus: The Discovery. Neither had much success.

The Story: This film's pre-credit sequence is excellent, both in action and drama. Since this was Dalton's first outing as Bond, viewers were naturally anxious for their first peak at him. The opening scene milks that anticipation by keeping Bond out of sight for several minutes. The double-0's are participating in a training exercise to test the defenses at the British radar facility on Gibraltar. In his briefing to the three participants (002, 004, and 007), M (Robert Brown) makes clear his view that it may only be an exercise, but it's also a matter of pride for the double-0 section. The three top spies parachute to the base of the Rock of Gibraltar, on top of which sits the radar installation. As they begin their ascent, the exercise turns deadly. A foreign assassin has decided to use the event as an opportunity to murder as many of the double-0's as he can. The assassin cuts the climbing rope of one of the double-0's and the poor fellow plummets to his death. For a moment, we even wonder if it was Bond, since we still haven't seen Dalton's face. Immediately, however, the camera shifts to Bond, who is watching as his colleague fall to his death. Bond realizes immediately that something serious is afoot and that the exercise has turned lethal. Bond spots the assassin and is able to leap on top of the speeding ammunition truck in which the man is fleeing. There's a dramatic confrontation as the two simultaneously try to kill one another and keep the speeding truck from careening off the ledge on one side of the narrow mountain road. After a prolonged struggle, the two combatants and the burning truck fly off the ledge. Bond parachutes out of the vehicle just before it explodes. Moments later, he floats down onto a luxury yacht where a beautiful, shapely young woman, Linda (Kell Tyler), is complaining on her cell phone to a friend that she's bored, sick of all of the playboys, and needs a real man. As though an answer to her desires, Bond lands on the canopy above her head, somersaults down to the deck, seizes her phone, and tells the friend, "She'll call you right back." Bond calls M and tells him he'll be reporting to the rendezvous point in an hour. Linda asks if he couldn't stay for a bit. Bond revises his message to M: "Better make that two." It's a great start for a Bond film!

The credits play against the theme song performed by the group A-Ha, after which Bond is seen entering a concert hall in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia. At the time, the iron curtain was still very much intact. Soviet General Georgi Koskov (Jeroen Krabbé) wants to defect to the West and would be an invaluable source of security information. Bond has been sent in to help with the extraction. Koskov is at the concert, but under guard by two KGB minders. Furthermore, Koskov anticipates that a KGB assassin will try to kill him when he attempts to escape and has expressly asked for Bond to eliminate the sniper. Bond joins the agent in charge of the defection, Saunders (Thomas Wheatley), in the balcony of the Bratislava Conservatoire. Saunders is put out because Bond is a bit late and, even more so, when Bond's attention falls on an especially lovely cellist, Kara Milovy (Maryam d'Abo), in the orchestra. At intermission, Bond sets up his sniper's rifle to await the would-be assassin while Koskov initiates his escape through a bathroom window. When the assassin appears, Bond sees that it is the cellist, Milovy. From the manner in which she is holding the rifle, Bond deduces that she can't be a professional killer, so he disobeys his orders and merely shoots the firing chamber of the rifle. Saunders realizes that Bond deliberately avoiding killing the girl and is further incensed.

Nevertheless, Bond and Saunders quickly meet up with Koskov. Saunders loads Koskov in the boot, planning to smuggle him across the border that way, but Bond realizes that the boot is bound to be checked at the border, with the heightened security that will be initiated as soon as Koskov's defection becomes apparent. Bond takes charge of Koskov and delivers him to a pipeline control station where Q (Desmond Llewelyn) has rigged up a special "pig" (container) that will run through the oil pipe. With the help of Rosika Miklos (Julie T. Wallace), a large, busty, Czech woman working for British intelligence, Bond loads Koskov into the pig, which then carries the defector across the border into Austria.

In a British Secret Service rural safe house, M and British Defense Minister Sir Frederick Gray (Geoffrey Keen) interrogate Koskov, who claims to have defected because of a dangerous secret plan masterminded by General Leonid Pushkin (John Rhys-Davies), new head of the KGB. The plan, codenamed "Smert Spyoneum" ("death to spies"), aims at assassinating as many top Western spies as possible. Koskov believes that the West will retaliate, the intelligence operations of all the major powers will be decimated, and the risk of a nuclear conflagration increased. Bond is skeptical of Koskov's claim, but is ordered by M to return to MI6 headquarters. As the interrogation session continues, a highly skilled Bond-like secret agent, Necros (Andreas Wisniewski), presumably sent by the KGB and posing as the milk deliveryman, penetrates the safe house. After a superbly staged fight between Necros and a British agent in the kitchen, incorporating an electric knife and a piping hot grill, Necros drugs Koskov and extracts him via a helicopter. M is, quite naturally, humiliated.

Based on the information acquired from Koskov, Bond is assigned the task of assassinating General Pushkin. Bond is reluctant to take the job because he's dealt with Pushkin in the past and found him to be an honorable opponent, unlikely to initiate such a potentially catastrophic program of assassinations. Bond realizes, however, that if he doesn't take the assignment, another double-0 will, and his replacement will have less reason to doubt Koskov's information. Miss Moneypenny (Caroline Bliss) identifies the name of the female cellist and upon returning to Bratislava, Bond begins by locating Kara. She is under close KGB surveillance, but, using a ruse, Bond sneaks her into his car – another one of those modified Aston Martins furnished by Q. Czech police and army units, including tanks, are soon in pursuit. Bond makes use of the car's full range of features, including a police scanner, rockets, a laser system that separates a pursuing car from its chassis, rocket propulsion for an extra boost, special traction for the ice, and, finally, the auto-destruct. By then, Bond and Kara are close to the Austrian border and are able to use the case of her cello as a makeshift toboggan to slide down the final hill, as Czech gunners fire away. James and Kara yell to the border guards as they race past the checkpoint, "We've nothing to declare . . . except the cello."

Bond learns that Kara had been Koskov's girlfriend. It was Koskov who bought her cello for her, and it's no ordinary cello. It's a priceless Stradivarius called the "Lady Rose." Bond lets Kara believe that he's a friend of Koskov sent to rescue her. In Vienna, the two spend time together, though not in the manner by which Bond usually entertains his women. He's even gentlemanly enough to ask for a suite in the Hotel Swatzenberg with two bedrooms. Bond enlists Saunders to check on how Koskov came up with the money for a Stradivarius. The two agree to meet later at the Prater Park fairgrounds. In the meantime, Bond and Kara begin to enjoy each other's company, riding the Prater Wheel together.

While Bond is amusing himself, we learn a bit more about Koskov's connections. The former Soviet general now works for a corrupt American arms dealer, Brad Whitaker (Joe Don Baker), who harbors delusions of grandeur. Whitaker's headquarters in Tangiers is decorated with wax models of some of the great conquerors (and madmen) of history, from Ghengis Khan and Napoleon to Hitler. Whitaker has $50 million of the KGB's money for arms but has yet to deliver. He wants to parlay that $50 million into ten times as much via a complicated venture. He'll use the money to buy diamonds, then trade the diamonds for opium in Afghanistan, refine the opium into heroin, and sell the heroin in New York for $500 million. Pushkin is getting impatient however, so Whitaker and Koskov have hatched the "Smert Spyoneum" plot to entice the British Secret Service into assassinating Pushkin for them. Necros works for Koskov, so both Koskov's defection and his subsequent recovery were staged for the benefit of MI6.

Saunders keeps his rendezvous with Bond at the fairground and the two finally seem to connect and develop some mutual respect. It doesn't last long, however, because Necros has showed up disguised as a balloon vendor and murders Saunders in an ingenious way. The idea is to inflame Bond's desire for revenge so he'll move against Pushkin. It works and soon, in a magnificently effective and pivotal scene for the film, Bond isolates Pushkin in his hotel room, threatening to assassinate the KGB head, as his orders from M require. Pushkin is dumbfounded that he is suspected of ordering spy assassinations and struggles desperately to find a way to gain Bond's confidence. The pair agrees on a remarkable counterplot to draw out the real villains.

Later, the story moves to Tangiers and Afghanistan, as Koskov proceeds with Whitaker's plan for exponential capital growth. Bond briefly loses and later regains Kara's trust. In Afghanistan, the pair finds themselves at the mercy of a sadistic jailer (Ken Sharrock), who plans to have his way with Kara. With the aid of a special key chain provided by Q, Bond engineers an escape, generously releasing a fellow prisoner, Kamran Shah (Art Malik), while he's at it. That proves fortuitous, since Shah is the head of the local Mujahadeen resistance fighters. In a splendidly filmed and directed finale, the Mujahadeen and Bond attack the Soviet base. Bond seizes control of the plane loaded with opium, but still has Necros to deal with in a dramatic aerial confrontation.

Production Values: When Dalton replaced Moore after a six-year hiatus in the Bond series, Dalton wanted to put his own stamp on the Bond character rather than mimic either Connery's tough and ironic quality or Moore's wisecracking flippancy and suave passivity. After reading some of the Fleming novels, Dalton expressed interest in doing the character more like Fleming had conceived him: intelligent, ruthless, and darkly emotional. The ad campaign for Dalton's first film touted him as "the most dangerous Bond yet." John Glen and scriptwriters Richard Malbaum and Michael G. Wilson took the opportunity to return to the kind of intelligent, down-to-earth, adult script that had existed in the early days of the series, in such movies as From Russia with Love. Although The Living Daylights includes some high-voltage action, it's mostly concentrated in a limited number of set pieces. That leaves plenty of film time for the drama and character interactions with some real depth. If you love your Bond with twists and intrigue, you'll find this outing a welcome change of pace.

The screenplay took its name from a Fleming short story, but what the short story encompassed was pretty much covered in the film's first quarter hour or so: the defecting Russian, the blond cellist passed off as a sniper, and Bond choosing not to kill her. The rest of the screenplay was original. The early scenes of this film nicely establish the new Bond's character. First, we see him as a man of action and cunning. Then we are reminded about his way with women, as he lands on Linda's yacht. Later, we see him as the elegant cultured man, as comfortable in a concert hall as on a mission. This film also emphasizes Bond's solid intuition. Sometimes he makes decisions without actually knowing himself exactly why he did so, but trusting his subconscious impulses. He understood intuitively that Kara could not be an assassin and that letting her live might later help unravel the threads of a mystery.

Another nice aspect of this film is that it touches on some real life, contemporary political issues, especially the Afghanistan War. At the time, Americans viewed the Mujahadeen as freedom fighters fighting against Soviet oppressors. After the Soviets quit Afghanistan, the Mujahadeen gave rise to the Taliban, who no longer appeared so noble or heroic to the American public. It puts a whole other light on this film to imagine that one of Kamran Shah's followers could have been Osama Bin Laden!

The Living Daylights gives Bond fans more three-dimensional characters than we're used to encountering in such films. Saunders and Bond have a much more complex relationship than we usually observe between Bond and fellow agents, other than the regulars like M and Q. Pushkin, the KGB chief, is very nicely rendered. His interaction with Whitaker is exceptional as is his tense meeting with Bond. Best of all, however, is the handling of Kara Milovy as a character and her chemistry with Bond. She's neither a bimbo nor one of those tough henchwomen or enemy spies. She's a talented musician with sensitivity and intelligence, but totally naïve about the spy game. Not since Tracy Draco have we seen Bond romance a girl in the way that he does Kara, instead of simply bedding her. Whether motivated by the AIDS epidemic or not, it's a welcome touch.

The action scenes are mostly outstanding. The opening pre-credit sequence at Gibraltar may not be among the top five such sequences in the series but is certainly in the upper half. I love its cute ending on the yacht with the gal in a swimsuit. The Aston Martin Volante chase scene seems a bit of a rehash to me, but I really enjoyed the assassination scene at Prater Park and all of the action sequences set in Afghanistan. The title song, performed by the Norwegian group A-Ha is forgettable but otherwise John Barry's final score for the series is excellent. It is fully and effectively orchestrated. He integrates both the theme song and the standard Bond themes along the way, as well as a secondary song, "Where Has Everyone Gone."

Timothy Dalton is my second favorite Bond after the young Sean Connery (the first four films). I not only rate Dalton above Pierce Brosnan, Roger Moore, and the woeful George Lazenby, but well above the aging Connery of Never Say Never Again and a shade above the middle-aged Connery of Diamonds Are Forever and You Only Live Twice. Here's a Bond that is handsome, rugged, energetic, forceful, and intelligent. He's got the cold, cruel edge that the character was meant to have and some smoldering emotional depth. He shows emotions like exasperation, thirst for revenge, and tender romantic feelings better than his competitors. There's an admirable rakish insouciance about the man that sets him apart. Watch, for example, the look that comes into those narrow green eyes when as he bends over the fallen Saunders. Or, consider when you last heard Bond say something as insubordinate as "Stuff my orders!" The rap against Dalton from reviewers like Roger Ebert is that he has no sense of humor, but I totally disagree. Dalton's sense of humor is simply more subtle and intelligent than Roger Moore's overly obvious and supercilious approach. Dalton was the first Bond to have full command of the role from his very first film. It's a powerful performance from a quality actor. Some of Dalton's other work includes The Lion in Winter (1968) and Flash Gordon (1980).

Some reviewers find Maryam D'Abo a disappointment as a Bond girl. She's not a stereotypical sexy beauty, tantalizing bimbo, or sadistic bitch like many of the others, but she has a natural beauty, sensitivity, and accomplishment that few Bond girls possess. Most importantly, she and Dalton manage some genuine romantic chemistry with one another. Also in the Bond girl department, Kell Tyler is memorable in a brief role as the simpering Linda, a playgirl on a yacht, as the pre-credit scene comes to a close.

The film's one glaring weakness relative to other Bond films is the lack of a high quality villain. Joe Don Baker, playing Brad Whitaker, hams it up and gets too little screen time to make much of an impression. You can catch Baker in such other films as The Natural (1984), Goldeneye (1995), and Tomorrow Never Dies (1997). Dutch actor Jeroen Krabbé is too obviously devious, making it too easy for Bond to smell a rat during the faked defection and interrogation scenes. Krabbé appeared elsewhere in Soldier of Orange (1977), Spetters (1980), The Prince of Tides (1991), and The Fugitive (1993). Andreas Wisniewski is quite effective as the henchman who has Bond-like skills of his own. Ken Sharrock is a menacing presence as the jailer in Afghanistan.

There are some excellent supporting performances in this film, including John Rhys-Davies as Gen. Pushkin, Thomas Wheatley as Saunders, and Art Malik as Kamran Shah. Rhys-Davies has seen work in such films as Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Victor/Victoria (1982), and the entire Lord of the Rings cycle, in which he plays Gimli, the dwarf.

Bottom-Line: If you purchase the Special Edition DVD, you'll get a whole host of extras with this film. First off, there are two documentaries, one a 36-minute "Inside The Living Daylights" piece, narrated by Patrick Macnee, which includes some interview footage with Dalton, and the second a 44-minute biography of Fleming entitled "Ian Fleming– 007's Creator." There's also an audio commentary track featuring mainly director John Glen. Here is my Overall Certified Gold Bond Rating for this fine film, using my system that facilitates comparisons across the series:

Bond: Timothy Dalton Rating: 5/5

Villain: Brad Whitaker (Joe Don Baker) Rating: 1/5

Henchmen: General Georgi Koskov (Jeroen Krabbé) 3/5; Necros (Andreas Wisniewski) 4/5, Jailer in Afghanistan (Ken Sharrock) 4/5 Overall Rating: 4/5

Fellow agents/allies: Saunders (Thomas Wheatley) 4/5; Kamran Shah (Art Malik) 4/5; General Leonid Pushkin (John Rhys-Davies) 5/5 Rating: 4/5

Bond girls: Kara Milovy (Maryam d'Abo), Rosika Miklos (Julie T. Wallace) Rating: 5/5

Colleagues: M (Robert Brown) 5/5; Q (Desmond Llewellyn) 5/5; Miss Moneypenny (Caroline Bliss) 2/5; Sir Frederick Gray (Geoffrey Keen) 4/5; General Anatol Gogol (Walter Gotell) 4/4; Felix Leiter (John Terry) 3/5 Overall Rating: 4/5

Storyline: Defecting Russian general, illegal arms peddling, diamonds for opium, chemistry with Kara, twists Rating: 5/5

Action: Gibraltar training exercise 5/5, lake and border chase 4/5, carnival assassination 5/5, escape from Afghanistan base 4/5, attack on base and cargo plane fight 5/5 Overall Rating: 5/5

Toys: Pipeline pig 3/5, fully-loaded Aston Martin Volante 3/5, whistle-activated key chain 3/5 Overall Rating: 3/5

Drama/Character Development: Down-to-earth, realistic plot with political relevance, good chemistry between Bond and Kara Milovy, twists Rating: 5/5

Music: Mediocre theme song sung by A-Ha, John Barry's excellent and final score Rating: 4/5

Locales: Concert hall in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia, rural MI6 debriefing center, Vienna, Tangiers, Afghanistan Rating: 4/5

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Overall Certified Gold Bond Rating: 49/60
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You may also enjoy my other reviews for 007 films:

Casino Royale (1954), non-series, television
Dr. No (1962)
From Russia with Love (1963)
Goldfinger (1964)
Thunderball (1965)
You Only Live Twice (1967)
Casino Royale (1967), non-series
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
Live and Let Die (1973)
The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Moonraker (1979)
For Your Eyes Only (1981)
Octopussy (1983)
Never Say Never Again (1983), non-series
A View to a Kill (1985)
Licence to Kill (1989)
GoldenEye (1995)
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
The World Is Not Enough (1999)
Die Another Day (2002)

Recommended:
Yes

Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older