The Living Daylights

I think people are a bit too hard on Tim.

I never really got the dislike for him, and I totally understand and respect the producer's decision to make the next Bond a radical departure from the last. James is more close to how Ian Fleming wrote him in the books, and considering how popular Daniel Craig's Bond potrayal is I feel it's time to give Dalton another shot. And his first story isn't a bad one, with James working his way up through a KGB arms operation after several agents have been killed, as he soon meets a young orchestra player Kara who is caught up in all the double crosses and plans. I quite like Timothy Dalton and always have but it is sort of a toss up as to which movie of his I like better, he plays Bond with a more rough around the edges view like, problems with authority, not hesitating to threaten or kill to complete the mission but still have the charm and gadgets that we know the character so well for. Connery had those qualities too but the films never took themselves too seriously, where as this one does though it still has humor and a touch of silliness. But it works for me, and this is one of my favorites so far. Maryam d'Abo is lovely as Kara, a kind and quite innocent figure that gets swept up in all this spy business and yeah she's a bit of a klutz but neither is she a brainless fool and I quite liked the chemistry she had with Dalton, granted they bicker like a married couple at times but it's nice to see Bond actually spend time with her and get to know her before the adventure really begins which is a rare occurence in this series but when it's done they do it right. I will say that I'm happy Joe Don Baker got a much better role in the Bond series, cause his character Whitaker is so blah he's just a fanboy for war and weapons, and doesn't have an interesting plan though it's probably the most realistic villain plan ever, exchanging weapons for opium and diamonds to further supply his arms dealing. It's really the only weak point of the movie. But the rest is pretty good! The action scenes start strong from the beginning, and I have to give credit for Dalton wanting to do all his own stunts because not many actors are that commited to a role, and it has my favorite gadget laden car chase so far. It feels very new in terms of production, slowly shifting gears from the 70s to late 80s Bond to more modern cinema. It doesn't really feel 80s though A-Ha of Take On Me fame did the main theme which is one of my absolute favorites of the whole series, it just feels like a well made Bond film that I can safely say tops A View To A Kill. 4 stars, 7.5/10, you should definitely check it out, and next time we look at my favorite of Dalton's films. Will it hold up? Only one way to find out as we view Licence To Kill.