My Review for The Living Daylights

The Living Daylights was the fifteenth James Bond movie and was released in 1987. When Roger Moore retired from the role, the producers hired Timothy Dalton to play James Bond. Dalton was asked to replace Sean Connery after You Only Live Twice, but declined. The plot of the movie is taken from a short story of the same name by Ian Fleming.This was the last of the Ian Fleming story names that would be used until 2006's Casino Royale.

The story has Bond helping Russian general Georgi Koskov defect to England, only to be double-crossed by him. Jeroen Krabbe plays the Russian general for laughs, so he is a weak foe for Dalton. Of course, he has a blonde KGB assassign working for him by the name of Necros. He is in the spirit of Red Grant in From Russia With Love, and is the physical baddie of the picture.

The Bond girl this time around is Maryam d'Abo. She plays Kara Milovy, a cellist who is Krabbe's girlfriend. She is set up by him and helps Bond in Tangiers where an arms dealer played by Joe Don Baker is exchanging Russian weaponry to Koskov for opium. Joe Don Baker is a very good villain in this movie. His home consists of a giant war room, where every world leader is created in his image. The final fight between Bond and him is suspenseful and exciting. The only complaint I have is that he's not in the movie too long.

I was not a very big fan of The Living Daylights. I thought Timothy Dalton was a very good James Bond but the story was somewhat weak. In my opinion, I expected Dalton to have a stronger female lead than what was presented. The main villain is arrested and is completely forgettable, however I did joy the return of the Aston Martin to the series. The Living Daylights also marked the end of film composer John Barry, whose music was an essential part in creating the cinematic feel for James Bond.

I give The Living Daylights 2 1/2 stars out of 5.