Double-ovember: The Living Daylights

WORTHY

Do yourself a favor.   If you haven’t seen The Living Daylights before or if you haven’t in a while, watch it again...and if you come away thinking it isn’t one of the most well made, WORTHY Bond films in the series…Please…PLEASE…tell me how on earth I’m wrong.  I usually save my signature catchphrase for the end.  However, after being recently blown away by this fifteenth installment of Bond, I wanted to put proper emphasis on how good it still is.  For me, there is only one small flaw that I can find in it.  And that flaw is Timothy Dalton.

Now, that is not to say Timothy Dalton is bad.  He is actually quite good here.  However, I just don’t look at him as James Bond.  Dalton is considered to be the roughest of the seven Bonds. (Including David Niven)  He was Daniel Craig before Daniel Craig.  The difference between the two is that Craig, though rough and tumble as well, comes to us at Bond’s beginnings.  Dalton’s Bond comes to us as an already established agent.  Craig’s Bond is built up before our eyes, whereas Dalton is forced upon us.  For two actors who were such big departures from their predecessors, Craig’s transition into the role is much smoother.  Dalton, to me, always seemed like another agent aiding the real 007.  Still, this is merely my personal preference.  A digressive critique of the well constructed film surrounding him.

The plot of The Living Daylights is right in the wheelhouse for Bond.  Russian defectors, megalomaniac arms dealers, governmental power plays, political assassinations, double-crosses, triple-crosses, CIA, MI6, KGB.  All there.  The first thing that really impressed me though, was the quality of the action.  Everything from the set pieces to the execution.  For a film made 25 years ago, the action is still WORTHY by today’s standards.  Any fan of the franchise will be in heaven during the terrific, gadget filled Bond car chase sequence.

It can be argued that The Living Daylights is a tad light in the Bond girl department.  The film revolves around the character of Kara Milovy, played by Maryam d'Abo.  Her naiveté and easy manipulation by Bond and others does weaken her as a whole.  And I do wish they would have played up her KGB sniper angle more.  However, I do give her props for actually taking action to help Bond during the film's climax.  With a little more filling out of her character, she could have really been a great foil for Bond.

There is a character named Sgt. Hatred on the amazing television show The Venture Brothers.  And I am about 99% certain he was inspired by Joe Don Baker's character Brad Whitaker.  Whitaker steals every scene that he is in and has a great showdown with Bond at the end.  He completely outshines Jeroen Krabbe's General Georgi Koskov and even the great John Rhys-Davies.

The Living Daylights should be held up higher in the Bond lexicon than it is.  It seems like it has almost been lost in time.  I recommend you find it...Sing along with A-ha...watch it...and for consistency's sake...tell me I'm wrong.