Right time for a new post with new stuff in it (or not a revisited post at any rate) and this post will be on another James Bond film and this one is from the 1980s and it is Timothy Dalton's debut in the role: The Living Daylights.
So with that let's gear up, get that sniper rifle and cello (but not at the same time!) and give this un a look.....
And yep the usual warning is coming.... PLOT SPOILERS WILL BE AHEAD!!!
STORY
The story begins set in Bratislava in Czechoslovakia where Bond (Dalton) has been assigned to help the defection of a KGB officer, General Koskov (Jerone Krabbe) by covering his escape during a classical music performance at a concert hall. During the mission however Bond notices that the sniper assigned to assassinate Koskov is a female cellist from the orchestra but instead of killing her, Bond shoots the rifle from her hands. Bond then uses the Trans-Siberian pipeline to smuggle Koskov across the border into Austria and then he is taken on a flight out to Britain. During a post defection debriefing Koskov informs the MI6 that the KGB have invoked an old policy "Smiert Spionom" that translates into English as "Death to spies" under the orders of the KGB General Leonid Pushkin (John Ryhs-Davies). Koskov however is soon adbucted from the safe-house and presumed to have been taken back to Russia.
Meanwhile Bond has been assigned to kill Pushkin in an effort to prevent any further tensions rising between the Soviet Union and the West. Bond has his doubts however that Pushkin would have been behind this but he decides to carry on with the mission. Bond then returns to Bratislava to track down the cellist, Kara Milovy (Maryam D'Abo) and he has his suspicions that Koskov's defection was in fact staged and he also discovers that Kara was Koskov's girlfriend. Bond then convinces Kara that he is a friend of Koskov's and that they will be reuniting with him soon. They soon escape Bratislava together and evade the KGB as they head over the Austrian border.
Later on Bond meets with his MI6 contact, Saunders (Thomas Wheatley) at the Prater park in Vienna where Saunders gives Bond information of a number of arms deals going on between Koskov and an American arms dealer, Brad Whitaker (Joe DonBaker). Saunders however is soon killed by Necros (Andreas Wisniewski) a henchman working for Koskov and Whitaker and he leaves another calling card that has "Smiert Spionom" written on it (as seen at the start of the film when one of the other MI6 agents was killed).
Bond and Kara then leave for Tangier where Bond confronts Pushkin who denies any accusations of "Smirt Spionom" being deployed under his command but he reveals that Koskov was about to be arrested for embezzling government funds. Bond and Koskov then decide to join forces together against Koskov and Bond stages Pushkin's assassination, which enables them to find out what Koskov is up to. However Kara in the meantime has contacted Koskov who has her drug Bond and he then captures him and they fly to a Soviet air base in Afghanistan where Koskov betrays Kara by handing her over along with Bond to being imprisoned. Bond however manages to escape the prison with Kara and they are soon helped by fellow prisoner, Kamran Shah (Art Malik) who is the leader of the local Mujahideen. And together they work toward taking down Koskov and stopping his nefarious schemes.....
THOUGHTS AND CASTING OF BOND BACKGROUND
After the retirement of Roger Moore from the role, The Living Daylights marked a fine continuation and reboot of the franchise which is helped well by the casting of Timothy Dalton in the part which helped give Bond a different side to his personality. And here Bond is far less about the glib one-liners and the suave charm, he's more about a man who has become somewhat cynical about his job and has a more serious side to his nature and this helped to make Bond a bit more of a three dimensional character.
The film's casting for Bond actually saw not only Dalton considered for the role (who was already considered to play Bond back in the late 1960s for "On Her Majesty's Secert Service" but being only in his early 20's at the time he was too young for the role) but also other actors such as Sam Neill, future Bond, Pierce Brosnan. Sam Neill however while he was considered a potential Bond was later rejected by Albert Broccoli who felt he wasn't right for the role (and a good call too as he wasn't really in my humble opinion).
Brosnan however was one of the strongest contenders for the part but his contractual obligation to the hit TV show he starred in at the time, Remington Steele complicated things. The show at the time of the audition had been cancelled due to poor ratings but having heard word of Brosnan's offer for the role of Bond, saw the show's interest resurge and this caused Broccoli to withdraw the offer of the part for Brosnan as he didn't want the character of Bond to be associated with a TV show.
PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (May contain spoilers!)
As for the performances well they are all pretty good starting with Timothy Dalton who is excellent as the new James Bond (or at the time anyway) and here he gives Bond a more serious and hard edged exterior to Roger Moore's take on the character. But that's not to say that Dalton doesn't manage some one-liners in the film as he still provides some moments of humour so that his performance isn't overly serious.
Dalton's best moments include the scene near the start where after he helps Koskov escape, his MI6 ally, Saunders tells him off for not killing Kara. And as Saunders says Bond's orders were to kill the sniper, Bond angrily says "STUFF my orders! I only kill professionals. That girl didn't know one end of her rifle from the other. Go ahead. Tell M what you want. If he fires me, I'll thank him for it!". And he then says " Whoever she was, I must have scared the living daylights out of her".
Then there is the scene where Bond picks up Kara and they try to make their escape from the watchful eyes of the KGB but Kara insists that they go back and get her cello but Bond angrily says "No way!". And then it cuts to Bond sitting alone in the car, frustrated, waiting on Kara to come back as she soon does with her cello in a bulky case and Bond hastily grabs it and shoves it into the back seat of the car and he says to her "Why didn't you learn to play the violin?!".
Another good scene is when Bond and Kara try to escape the KGB in Bond's Aston Martin V8 which has the usual spy gadgets installed (by Q branch). And as they are being chased Bond flicks a switch on his car and Kara asks what he is doing and Bond says "I had a few optional extras installed!". And Bond activates a laser which derails one of the KGB car's wheels right from the car itself and Kara looks on amazed asking "What happened?!" and Bond glibly replies "Salt corrosion!".
Then comes the scene where Bond confronts Pushkin in his hotel room and he holds him at gunpoint and Pushkin holds some flowers in his hands (intended for his wife). And Pushkin says "I trust this isn't a social call, 007?" and Bond says "Correct, you should have brought lillies!". And as Pushkin says to Bond "Its a question of trust. Who do you believe? Koskov or me?" and Bond says "If I trusted Koskov we wouldn't be talking. But as long as you're alive, we'll never know what he's up to" and Pushkin resignedly says "Then I must die".
And last of all is the scene where Bond says to Kara that he has to go after Koskov but she doesn't want to lose him and she yells an obscenity is Russian at him, hitting Bond with a pillow. And Bond laughs and says "What is that supposed to mean?!" and Kara snaps "Back end of horse!" and Bond laughs says "Are you calling me a horse's arse?!".
Maryam D'Abo is also pretty good in her role as Kara, Bond's main love interest in the film although it has to be said that D'Abo isn't quite as glamorous as most of the Bond girl actresses but she is still attractive and appealing enough to be in the role.
D'Abo has some good moments aswell although I won't mention too many so I will keep it short (to keep this post's length down a little!). But I will mention the scene where Bond tells the truth of his relationship to Koskov and Kara angrily says "Liar! You pretended to love me! I telephoned Whitaker. Georgi was there. He told me the truth! You're a KGB agent, using me to find and kill him!". And Bond soon discovers that Kara has drugged him and before he passes out he grabs her arm and he rips sleeve of her top to reveal the scar on her arm and he says "You got that when the rifle was shot out of your hands". And Kara asks "How did you know?" and Bond groggily says "Because I was the man.....sent to kill you...." and Kara asks "Why didn't you?" but Bond passes out before he can answer.
Then there is the scene where Bond and Kara escape over the border from the KGB and he hands Kara a passport and he says to her "Wave this!" and he yells "We have nothing to declare!" and Kara adds "Except this cello!" and her voice echoes through the valley. And lastly there is the scene where Kara get's angry at Bond later for insisting he go after Koskov and she yells at him "You dumb, stupid, stubborn, zadnyaya chast' loshadi!!!" which she reveals to be "back end of horse!" in English.
Jeroen Krabbe is also pretty good as the suave yet villainous double agent, Georgi Koskov. Krabbe also has some good moments in the film that include the scene where Koskov is sneaked out of the concert hall by Bond and they drive off. And Koskov says to Bond "The sniper was a woman" and Bond says "I noticed" and Koskov says "Some of the best KGB shots are women!".
Then there is the scene later on where Koskov has captured Bond and they are enroute to Afghanistan on a plane and he talks to him. And during the scene Koskov says to Bond "I'm sorry, James. For you I have great affection, but we have an old saying: duty has no sweethearts" and Bond says in return "We have an old saying too, Georgi. And you're full of it!".
Then after this there is the next scene where they arrive at the Soviet airbase and Koskov betrays Kara aswell. And Koskov in the scene says to a Colonel at the airbase "Take her too, she is a defector!" and Kara slaps him in the face. And Koskov quietly says to her "I will be compassionate with you and try to have you assigned to the Siberian Philharmonic Orchestra. They're quite good despite their bourgeois repetoire!".
Joe Don Baker who here makes his first appearance in the Bond franchise (and later appeared in Pierce Brosnan's debut, Goldeneye) is not too bad as Brad Whitaker but his part is somewhat underwritten and as such he doesn't make for the most effective villain here.
Baker however still has some good moments in the film and I will mention his last scene for time which is when Bond confronts Whitaker at his place and the arms dealer is carry out a simulation of a famous battle in history with toy soldiers. And Bond says to Whitaker "I'm here for Koskov" and Whitaker says "Hell you can have him! As soon as I get my opium! Now where is it?" and Bond says "Up in smoke" leaving Whitaker stunned "You burned up half a billion bucks?!" and Bond nods. And Whitaker then says "That's too bad, Bond. You could've been a live rich man, instead of a poor dead one!". And this leads into their climactic gunfight.
John Ryhs-Davies is excellent as General Pushkin who takes sides with Bond as he too is after Koskov for insubordination.
Rhys-Davies best scenes come when he Pushkin is confronted by Bond in his hotel room where he says to Bond, while being held at gunpoint "I take this isn't a social call, 007" and Bond looks off at Pushkin's flowers for his wife and says "Correct you should have brought lillies!". And then as Bond talks about his mistrust for Koskov, Pushkin says to him "I am in the dark as much as you. It is a question of trust. Who do you believe? Koskov, or me?!". And Bond says if he trusted Koskov they wouldn't be talking and then "But as long as you're alive, we'll never know what he's up to" and Pushkin then says solemnly "Then I must die".
And in the next scene Pushkin's fake assassination is staged as Bond shoots him and Pushkin wheeled away in a stretcher apparently dead, his body bloodied from the gunshots and his wife sobbing over him. But after Pushkin is wheeled into a private room he suddenly get's up and walks off like nothing happened! And afterward Pushkin back in his hotel room removes bloody bags attached to his chest and body armour and he says to wife "I'm sorry to put you through that, my dear. For the first time in my life I'm glad that 007 is a good shot!".
Art Malik is also pretty good as Kamran Shah the leader of an Afghan resistance group and he has some good moments such as the one where we see Shah locked in prison and during Bond's fight scene with the abusive jailer, when Bond locks the jailer in a cell, Shah laughs his head off and gives him the finger! And in the scene as Bond is about to leave, Shah asks "Keys. Please?" and Bond throws him the keys to let himself out of the cell. And in the next scene just as Bond and Kara are ambushed by some men in the desert, Shah jumps over the fence and shouts at the men in a foreign tounge. And Bond asks "What did you tell them?" and Shah says "I tell them you not Russian. They not kill you now!".
And later there is the scene where Shah brings Bond and Kara to his place of operations and he speaks with Bond after having a shave, he talks to him with an English accent and says "Thank you both for your help. My name is Kamran Shah. Please forgive the theatricals, it's a hangover from my Oxford days!".
And the last few cast members I will mention are Andreas Wisniewski who does not too badly as Necros, Koskov's henchman and he affects a fairly decent English accent during the scene where Necros raids the British safe-house and grabs Koskov and overall makes a fairly imposing henchman. Robert Brown does well in his role as M, taking over from when Bernard Lee died (back in 1981) but he is not as memorable or as good in the role as Lee himself was.
Caroline Bliss also doesn't do too badly as the newly cast Miss Moneypenny and she's remains a bit easier on the eye than Lois Maxwell had become at that point even though Caroline get's a terrible line about Bond can come around and listen to her "Barry Manilow collection".
Thomas Wheatley also fairs well in his role as Bond's contact in the MI6, Saunders who keeps berating Bond earlier on during their time together especially when he turns up late for the concert hall "Saunders. Head of Section "V" Vienna. You're BLOODY late. This is a mission, not a fancy dress ball!".
However (and I'm updating this on 26.07.16 as I had forgotten to originally!) the weakest link in the cast by far is John Terry who is utterly forgettable as Felix Leiter and he has no presence whatsoever in the film and he delivers all his lines in the lamest fashion possible.
And his worst line is of course his first where Bond is lead in by two girls to Leiter and the CIA agent says to Bond "Just what the hell are you trying to do, 007? Start World War III?!". Uggghhh! I mean it wouldn't be so bad if it was a better actor in the part but Terry is just beyond bad in this role and for me he was the most miscast actor of all time in the whole Bond series.
And last of all is Desmond Llewellyn who is great as ever as Q, MI6's quartermaster who supplies Bond with all his special gadgets and cars.
And Llewellyn's best line of course in the whole film comes when at Q branch some of the Q's men test out a boom box that is also a rocket launcher and one of the men tests it while it plays a tape and fires a rocket which destroys a target. And Q turns to Bond and smiles saying "Something we're making for the Americans. It's called a "Ghetto Blaster".
DIRECTOR AND MUSIC
Moving onto the director, John Glen does an excellent job here with the film having already previously directed the last three Bond films. Glen also with the casting of Dalton manages to give the film a grittier tone than before which he would go on to develop further in the follow up Licence to Kill. Glen by then was also no stranger to Bond and he more than confidently handles the film's action and he paces the film pretty well overall despite the odd lag here and there. This proved to be Glen's second to last Bond film and its overall a solid effort from him and again he showed here that he remains one of the strongest director's to have worked on the Bond series.
As for the music, John Barry contributes his last score here for the series and its a cracking one at that as it features all Barry's usual hallmarks of his lush sweeping orchestrations but also includes some electronic synthesizer aswell which is pretty well used and incorporated into his take on the Bond theme during the film's action. The film's title song is also excellent and was written and performed by the Norwegian Band, A-ha with orchestration also by John Barry and for me it remains one of my favourite Bond film theme songs.
FLAWS
As for flaws.....well Living Daylights isn't quite perfect as it has some issues and to start off I think the one thing it really lacks is a strong villain and it actually has too many sub villains such as Whitaker and Necros as well as Koskov being the main one. Koskov does make for a fairly effective sleazy schmoozer but he lacks the impact to being an threatening villain but instead he just comes across as being an overgrown naughty boy who ends up getting caught by the headmaster (or General Pushkin in this case! Sorry that was a SPOILER!!). And Whitaker remains a pretty bland villain and for an actor as good as Jon Don Baker, his role remained pretty underwritten and undeveloped, which is a pity.
Another problem with the film is to do with the pacing at times as the film has its great moments of action but at other times the film does feel a bit flat and even boring now and then. And this might be to do with the somewhat lacklustre villains, you just feel there are times where there is less for the audience to get their teeth into. And this is especially noticeable in the film's rather anti-climactic fight scene between Whitaker and Bond, it doesn't make for a great fight at all, just a bit of cat and mouse which ends all a bit too suddenly.
You could also even maybe argue that Dalton does appear a little uncomfortable in playing some of Bond's humour in the film, even though he doesn't do too bad a job at it but it looks like he's invested so much in playing Bond seriously when it comes to the humour it doesn't feel that natural. Dalton took that one step even further in Licence to Kill where he drastically cut down the one-liners and humour in his performance. And it was great to see Dalton has since then proved that he can play comedic parts wonderfully well as he did in Hot Fuzz as the villainous Skinner. But here Dalton still does a fine job with Bond overall but he does still fall a little short in the delivering on the humour.
Anyway that's it for the flaws!
SUM UP
So to sum up The Living Daylights is a very enjoyable and solid entry in the Bond series, it has some great action in it and Timothy Dalton makes a good James Bond and after Roger Moore's suave one-liners and overacting eyebrows, Dalton gives the character of Bond a more grounded seriousness and a bit of an edge. And yes there are some times issues with pacing and the villains here are less than stellar or effective as the some of the more classic Bond villains. However if you can forgive all that then there is much to recommend here in The Living Daylights and its still worth checking out after nearly 30 years.
And that's it for now and I'll be back again another time with another post.
Till the next one bye for now!
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