007 Debriefings: The Living Daylights

The James Bond Franchise is not only one of the longest running film franchises in existence, it’s also one of most money making.

For over 60 years and 25 films, the films have followed James Bond engaging in spy craft (and other activities) in the name of England by defeating all sorts of villains up to different types of plots and schemes.

But what missions are worth taking if you aren’t a film psycho like me who is deciding to watch ALL 25 OF THEM?

Onward to the next film, Dalton Starts His Service:

Mission #14: The Living Daylights

007: James Bond played by Timothy Dalton – I guess with Dalton…less is Moore?

I’m sorry about that.

The best way to describe Dalton as Bond is professional. Not into the cheeky wordplay, the immature jokes or the constant flirtation: Dalton’s Bond is about the mission and performing it efficiently.

He has a steely look of a person who is hardened and not to be messed with.

But he’s doesn’t have the arrogance of Connery, so he’s only intimidating when you cross him.

For this film, Dalton is believable as Bond, though he lacks the charisma of the last three Bonds.

In this film, it’s not that big of a deal: his limited charisma isn’t really something that shows in the film since he’s made to be someone who is meant for succeeding in the mission.

Honestly, I’m already disappointed that he will only have two cracks at Bond: a much more centered and driven Bond would have been an interesting dynamic to go through for multiple films.

Villains: Like many other Bond films, there are two villains in the film, but this has the same dynamic as From Russia With Love where the main villain is actually a background villain. So let’s start with the main villain:

Brad Whitaker played by Joe Don Baker – Baker plays Whitaker as a wannabe Patton and a military obsessive. He has many types of military campaign boards which hides all of his weaponry.

But what Whitaker is an arms dealer who’s trying to obtain enough raw opium to sell so he can fund more arms deals.

He’s honestly an annoying villain who is barely in the film, but is the person who’s running the operation.

General Georgi Koskov played by Jeoren Krabbe – Koskov is an interesting villain mainly because he does something that I would have loved to see more of in other Bond films: trick Bond by acting as an ally.

But Koskov is actually brilliant as a villain in this film. He plays the Soviets, the British, Whitaker and the Mujihideen to his benefit and, honestly, he does it quite well.

The only problem is that this makes him yet another background villain: he’s in the film more than Whitaker, but not by a lot.

And by the time he gets his comeuppance, it’s not really that satisfying.

if you look at what he does, he’s quite impressive. But as a cinematic villain, he’s okay but needs more time on screen.

Bond Girl: Kara Malvoy played by Maryam d’Abo – Well, she’s an immediate improvement from the last Bond Girl, that’s for damn sure!

Kara is an interesting character as she is not a secondary villain, but the romantic partner of the villain.

This leads to the romantic tension of the Bond Girl and Bond to be very low at first. That is, until she realizes what the villain has done.

By the time they do eventually hook up, it’s pretty believable that she would fall for him after all that has happened.

As for the performance, d’Abo plays her quite well: not annoying, is useful and believable in the role and can be fairly charming.

She isn’t one of the best, mind you, but she’s likable and watchable.

Spy Action: Not gonna lie, there are some damn good action scenes in this film.

There are two that I want to highlight:

The first is the beginning action scene which looks like a training course for 00 agents. It’s interesting to see how they train the agents, but the action scene is well done, including a great chase sequence and some great stunts.

The final action scene of the film with the plane full of opium is also incredibly well done. It’s both exciting and the stunts are well done. The whole buildup to it was also incredibly entertaining.

For everything else, from the espionage to some of the gunfights, they are fun to watch and are pretty exciting.

It feels like the action is going to constant improve as time moves forward and this is the start of that improvement.

Theme Song/Opening Credits: “The Living Daylights”, written by Pal Waaktaar, composed by John Barry, performed by a-ha – A good song with some energy to it. Definitely feels more appropriate than a lot of the ballads that were in other Bond films.

As for the opening credits sequence, it’s good but definitely copies elements from other Bond pictures, namely The Spy Who Loved Me and Octopussy.

Conclusion: This film really felt like a rebuke from the Moore films.

While there is comedy in the film, it feels like every other element of the film has comedic parts except Bond.

And honestly, it’s for the better: Bond feels threatening and exciting again, while the elements surrounding Bond make it fun and engaging.

The villains, honestly, are disappointing, but the action, Bond Girl and Dalton himself make up for that small misstep.

To me, the best thing about this movie is that the most important element of the film is the story. Most Bond films rely on a great villain or Bond himself to carry it, but the actual plot and story is very engaging with it’s twists and turns as well as it’s great action sequences.

Again, it’s disappointing that Dalton won’t have more films after Licence to Kill, but it’s a good Bond film that is fun and exciting.

Status: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED