Alright, we’re back on the Bond train again. I still have yet to also review a movie that I saw in theaters recently. Still, for the most part, we shall be back to talking about Bond, and his adventures! Not only that, but we now dive into the apparently short-lived era, known as the Timothy Dalton one, when he played Bond at least for the next couple films in this series. With that said, let’s talk about the fifteenth installment in the 007 series, The Living Daylights.
Plot: When a Czech arms dealer (Jerome Krabbe) attempts to use opium from Afghanistan to give to Soviet leaders, can Bond (Timothy Dalton), with the help of new friends such as General Leonid Pushkin (John Rhys-Davies), Kara Milovy (Maryam d’Abo), and an army of Afghan civilians stop him from screwing over the country of Afghanistan?
Okay, in addition to this franchise getting yet a new good actor for Bond, who, once again, seems to know how to fill in that role. There are plenty of other good things to enjoy about this film. First off, with the special effects, while still not quite the best for the 1980s, you can likely tell that technology seemed to get progressively better for the film industry at this point in time. This seems to be especially true in the area of the special effects. Again, those may not have been entirely great by today’s standards. Nevertheless, one can say that they end up being very good, considering how just okay they were back in the 1960s, 1970s, or even earlier. Next, there are the characters. Oh man, I’m not sure if this would be the case for the future Bond films, but this one sure seemed to know how to put in the right amount, without adding in any unnecessary characters in the process. Even the villains ended being a very entertaining part of this film. Not to mention that the antagonists, along with some of the other characters, are as fleshed out as can be. Quite honestly, it helps make this film even more better. Also, just a side note, how could you not be more excited to go to the cinemas later on to see Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade, or something film like that? Plus, we even got John Rhys-Davies to play a character in this film, General Leonid Pushkin in this case. Even back when this film was released, this guy has seemed to have the gift of an actor. Nearly ever film that he has played in, be it films like Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade, Escape, Lord Of The Rings, or evening in voice roles in animated movies such as Aladdin & The King Of Thieves, John Rhys-Davies is basically solid gold when it comes to playing in movies. Additionally, people should give this movie credit for good for newer angles this time around. What I mean by that is how this film seemed to make some story points that one didn’t seem to hear of much in some of the other 007 films before this one. So that’s yet another reason to like this film. And wow, how about some of the music in this film? I’m not going to lie, after you hear some of the Czechoslovakian music in this film, or some of true other type of judicial throughout this film, you may yet find yourself more interested in theater, opera music, or something like that. You might also find yourself interested in Middle Eastern culture as well, specifically Afghan culture.
And that’s my review for 007: The Living Daylights. No doubt is it one of the better films in the franchise. It accomplishes some tasks that the ones before this film didn’t seem to do. It has very well-thought out characters, as well as knows how to make good dining for this film. Curious to know how this film ends? Why not rent it On Demand, and see what you think!
Final Grade: A+
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