Spoiler Warning: This discussion has very few spoilers: some set up from the first act, a general idea of the narrative at hand.
"Stuff my orders. I only kill professionals."
The Living Daylights felt pretty fresh after the wave of Roger Moore films; clearly taking on more of an early 60s Bond tone. Dalton is pretty solid in his first appearance; he has fun with it but knows when to turn on the more tortured, disgruntled Bond when needed.
Look, I’ll get the plot out of the way first. It’s far more convoluted than it had to be, the plan of the main villain just has far too many layers. I found myself lost in the final act, with what he was trying to achieve. The first half of the film establishes a really simple but effective narrative. It sort of falls apart in the end.
This is probably Glen’s best directorial outing with clear and precise action, great stunts with nice character flourishes on top. Bond actually seems to take some interest in the Bond girl throughout this rather than a dismissed sexual object. This is perhaps the first time I’ve seen this since OHMSS. The dialogue is much better here, too, with a nice mix of amusing one-liners and actual plot progression.
The Living Daylights was extremely entertaining. The more focused visual style and tone made this feel totally separate from the Moore era, which was certainly necessary after the way that it ended. One of the best Bonds I’ve seen so far, but still not at the height of the original Connery productions.
Connor Clarke Film 