James Bond 007's mission is to firstly, organise the defection of a top Soviet general. When the general is re-captured, Bond heads off to find why an ally of General Koskov was sent to murder him. Bond's mission continues to take him to Afghanistan, where he must confront an arms dealer known as Brad Whitaker. Everything eventually reveals itself to Bond.
Cast of The Living Daylights
The Living Daylights Ratings & Reviews
- Mister ArnMay 22, 2025Great action with a story that, right after watching, I can't remember what happened.
- 匚卂尺ㄥJanuary 28, 2025( ^o^)︻デ一 The Living Daylights is the fifteenth film of the James Bond franchise which saw Timothy Dalton take his first turn as the titular MI6 agent who pitted against an arms dealer and a renegade Soviet general. This is the fourth consecutive film directed by John Glen, based on the screenplay by Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson that based the first act on the original Ian Fleming short story “The Living Daylights”. The Living Daylights has a run time of 130 minutes with barely a moment that doesn’t keep one engaged in watching. Timothy Dalton’s first turn as Bond meant a change in tone in the character which became more serious given his profession but not humorless, while not overtly romantic Dalton’s Bond does know who to put on the charm when appropriate. Maryam d’Abo turn as Kara Milovy was a weird mixture of naïveté throughout most of the film with unexpected levelheadedness during the climax, however this appears more to the script which d’Abo was able to negotiate to make the character likeable and while not the best Bond girl, a good one. The villainous duo of arms dealer Brad Whitaker and renegade Soviet General Georgi Koskov played by Joe Don Baker and Jeroen Krabbe respectfully creating an interesting antagonist combination against Bond, while Whitaker was technically in charge of everything it was Koskov doing most of the heavy lifting especially since Andreas Wisniewski’s East German-born Necros appeared to be Koskov’s henchman; all three men performed well as each gave Bond a different challenge. From start to finish, this was an adventure spy film with great stunt and chase scenes that spanned the globe which carried over from the Moore era of the franchise while also allowing Dalton’s Bond to show his chops when it came to getting things done. And finally, a-ha’s “The Living Daylights” is one of my personal favorite title songs from the franchise. The Living Daylights was the first James Bond film I watched all the way through when growing up and thus it has a special place in my personal nostalgia. With that in mind, in comparing this film to its predecessors only On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is better than this film and Goldfinger just below it. Timothy Dalton’s first foray as James Bond was the jolt the franchise needed, and it created a great spy adventure film that is very rewatchable whenever someone is in the mood for a great Bond film.
