63 replies to this topic

[JimmyBond]

MODERATOR'S NOTE: see post #17 below

[Mr. Blofeld]

MODERATOR'S NOTE: See post #17 below

[Gustav Graves]

Back to Fleming's basics
By Gustav Graves (Gert Jan Waterink)

With 'The Living Daylights', Bond producers Albert R. Broccoli and his stepson Michael G. Wilson not only created one of the best Bond films in the franchise, but also a very good stand-alone spy thriller. It is not loosely based on Ian Fleming's characters. On the contrary, the short novel 'The Living Daylights' has been brought to the screen in perfect detail.

The pre-credits sequence is easily one of the best in the franchise. No stand-ins for newcomer Timothy Dalton. He does the amazing but also credible and believable stunts all by himself. The one-car chase works perfectly and John Barry's modern touch of the Bond theme add's great suspense to it. One of the best Bond openers, together with the pre-credits sequence from 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service', 'The Spy Who Loved Me', 'Moonraker' and 'The World Is Not Enough'.

After the simple, minimalistic main titles from Maurice Binder and A-Ha's amazing Bond tune (Alicia Keys and Jack White must have forgotten to write a terrific tune/melody), Ian Fleming's short story kicks in in which Bond is spying on what seems to be a KGB sniper (Kara Milovy). M's orders are clear: Helping General Georgi Koskov to defect to the UK. Also an important storyline in Fleming's short story: a defection.

It is here where espionage kicks in. By now the audience begins to think Gogol's successor Leonid Pushkin is the real villain. The people responsible for the script want us to believe that Pushkin re-introduces the good old SM(i)ER(t)S(pionnom)H spy assassination lists introduced in 'From Russia With Love'. And Georgi Koskov is the one wanting to escape Pushkin's deadly hands. M's answer to all this: "Kill Pushkin".

But Bond is Bond and he senses trouble. He has a nose for these kind of intelligent schemes and soon he finds out the defection is a big bogus. It was merely an power-hungry attempt of Koskov to bump Pushkin from his trone. And by doing so giving his close ally Whitaker full opportunity to expand his weapons deals. Ultimately, the scheme also foresees in making the British Secret Service look like an incompetent organization, but only because the villains were much smarter for a while. Suddenly, the good old Soviet Union again looks like the 'most dangerous nation on Earth'. Ingenious.

Off course Koskov and Whitaker's scheme falters and soon Pushkin and Bond team up. It is here where we see remarkable similarities with that other spy thriller 'From Russia With Love' in which the villains are shady characters with grey character traits. Where Whitaker and Koskov team up in this film, Rosa Klebb and Kronsteen team up in 'From Russia With Love'. And both duo's are supported by a menacing henchman: Necros and Grant.

Necros is both handsome and deadly as we can see in MI6's Blayden residence. The fight scenes are awesome and jaw-breaking, also because the camera-work is exquisit. Fast MTV-style filming was luckily not a trend by then. Having said that, the same Necros is fighting again towards the end of the film, but this time in the Hercules plane, with Her Majesty's Agent 007. I must give the stuntmen credit for leading the realistic aerial scenes. In 'Quantum Of Solace' we can see how fake these kind of scenes will look like, if stuntmen are replaced by bluescreen filming and CGI-effects.

The other highlight of the film is the well-performed car chase between Bond's Aston Martin (first time since 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service') and the Chechslovakian Lada's. Again, John Barry's music really brings great suspense to these action sequences. He knew how important instant recognizable melodies were...especially during action sequences (Mr Arnold? You know what to do for Bond 23)

Kara Milovy is the more emotionally involved Bond girl who's playing a Stradivarius cello. She's not a dumb bimbo, like Stacey Sutton was in 'A View To A Kill'. Kara falls in love with James Bond but at times is also helping the villains by drugging Bond with a dirty Martini, just like she helped the villains with a sniper rifle filled with dummies. She's merely a tool for the villains, just like Tanya was in 'From Russia With Love'.

Unfortunately, as a Bond girl she is not as good as Tanya. Perhaps because she looks a bit too dreadful in her shoulder filled eighties outfits and her Soviet bob line haircut. Perhaps those were the eighties? And although the villains, Whitaker, Koskov and Necros, have some great intelligent schemes to fulfill, they don't look as menacing as Rosa Klebb, Kronsteen and Grant. Perhaps Koskov and Whitaker needed a well organized crime syndicate to support their plans, like SPECTRE or QUANTUM.

Having said that, 'The Living Daylights' was a delightful Bond film after Moore's disaster in 'A View To A Kill'. Timothy Dalton portrays a human spy and not an Austin Powers-like clown. He's cold-blooded and quite rough, just like Ian Fleming wanted. BUT he's not becoming a loose vengeful canon, like we saw in 'Licence To Kill' and 'Quantum Of Solace'. The spy, called James Bond-007, is a perfect balanced character: at times cold-blooded, but he's doing it well-thought and on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen. 'The Living Daylights' is, together with 'Doctor No', 'From Russia With Love', 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service', 'For Your Eyes Only' and 'Casino Royale' one of the best Bond films in the franchise. Well done 'Cubby', Michael and 'Babs'!

Rating as a James Bond film: 8.5/10.0
Rating as a general action thriller: 8.0/10

[JimmyBond]

I rather enjoyed the subtle insult towards QoS. Appears our friend GG can't not slam that movie every chance he gets.

[JimmyBond]

Is this really necessary? You've posted this in three different locations.

[Gustav Graves]

and A-Ha's amazing Bond tune (Alicia Keys and Jack White must have forgotten to write a terrific tune/melody),

Was that really necessary? Honestly.

Yes, for me it was. The music from TLD was one of the highlights. The TLD-score album has got so many various tunes/melodies that are instantly recognizable. They add dept to the story.

[JimmyBond]

Fair enough. But is it really necessary to slag off another film when praising something else?

People get up in a fit when someone compares Brosnan unfavorably to Craig. This situation is no different.

[Gustav Graves]

If YOU for a change add some depth to the discussion by...discussing about the review, I would be delighted. But since the only thing you do is quoting some minor sentences that don't capture the point I want to make, that basically show nothing but your irritation towards me, I'd like to come of as an irritating, self-righteous, arrogant prick for you. What do you say about that!

[Bondian]

Agreed. Barry uses all of 'The Pretenders' songs in his score, which in return adds very much to the onscreen action.

Where has everybody gone?

[Gustav Graves]

ONE sentence about that, and Mr Jimmy Bond feels offended! You ARE irritated by me ! Well, let me tell you this, I posted an entire review, not just one sentence. Be a sportive young man, and also try to see how overly enthusiastic I was about TLD. Ok?

[Gustav Graves]

Fair enough. But is it really necessary to slag off another film when praising something else?

People get up in a fit when someone compares Brosnan unfavorably to Craig. This situation is no different.

It seems you can only read that little sentence, while I was also writing more than one sentence. By jolly, it is an entire review, in which I compared TLD also with FRWL. Why not reacting on THAT?

Everyone has their opinions. But let's stick to the point I wanted to make about TLD being an exquisit Bond film. Ok??

[Bondian]

GG, old darling. You have posted the same stuff in two threads.

Here's the other.

http://debrief.comma...p...c=54821&hl=

I agree with you on most of your points save for your thoughts on Moore's last film.

[Bondian]

Then why not reply to my comment just above your post, old darling?

[Gustav Graves]

Olddd? I'm 27 years of age dude .

[Jim]

If YOU for a change add some depth to the discussion by...discussing about the review, I would be delighted. But since the only thing you do is quoting some minor sentences that don't capture the point I want to make, that basically show nothing but your irritation towards me, I'd like to come of as an irritating, self-righteous, arrogant prick for you. What do you say about that!

Be careful what you wish for.

But since the only thing you do is quoting some minor sentences that don't capture the point I want to make

...then why include them in the first place?

Not sure why you've told us this three times.

Still, I also like The Living Daylights. It entertains me.

[Blofeld's Cat]

Is this really necessary? You've posted this in three different locations.

Yeah, it's considered as spamming in the forum rules so because a new thread has been started here I'll delete "déjà one" and "déjà tu" and move response to them into this one.

[Blofeld's Cat]

Posted by 'JimmyBond' on '9 June 2009 - 11:36.....

and A-Ha's amazing Bond tune (Alicia Keys and Jack White must have forgotten to write a terrific tune/melody),

Was that really necessary? Honestly.

___________________________________________________________

Posted by 'Mr. Blofeld' on 9 June 2009 - 11:46...
Methinks someone is overcompensating for Dalton... wink.gif

[Mr. Arlington Beech]

Having said that, 'The Living Daylights' was a delightful Bond film after Moore's disaster in 'A View To A Kill'. Timothy Dalton portrays a human spy and not an Austin Powers-like clown. He's cold-blooded and quite rough, just like Ian Fleming wanted. BUT he's not becoming a loose vengeful canon, like we saw in 'Licence To Kill' and 'Quantum Of Solace'. The spy, called James Bond-007, is a perfect balanced character: at times cold-blooded, but he's doing it well-thought and on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen. 'The Living Daylights' is, together with 'Doctor No', 'From Russia With Love', 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service', 'For Your Eyes Only' and 'Casino Royale' one of the best Bond films in the franchise. Well done 'Cubby', Michael and 'Babs'!

I particularly agree with this.

Yes, I do loathe LTK, but I love TLD, and I think it deserves the praise to be considered the last great Bond movie until CR.

Edited by Mr. Arlington Beech, 09 June 2009 - 07:41 AM.

[Mr. Arlington Beech]

I rather enjoyed the subtle insult towards QoS. Appears our friend GG can't not slam that movie every chance he gets.

Why it should be considered an insult??!!! It just the expresson of a preference for a perfect balanced Bond, instead of an extreme one, like the one of DAD- or in the other pole- like the one of LTK and (to a lesser extent) QOS's.

[Gustav Graves]

I rather enjoyed the subtle insult towards QoS. Appears our friend GG can't not slam that movie every chance he gets.

Why it should be considered an insult??!!! It just the expresson of a preference for a perfect balanced Bond, instead of an extreme one, like the one of DAD- or in the other pole- like the one of LTK and (to a lesser extent) QOS's.

Perhaps.....they are the holy defenders of QOS and not of a particular good Bond film in general hehe .

But really, Mr Beech is right. I wanted to say much more with this review: all in favour of TLD.

[Mr. Blofeld]

Was that really necessary? Honestly.
___________________________________________________________

Posted by 'Mr. Blofeld' on 9 June 2009 - 11:46...
Methinks someone is overcompensating for Dalton... wink.gif

Sorry, then...

[dee-bee-five]

Is TLD a good Bond film? Yes, if you like Fleming. I like it, although I happen to think LTK is better (and more flemingian, actually).

Is it necessary to take a swipe at QoS (again) while praising it? No. it's not.

[jaguar007]

I love TLD, and I think it deserves the praise to be considered the last great Bond movie until CR.

I agree. TLD was the last Bond film I left the theater totally satisfied with until CR came along.

[byline]

Is it necessary to take a swipe at QoS (again) while praising it? No. it's not.

I agree. It's understandable to make comparisons between "The Living Daylights" and "A View to a Kill" simply because "The Living Daylights" is the immediate successor to that film. And it also makes sense to compare it with "Licence to Kill" (especially since those ended up being the only two Dalton films we got). However, fast-forwarding to the current-era "Quantum of Solace" for a jab at the title song felt opportunistic to me. FWIW, plenty of folks have complained about A-Ha's "it came from the '80s"-style title song, though personally, I love it. I also know that it's very much of its time (just as "Another Way To Die" is).

I agree with a lot of your review, GG. "The Living Daylights" is one of my favorite Bond films, and Dalton is my second-favorite Bond actor after Craig. I often draw comparisons between the two actors because, IMO, Craig's portrayal of Bond can trace a direct line back to what Dalton did with the role. Plus, I tend to enjoy the more romantic Bond storylines ("On Her Majesty's Secret Service," "For Your Eyes Only," "The Living Daylights" and "Casino Royale"), so that quality alone puts "The Living Daylights" in my top 10 Bond films.

Edited by byline, 09 June 2009 - 04:00 PM.

[sthgilyadgnivileht]

I love TLD, and I think it deserves the praise to be considered the last great Bond movie until CR.

I agree. TLD was the last Bond film I left the theater totally satisfied with until CR came along.

Yeah same.
TLD is one of the best Bonds and a jewel for the series. Probably my favourite Bond film.

[DR76]

Ah, THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS. I saw that movie six times when it came out in the theaters. And to this day, I still love it. I think I love it because it is one of the few Bond movies that seemed more like a espionage thriller, instead of a typical Bond adventure. Not only did I enjoy Dalton's performance, I also enjoyed his relationship with Maryam d'Abo in this film.

Kara Milovy may not have been the ideal Bond girl in the eyes of many fans - not very curvy and certainly not the action female type - I thought that she and Dalton had great chemistry together, and created a very emotional relationship between two characters. I still find it interesting that her character had a stronger link to TLD's plot than Carey Lowell's character (Pam Bouvier) had to LTK's plot. Another thing about the fans' view of Kara that I find annoying. It's amazing that many criticize her for being a tool of Koskov. Yet, they forget that Bond and MI6 had been used as tools, as well. Also, when she helped Koskov drug Bond in Tangiers, she had just discovered that Bond was lying to her. Whenever she asked what was going on, Bond would lie to her. At first, she accepted his lies, because he had helped her escape from Bratislava. But she eventually began to realize that she was being lied to after spending a considerable amount of time in his company. Whatever happened to Bond in Tangiers, he brought it upon himself, because he had failed to tell Kara the truth the moment he first learned the truth about Koskov's relationship with Whittaker.

Yes, the movie had a weak villain in Brad Whittaker. But I feel that Joe Don Baker acted the hell out of the role and had a strong, but short confrontation with Bond in the movie's finale. However, I feel that the movie's real villain was Soviet General Georgi Pushkin, portrayed by Jeroen Krabbe. On the surface, he seemed as weak as Whittaker. But I believe that he was one of Bond's more dangerous foes in that he knew how to use an easy-going and shallow facade to hide a manipulative, ruthless and intelligent personality. Georgi knew how to act like a friend, when he was being your enemy. And that made him dangerous in my eyes.

Edited by DR76, 09 June 2009 - 04:38 PM.

[JimmyBond]

Was that really necessary? Honestly.
___________________________________________________________

Posted by 'Mr. Blofeld' on 9 June 2009 - 11:46...
Methinks someone is overcompensating for Dalton... wink.gif

Sorry, then...

That's my post Mr. B. I was responding to his swipe against QoS.

[Dekard77]

A good movie. Not as good as QOS. Very impressive debut for Dalton. I always felt that Dalton's scenes were a bit rushed. He should have been given more screen time.
All the factors for the film are pretty engaging including the Bond girl and she was hot in the day.
The score was a real hit with me. I loved all the tracks. Never thought Barry would experiment like that.

[byline]

Another thing about the fans' view of Kara that I find annoying. It's amazing that many criticize her for being a tool of Koskov. Yet, they forget that Bond and MI6 had been used as tools, as well. Also, when she helped Koskov drug Bond in Tangiers, she had just discovered that Bond was lying to her. Whenever she asked what was going on, Bond would lie to her. At first, she accepted his lies, because he had helped her escape from Bratislava. But she eventually began to realize that she was being lied to after spending a considerable amount of time in his company. Whatever happened to Bond in Tangiers, he brought it upon himself, because he had failed to tell Kara the truth the moment he first learned the truth about Koskov's relationship with Whittaker.

Very good point, and one that Bond, himself, acknowledges. On the plane, Kara says that she's been such a fool, and Bond replies, "We both have."

Edited by byline, 09 June 2009 - 05:00 PM.

[sthgilyadgnivileht]

However, I feel that the movie's real villain was Soviet General Georgi Pushkin, portrayed by Jeroen Krabbe. On the surface, he seemed as weak as Whittaker. But I believe that he was one of Bond's more dangerous foes in that he knew how to use an easy-going and shallow facade to hide a manipulative, ruthless and intelligent personality. Georgi knew how to act like a friend, when he was being your enemy. And that made him dangerous in my eyes.

I presume you mean Koskov? I agree. People have often said Whittaker was not large enough in screen time terms, but I think its was supposed to be that way, with Koskov being the main bad guy, and Joe Don Baker as more of a cameo role. Jeroen Krabbe played that part perfectly IMO.