The Living Daylights

Details

When James Bond is assigned to assist in the defection of high-ranking Soviet general Georgi Koskov, the operation appears straightforward enough. Koskov is to escape from a concert hall in Bratislava and make his way across the border to the West, with Bond providing cover from a nearby building. However, when Bond spots beautiful cellist Kara Milovy apparently preparing to assassinate Koskov, he deliberately shoots the rifle from her hands rather than killing her.

Safely delivered into British hands, Koskov claims that the new head of the KGB, General Leonid Pushkin, has resurrected an old policy of Smert Spionam - Death to Spies - and is systematically targeting Western agents. Before British intelligence can fully investigate his claims, Koskov is abducted from his supposedly secure hiding place by the ruthless Necros and apparently returned to Soviet hands.

Bond is subsequently ordered to assassinate Pushkin, but remains suspicious of Koskov's story. Returning to Bratislava, he tracks down Kara and discovers that she is not a professional assassin at all, but Koskov's girlfriend. Keeping his true intentions to himself, Bond uses Kara to uncover more about the supposed defection and gradually begins to realise that both British and Soviet intelligence are being manipulated.

His investigation eventually takes him from Vienna to Tangier and then Afghanistan, where the conspiracy expands to include American arms dealer Brad Whitaker and a complicated scheme involving weapons and opium. With neither side entirely certain who can be trusted, Bond must uncover Koskov's real intentions before his deception succeeds in setting British and Soviet intelligence against each other.

Picture & Sound

The picture is reasonable enough, with an above-average bit-rate throughout and no obvious signs of artifacting or outlining. However, I did notice quite a few print imperfections and couldn't help wondering where some of the film stock used for the transfer had originated. Fortunately, the scratches and marks are only an occasional problem and don't really distract too much from the on-screen action.

The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is much more impressive, with plenty of action in the surround channels as well as the occasional burst of LFE activity. Dialogue is clearly audible and firmly positioned in the centre channel at a level that doesn't require continual adjustment of the volume. When the action bursts into life, accompanied by John Barry's excellent score and A-ha's memorable title song, the soundtrack really fills the room with the excitement that only Bond can provide.

Menu & Extras

As usual for the Bond series, the extras are plentiful and there's plenty here to interest 007 fans. The Inside The Living Daylights documentary is particularly fascinating, covering the difficult task of introducing a new Bond after Roger Moore's lengthy tenure and providing plenty of contemporary footage from the production.

However, the documentary also contains footage of Timothy Dalton being introduced to the world's press which left me with a rather different impression of the new Bond. Faced with the inevitable barrage of questions, Dalton dismisses several of them as being "none of their business". Perhaps he was simply uncomfortable with the attention, but whatever the reason, the footage certainly didn't endear him to me.

Fortunately, Patrick Macnee is back to narrate the Bond documentary, whilst the second feature on Ian Fleming provides another interesting addition to the package. There's also the A-ha music video and its accompanying making-of feature, theatrical trailers and the wonderfully bizarre deleted "Magic Carpet Ride" sequence.

The audio commentary is again the weakest part of the package. John Glen certainly has some interesting information to offer, and says considerably more than he did on A View to a Kill, but the assembled commentary format remains rather disjointed. It's frustrating because whenever Glen does start talking there's usually something worth listening to.

Overall

The Living Daylights represented a considerable change for the Bond series. After seven films and more than a decade of Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton brings a younger, harder and noticeably more serious approach to 007. To be fair to Dalton, he certainly injects some much-needed vigour into the role that the ageing Moore was beginning to lack, and the film makes a deliberate attempt to bring Bond back down to earth after some of the excesses of the previous adventures.

There's also a reasonable amount of action to keep Bond fans happy. The opening Gibraltar sequence gets things moving nicely, the Aston Martin makes a welcome return and the later Afghan sequences provide plenty of large-scale action. The fight between Bond and Necros aboard the cargo plane is particularly impressive and remains one of the film's best set-pieces.

Where the film struggles for me is with its villains. Jeroen Krabbé's Koskov and Joe Don Baker's Brad Whitaker simply don't possess the menace of the best Bond adversaries, whilst the increasingly complicated plot involving defectors, arms deals, diamonds and opium doesn't always make for the easiest story to follow. Maryam d'Abo's Kara is likeable enough, although her relationship with Bond is noticeably more restrained than we've become accustomed to.

Dalton himself is something of a mixed bag. His interpretation is certainly closer to the harder-edged character created by Ian Fleming and there are moments where that approach works extremely well. However, after so many years of Roger Moore's raised eyebrows and effortless one-liners, the change can feel rather abrupt and, for me at least, some of the humour and charm that makes Bond so enjoyable has been lost along the way.

Perhaps that's why The Living Daylights has never ranked amongst my favourite Bond films. It's certainly not a bad film and, viewed on its own merits, there's plenty to enjoy. Dalton brings renewed energy to the role, John Barry provides another superb score and the action sequences are frequently excellent. However, the convoluted plot and rather forgettable villains prevent it from reaching the heights of the best films in the series. An interesting new direction for Bond, perhaps, but one that I'm still not completely convinced by.

Special features

• Audio Commentary Featuring Director John Glen and Members of the Cast and Crew
• Inside "The Living Daylights" An Original Documentary
• "Ian Fleming - 007's Creator" Documentary
• "The Living Daylights" Music Video from A-ha
• Never-Before-Seen Deleted Scene: The Magic Carpet Ride
• The Making Of "The Living Daylights" Music Video
• Theatrical Trailers
• Collectable "Making Of" Booklet