Tuer n'est pas jouer

A good old spy movie with the excellent Timothy Dalton in the role of James Bond. Believe it or not, I saw it today for the first time. The movie visits Communist Czechoslovakia, we get a car chase with Public Security (Commie police), takes a look at Tangiers in Morocco and ends up in Afghanistan too, which was a really popular country back in the 1980s too. And who would have said that Jack Sheppard’s father from Lost, John Terry, would play Felix Leiter of the CIA? (19/08/2007)

The replacement of the tired old man Roger Moore, who needed a stuntman to stand in for him even while drinking champagne, with the amped up aggressor Timothy Dalton took me completely out of my comfort zone. In some ways it really is a throwback to the Connery-esque concept of a butcher dog who pulls women to him by the upper arm, acts like a cold-blooded psychopath in most situations, and the fact that girls are so prone to fall for his charisma is mainly because they're completely stupid. In addition, Dalton still oozes that 80's-style quickness, impatience, impulsiveness, and aggressiveness, which, while making him seem menacing and erratic in action and dramatic scenes, doesn't suit his attempts at gentlemanliness, romance, or witty glossing at all. As Bond overall, though, Living Daylights is a well-conceived adventure with tons of substance. Here we find ourselves in Gibraltar, England, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Morocco, and Afghanistan, despite the fact that this Bond so far has the fewest number of countries in which it was been filmed, with perhaps the exception of Dr. No. I'm quite looking forward to the second and final Bond film with Dalton, but I'm also glad he's going to fuck off after this one, because this take on the protagonist won't carry the entire multi-part series. There were plenty of heroes like that back then. (13/10/2019)

I like Bond - Dalton even better in the five-star Licence to Kill, but that doesn't change the fact that The Living Daylights is pretty good! Dalton in particular does a lot personally - the guy is simply likable. The jokes were not great (there are a couple of them, but more or less just for a smile), but the suspense and quite vivid action is there from beginning to end, and the music that John Barry composed for this film is one of my favorites. I would like to commend the filmmakers for the care with which they transformed Vienna into Bratislava. There are Slovak signs everywhere you look, people speak Slovak, which can be heard on the radio and television... Nice. But my favorite is the final Afghan part. Could Rambo 3, made a year later, be copying this? (20/02/2010)

A series of twenty films with one protagonist is unique, among other things, because this protagonist has several forms. And how's the fourth face of 007? Excellent! The production team's effort was quite clear: to come up with something completely different from the Moore films, with a completely "new" Bond. And the choice of Dalton was a happy one. Unlike the charming Moore, the fourth Bond comes with an image of a dangerous killer and a typical action hero. But it also does not lack the traditionally dry and shaken (unmixed) sense of humor and the art of letting out a sarcastic catchphrase at the right time, much like a deadly bullet. The protagonist so brilliantly combines the murderous cold of blue eyes and a childishly disarming smile. The story (again) tries to return to the model of From Russia with Love (understand: to a traditional spy without unnecessary phantasmagorias), but it has a great weakness in the form of Bond's opposition... In short, the trio of the fat American smuggler, the Soviet renegade, and the Aryan thug (note the reference to the second Connery film here, too) are not particularly great. Also weak is "Slovak" Kara (Maryam d'Abo), whose constant "oooooh James!!!" lifted the bile in my throat. What is most sympathetic about The Living Daylights is the new bond form (oddly not very seductive, but all the more concentrated on his work), the very good action sequence with some of Mr. Q's "gadgets," the rightly deranged realities, and John Glen, who had great form and was able to create a solid spectacle from the average plot that won't embarrass Agent 007... BTW: The Living Daylights is the last Bond film with an original Fleming story... the last? (28/11/2004)

The brand-new hero was the right choice for the action-packed 80s, and Timothy Dalton finally gave Bond a solid face of a tough and ruthless action hero of the modern era after a few obvious misses. The Living Daylights is a significant departure from the previous Bond films. Certainly, with its story concept (change of locations), it is very exotic and creative, with scenes from Afghanistan and Slovakia. Unfortunately, it is quite flat in terms of plot, starting with the boring villains and ending with the uneven pacing. The action is solid, Dalton as a tough guy is excellent, but the plot is uninteresting. Nevertheless, this Bond film is quite pioneering and definitely deserves recognition. (17/07/2007)