Rating: 
Summary: Timothy Dalton as Ian Fleming's James Bond 007
Review: As a child of the 70's and 80's,The Roger Moore-era movies defined the tone of the entire James Bond 007 series.When Moore left the series after A View To A Kill,Timothy Dalton took over and put Bond in a direction that was familiar to readers of Ian Fleming's novels, yet confusing to moviegoers.
The Living Daylights (1987)brought an end to the tongue and cheek tone of Moore's movies.Instead,Dalton becomes the 007 of the original novels,Tough, ruthless, yet still refined. Dalton read the original novels and redefined the roll.
Unfortunately,movie goers were a bit uneasy with a James Bond who didn't crack cheesy one liners,jump into bed with an average of three women per movie and harder edged than any other Bond on the screen.
The movie itself is a fine, yet slow-paced, involving a latter-day cold war defection of a Soviet soldier, only to be turn into a plot involving the elimination of British spies.Great scenes include an escape from the iron curtain in an updated Aston Marten, and an airplane cargo fight in mid air.
Dalton only portrayed Bond one more time (License to Kill) before the series was in limbo for six years (until Goldeneye with Pierce Brosnan in 1995).Since then, Dalton's portrayal of Bond has been praised in it's approach to bring Bond back to where it all began.
Rating:
Summary: Timothy Dalton as Ian Fleming's James Bond 007
Review: As a child of the 70's and 80's,The Roger Moore-era movies defined the tone of the entire James Bond 007 series.When Moore left the series after A View To A Kill,Timothy Dalton took over and put Bond in a direction that was familier to readers of Ian Fleming's novels, yet confusing to moivegoers.
The Living Daylights (1987)brought an end to the tongue and cheek tone of Moore's movies.Instead,Dalton becomes the 007 of the original novels,Tough,ruthless ,yet still refined. Dalton read the original novels and redefined the roll.
Unfortunately,movie goers were a bit uneasy with a James Bond who didn't crack cheesy one liners,jump into bed with an average of three women per movie and was harder edged than any other Bond on the screen.
The movie itself is a fine, yet slow-paced, involving a latter-day cold war defection of a Soviet soldier, only to be turn into a plot involving the elimination of British spies.Great scenes include an escape from the iron curtain in an updated Aston Marten, and an airplane cargo fight in mid air.
Dalton only portrayed Bond one more time (License to Kill) before the series was in limbo for six years (until Goldeneye with Pierce Brosnan in 1995).Since then, Dalton's portrayal of Bond has been praised in it's approach to bring Bond back to where it all began.
Rating: 
Summary: Impressive debut
Review: Back in 1987 when I first learned that Timothy Dalton was going to be James Bond I thought to myself, isn't that the Han Solo-ish guy from "Flash Gordon"??? So being a true fan of Connery and Moore I was worried. Then when I when I saw the film in the theaters I was immediately impressed by his performance.First off, Dalton's 007 is very similar to Connery's. He's a lethal weapon with little to no conscience (but of course we know he does) whose only concern is accomplishing his mission for queen and country. He's intense, brooding and noncompromising. He's a perfect 007 of Fleming's books. Dalton's 007 has hardly any of the quips and jokes which were a trademark of Moore's franchise. The film's story focuses on Bond uncovering a Russian General's defection from the former Soviet Republic. The Russian General soon joins forces with an international arms dealer and Bond then trys to stop them. I was interested how this Bond installment seemed less like a stereotypical Bond film and more like an action/adventure in the DieHard/LethalWeapon/IndianaJones tradition. The action is fast paced but less dependent on the typical 007 gadgetry and exotic plot to destroy the world. That leads to another interesting plot development. This time Bond beds only ONE girl (excluding the pre-title teaser of course). This kind of development leads to more credibility to Dalton's performance as he allows Bond to establish a relationship and become just a bit vunerable. This may have been just a stunt by the producers to move 007 into politcal correctness, but I think it works for the film and makes Bond more interesting. "The Living Daylights" is not the best 007 mission, but it is far from the worst. It's strengths are a more realistic plot, tone and a terrific perfomance by probably the most underappreciated Bond actor; Timothy Dalton.
Rating:
Summary: My favorite James Bond movie!
Review: Believe me The Living Daylights (which is probobly the most underrated Bond movie) is the best. It's got enough action to keep you occupied but not enough in that you're exaused at the end. Although the villians aren't all that "villianes" they're still good. General Geogri Koskov of the KGB defected to the British, then turned on them. The only downside is the girl. Kara Milovy is a Slovakian chelest who is very weak and looks too old to be a girl to be with James Bond. Timothy Dalton is the best James Bond. He's serious when he needs to be and not when he doesn't have to be. He is unlike Rodger Moore who took everything humorosly. This IS the best James Bond movie, take my word for it!
Rating:
Summary: TIMOTHY DALTON IS AN EXCELLENT REPLACEMENT FOR MOORE
Review: BY NOW YOU PROBABLY HAVE ALREADY SEEN 20 DIFFERENT REVIEWS... I JUST WANNA SAY THAT IF YOU'RE A FAN OF ESPIONAGE ACTION ADVENTURE MOVIES, PARTICUARLY JAMES BOND, THIS IS THE MOVIE FOR YOU. ONLY THING IS, THIS IS THE ONLY GOOD ONE BY DALTON.
Rating:
Summary: Dalton is the best Bond ever
Review: By taking the part seriously and not playing him like a robot or a superhero, Dalton created a Bond you could really sympathize with, one who truly seemed to care for the Bond girl and one who had to strive to complete his mission within the bounds of a certain moral code. Unlike Brosnan, who seems to coast through his films bored, anxious to collect his paycheck and move on to roles he finds more stimulating, Dalton rises to the challenge of making Bond a real person, and he succeeds. Living Daylights is a Bond film much more human than the souless stunt show "Tomorrow never dies" or the convoluted "The world is not Enough". I wish Dalton had made more than two films. The special edition includes some informative documentaries and commentary.
Rating:
Summary: A fine spectacle of adventure. TLDL is top-notch!
Review: Dalton is radiant in his debut as bond. One of the best in the series. A great pick up after its bland prdecessor, AVTAK. A good plot, a beautiful girl (Myam D'abo), and ,unfortunately, 2 annoyingly lackluster villians. Koskov is an immature snake-in-the-grass villian, and Baker is not the villianous type. Features the usual gadget goodies, and a thrilling cliff-hanger of a climax. The title song preformed by a-ha is great and my second favorite theme next to AVTAK. Dalton returns as Bond for the second and last time in the stone cold bomb Licencse To Kill.
Rating:
Summary: Not Your Average Bond
Review: Dalton is the Bond of the books! He went outside the norm of the James Bond tradition and I congradulate him for it. The movie itself is well done. It feels like you watching an actual story then a bunch of action scenes. The keychain scenes are hilarious!
Rating:
Summary: Want to see the real James Bond?
Review: Dalton's first film as James Bond is an under-rated gem. As time passes more and more Bond fans are re-viewing this film and changing their negative opinions of it. I've always thought it was one of the better ones. "The Living Daylights" begins with Bond aiding the defection of Russian General Georgi Koskov. In exchange for passage to the West and all its freedoms, Koskov reveals a KGB plot to assasinate British secret agents. Bond's name is on the liquidation list. Koskov is then kidnapped back by the KGB. The British are red-faced. Bond has no leads other than to track down and eliminate General Leonid Pushkin, the man supposedly in charge of Operation "Spiert Spionem". From there on, nothing is as it seems. Bond falls for a girl who seems the anti-thesis of the typical buxom and gorgeous Bond-girl. And the world does not need to be saved from a possible nuclear meltdown or missile attack. "The Living Daylights" is a very modest plot by 007 standards but the storyline is intricate and more realistic than most of the Roger Moore movies. 007 is infamous for his serial womanising but on this assignment he's a strictly one-woman man. Bond has eyes only for shy cellist, Kara (Maryam D'Abo) who's also the girlfriend of Georgi Koskov, the man he's searching for. This leads to an inevitable situation where Bond strings her along to 'use' her to get to Koskov. But a romantic bond that is not usually seen in 007 movies develops. This is part of why The Living Daylights is unique. It shows James Bond as less of a man who uses women for gratification (although we all know Bond's true nature, a change is always refreshing). The villains in this film aren't exceptional, they just manage to serve the plot well. They don't have the meglomanical tendencies of past baddies who wanted to blow things up and rule the world. Jeroen Krabbe (Koskov) and Joe Don Baker (Whittaker) put in serviceable performances. They both have their moments. Necros, their blonde henchman, serves up some menace though he's no memorable entry in the Bond rogues gallery. What compensates for it is Dalton's strong performance and the engaging storyline, which as always, takes Bond to plenty of seedy and exotic locations. Dalton's turn as 007 is gritty and intense. In spite of this he still has an aura that is suave and slightly dangerous. The scene in the amusement park in Vienna where he gets "Koskov's message" says it all. The special camera lens is supposed to accentuate Dalton's grimace but his face conveys much more: a seething that simmers beneath that cold exterior. Despite the gleam in his eye and the gritting of teeth, we know 007 rarely shows his emotions. This is how Bond ought to be. It is a shame that his gig as 007 lasted just two films. Fans are divided over Dalton, but in his short tenure he brought something new to the character. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Dalton's Debut
Review: Finally, a little new blood. Timothy Dalton takes on the 007 mantle in this, the 15th official Bond adventure. In it, Bond helps a defecting general who then gets kidnapped. Tracking down the how's and the why's, he stumbles onto a weapons scheme. Trust me, the plot is as confusing as Octopussy's. Just hang on and enjoy it. Although Timothy Dalton only had two go-rounds as 007, I like and appreciate both him and his run on the series, for a couple of different reasons. 1)After Moore's pun-filled tenure, it's nice to see a harder-edged Bond than even Connery. Although Dalton still has a few puns (mostly the result of the script being written before he was cast), they're not as overboard. 2)Both of Dalton's movies tried to push the character out of his comfort zone in the movies - this one features him doing more espionage things, like arranging defections, and being an assassin. The next, Licence to Kill, would see him going on a revenge mission. All these things make his movies seem fresh to me today, and although he is much maligned, he brought a lot of interesting things to the character. I'm sad he couldn't have done one more movie before '95's Goldeneye. As far as faults go, the villains are so-so. I mean, any time you have James Bond squaring off against Joe Don Baker, its not ever going to live up to your expectations, or lack thereof (and don't get me started on the fact that, thanks to his roles in Goldeneye and Tomorrow Never Dies, Baker has now appeared in more Bond movies than Dalton). Also, the climactic battle between Bond and Baker is woefully short. It's still a good time, however. A good Bond and the most cold-war flavored Bond movie since From Russia With Love make this a nice chapter in the series.
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