James Bond 1987

 

 

The Living Daylights 

1987. Timothy Dalton, Maryam d'Abo, Joe Don Baker, Desmond Llewelyn;' dir. John Glen. 130m. (PG) Hi St cc $89.98. CBS/ Fox. Image: good. 

 

The images are evocative: an Aston Martin, a martini shaken not stirred, a grim smile, a tuxedoed man saying, ·'Bond. James Bond." It's all part of a ritual that seems as old as movies themselves. Dr. No appeared in 1962, although Ian Fleming had introduced the world to secret agent 007, the man with the license to kill, in the 1953 novel Casino Royale. 

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Bond has survived the death of Fleming, the departure of Sean Connery and the ignominy of Roger Moore. He has turned from tongue-in-cheek suspense to tonguein-cheek cartoon without losing a dollar at the box office. The 007 movies have netted a total of $2 billion in ticket sales and, if The Living Daylights is any indication, the series could earn a lot more in years to come. 

 

The producers c;m thank Timothy Dalton, a Shakespearean actor whose clipped delivery recalls Patrick McGoohan's but whose dark good looks and no-nonsense style are strictly his own. This 007 is grimly serious, a scowling engine of action who is not only as exciting as Connery but gives Bond movies the focus they lacked for over a decade. 

If only they had tightened up the plot. This one is so complicated it collapses under the weight of its own ingenuity. The diamond-smuggling tale involves enough double-dealing to confuse Ollie North. 

 

Yet the familiar attributes are so reassuring: John Barry's rousing score, exotic locations (Afghanistan, Austria, Tangiers), incredible stunts (a car driving into a moving plane). There's hokey dialogue ("Don't think-just let it happen") and an incredible climactic battle with exploding stunt men falling all over the place. The Living Daylights isn't a great movie-but it is a Bond movie. And the best Bond in years. Ejector seat, anyone?

 

 

 

64 VIDEO MAY 1988