We’ve finally hit the end of the first portion of In Conclusion: The James Bond Series. It’s taken a while, but we’ve finally gotten to the point of the final 2 on my “favorites” list. There are still other portions left that will be published in a couple of other future articles. So far here is my list of Favorite Bond Films:
22.Die Another Day (2002)
21.A View to a Kill (1985)
20.Moonraker (1979)
19.Octopussy (1983)
18.Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
17.Quantum of Solace (2008)
16.Live and Let Die (1973)
15.The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
14.Diamonds are Forever (1971)
13.Goldfinger (1964)
12.Dr. No (1962)
11.Thunderball (1965)
10.The World is Not Enough (1999)
9.The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
8.For Your Eyes Only (1981)
7.Goldeneye (1995)
6.Casino Royale (2006)
5.You Only Live Twice (1967)
4.Licence to Kill (1989)
3.On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)
2.
What is with the “Dalton” era and bland posters? Well it’s still better than the one for Licence to Kill. As bland as it is, it’s almost fitting in a way based on the tagline, “The new James Bond…living on the edge” and the shot of him aiming his gun at a female (something that Connery wouldn’t even do, Lazenby wouldn’t think about it, and Moore would probably go into shock at just the thought) to show that this Bond isn’t exactly like the others and is willing to do what it takes to get the job done at all cost even if it involves killing a woman rather than bedding with her. Which is very suitable for Timothy Dalton’s Bond, the guy in both this film and in Licence to Kill does ANYTHING to get the job done. However, because I’m a nit-picky pest I don’t understand why he aims the gun at the girl in that way.
I say this because the female character is obviously supposed to be Kara Milovy (or at least someone that resembles her to a tee) and she isn’t exactly someone Bond threatens to kill in this movie for the sake of the mission (anyone who’s seen the movie knows what I mean, if you haven’t…than see it and know what I mean). On top of that, why does she have a gun like the one there? It just seems really misleading (which is I guess what they tried here because “misdirection” is a key to the story of this movie.) Although I’ll give it more props because Kara looks damn fine in that pose, dress, and with a gun (even if it isn’t Maryam D’abo in the pose and even if it doesn’t work in the context of the character). It’s a fine poster to have because it does scream Bond, even if it’s a tad misleading.
This was a great “bounce back” film for the James Bond series. After Roger Moore’s disastrous outing in A View to a Kill it was time for a change. This was Timothy Dalton’s first outing as Bond and in a strange roundabout way, he’s playing his own Bond but in a Roger Moore film albeit you can see a lot of “dark” elements they’re trying to implement into the series (although not as prevalent as it is in Licence to Kill) . There are so many Moore elements in this from the “distraction with breasts” scene to the “cello sledding” sequence. These scenes don’t really harm the movie though.
All of the best parts are made up from the action and Dalton’s performance. Dalton’s Bond in this one isn’t as ruthless as he was in Licence to Kill but he pretty much goes all out. He’s even willing to be fired by MI6 for making a decision that went against orders. It seems weird to have Dalton’s ruthless Bond in what pretty much feels like a Roger Moore film at places but it works extremely well surprisingly enough. Some will criticize this but I didn’t mind the multiple villains in this story. The film uses the “triangle of evil” (or “triangle of terror” whichever sounds better to you, the reader and the F.A.N.) format which was pretty popular in this series at the time.
Some may dislike this, but again I can’t mention the primary antagonist of the story because it spoils the whole movie and ruins it for the ones who haven’t seen it before. I will say this, they’re one of my favorites of the series because of their character. It’s very well-developed, and the actor playing the role does a top notch job with it. Some criticize the character for lack of any sort of threat to Bond but I think he poses a major threat to Bond because they aren’t all they seem to be. The secondary antagonist in the story is “Brad Whitaker” played by…Joe Don Baker?!??!?!
Yes everybody, Mitchell himself, is the antagonist (albeit Secondary, not the main guy) of a James Bond film. Personally I shouldn’t be surprised since I somewhat consider Baker to be the antagonist of Mitchell by virtue of the fact that Mitchell in the movie has no redeeming qualities to him in that movie. Also, yes I know he was in Goldeneye and Tomorrow Never Dies as well. However, he works as a goofy supporting sidekick of Bond but as an antagonist it just sounds weird that Mitchell could be a threat to James Bond. Although as bad as that may sound…he does a good job in the role.
Brad Whitaker is notable as well as being the first antagonist in the Bond series that was an American. His role is as an arms dealer that is trying to sell weapons to the Soviet Union for cash. He aspired to be a general and lead his own army like Napoleon and others of history (he even has wax figures of legendary generals over the years with his face over theres.) He makes a good villain but he’s underdeveloped in the film and barely gets any kind of battle with Bond (although their fight scene is really intense and cool.) I see it in a way as lost potential but it still worked, I think the film could have worked without him as well.
The henchman of this movie is “Necros” played by Andreas Wisniewski. He’s a mostly silent henchmen built in the same mold as “Red Grant” and other tall blonde henchmen. He’s actually one of my favorite henchmen in this series. He doesn’t seem menacing on the surface but when it’s time for business (and when you hear, “Where Has Everybody Gone?”) you know something bad is about to happen. He’s one of the few people outside of Bond to have their own theme song and he even plays it on his walkman as if he knows its his theme song and it gives him this odd drive to just kill at will. Overall, Necros is a total badass and easily one of the best henchmen in the series.
Speaking of music, John Barry, like always did a fantastic job with the score. I especially like the mix of the Bond Theme and The Pretenders’ “Where Has Everybody Gone?”. On top of that I feel he and A-ha did a great job collaborating on the title song. It was a great send-off to Barry in the series (although I often wish he stayed on). The action scenes in this film are very nicely done from the Pre-Title sequence to the Cello Chase Scene and the final sequence in Afghanistan.
The pre title sequence is one of my favorites in the series. You’re presented with 3 people who could be Bond. One is a dead ringer for George Lazenby, the other looks like a young Roger Moore, and the third is Dalton. I thought it was a cool way to introduce the character. I won’t spoil it but I recommend you see it as the action that follows is pretty sweet and sets the story in motion.
The settings are a bit iffy. It was great to see England, and I loved the scenes set in Vienna. I never like middle-eastern settings in films, unless its Lawrence of Arabia than it tends to get dull. Although Afghanistan in this movie isn’t so boring. I just normally find desert scenes to be tiring. As mentioned earlier Maryam D’Abo plays the role of “Kara Milovy” and while some don’t like Kara, I don’t mind the character.
She comes across as a bit of a smiling bland ditz at places but that’s part of her sweet innocent side to her character. In the end she’s useful to Bond is this film and is beautiful. I consider her to be an improved version of Goodnight from The Man with the Golden Gun. At the end of the day with The Living Daylights , it is a great Bond film, in my opinion. It’s a movie you have to watch without any stoppages to get the full experience of it. Believe me when I first saw it on network TV, it was bad but after seeing it uncut and commercial-free I like it. I really wish the Dalton series went beyond 2 films because of this movie and Licence to Kill.
I fully recommend it, it’s that great of a Bond film, but it isn’t my favorite, that goes to this one…
1.
The cover art is awesome. It may seem a little generic but that’s just how things were in the 60’s. It’s direct and it gets to the point. There is James Bond up front and center with some beautiful ladies and action in the background. It’s perfect because it gets to the point and it’s suitable for the film. It promotes the series image at the time: sex, violence, and Sean Connery.
This movie has completely grown on me like I child I adopted and helped raise (I actually wouldn’t know what that is like but I can’t think of a better metaphor.) I didn’t like it initially and thought it was dull at first. However, the more I see it the more I love it. Sean Connery, in my opinion does his best work in this film. Bond is dangerous, he is ruthless, and he goes through more hell than one could ever imagine.
It’s hard to say who the primary antagonist is here. Depending on your viewpoint its either Blofeld, Rosa Klebb, or Red Grant. I see this as the pre-cursor to the “triangle of evil (or terror)” formula that got popular in this series as time went on. To me Blofeld is the primary antagonist mainly because he’s the head of SPECTRE, the organization after Bond. Blofeld here is different than later incarnations but works well as a villain that will kill anyone, even his own men to get what he wants.
I think the fact he’s unseen makes him even more intriguing because you’re engaged immediately to it and you’re left wondering, “Who is it?” and “What will he try next?” Klebb is the secondary antagonist and that makes her to be a villain but not as strong as Blofeld. She answers to him, but she does set the plot forth in motion and she is the mastermind of the entire thing despite being #3 to Blofeld. Red Grant is seen by many to be the big antagonist but I see him as just a henchmen. He’s the model for all Blonde henchmen (including the previously-mentioned Necros) and he gives Bond a fight to remember.
There are other villains that are part of SPECTRE who pose just as big as threat (Morenzy and Kronsteen) to Bond, but I consider Blofeld, Klebb, and Grant as the “Big 3”. Tatiana is the main Bond girl in the story and is part of the plot set by Blofeld and Klebb to set Bond up. I won’t spoil what happens for those who haven’t watched it, but I will say the Tatiana character is one of the best Bond girls of all-time. Istanbul is a very nice exotic setting for the film and works in the context of it. I was semi-disappointed that the mission to Istanbul that M tells Bond he was to do in Licence to Kill never came to fruition.
The action scenes in this movie are fantastic. There is a lot of chaos going on and the final 40 minutes of this movie is sheer cinema brilliance on terms of action scenes from Bond vs Grant to Bond’s “North by Northwest” (as I call it) sequence to the Spectre Island ending. The theme song, “From Russia with Love” is a fantastic instrumental and lyrical piece. It’s odd that I can’t say very much about my favorite Bond film but I think that’s because theres nothing I can really nitpick but a lot I can praise (that I already have). The action is great, Connery is at his best, Tatiana is gorgeous, the villains are just downright evil and the suspense is there throughout the film.
I recommend if you don’t like this the first time to keep watching because it does grow on you rather quickly. Best believe me you won’t regret it. From Russia with Love is a classic and my personal favorite.
Well F.A.N.s that is all for this portion of In Conclusion: The James Bond Series. Next week we get away from it for a bit for a new article but rest assure In Conclusion: The James Bond Series will return in…In Conclusion: The James Bond Series Part 12: The Unofficial Films as we take a look at the 2 other versions of Casino Royale and the 1983 Thunderball remake Never Say Never Again. For now, however, enjoy the other articles on the site and prepare next week when I introduce you to a local band from my town that’s a little different but all around pretty cool guys.