On the other hand there is a good casting, by actors such as Joe Don Baker, Jeroen Krabbe, Maryam D'abo and John Rhys Davies.

However tedious action sequences, and Timothy Dalton's lack of both charm, wit and sexual aggressiveness, both of which Moore and Connery had in abundance- hence what Bond should have, makes this a very forgettable Bond movie.

A good action film, but a poor Bond film
Review date: 2005-11-12 Rating: 2 out of 10

If I was judging this along the lines of a normal action thriller I'd give this easily 4 maybe even 5 out of 5. But the fact that Timothy Dalton stars as Bond, and delivers the most unbelievably wooden and drab performance as Bond sadly, leads me to only give it 1 out of 5 while judging along Bond criteria. People claim that Dalton's interpretation of Bond was more realistic in that in followed more in the footsteps of the original Fleming novels, but frankly I don't agree. Bond, though a tough, resourceful individual often as we've seen with Connery and Moore, meets his adversaries with suave, cool, dry wit as well some steel. Take Moore's 'For Your Eyes Only'. He was witty, suave, definitely looked like a Bond yet had tougher qualities too. Dalton takes this idea of 'toughness' and living on the edge to a ridiculous extreme. He doesn't look like a Bond, and certainly doesn't act like one. A good actor yes, that is Shakespearian actor, not Bond. Connery and Moore, good as they are, may not be Shakespearian actors, but they did what they did best. Dalton hits many points as a good actor just not a Bond.

A good achievement
Review date: 2005-08-08 Rating: 8 out of 10

A much needed replacement for Roger Moore is found. Timothy Dalton steps in as Bond and delivers a satisfactory performance in The Living Daylights. Although by no means as funny or as entertaining as Moore, Dalton does manage to successfully incorporate at least some humour with the mainly hard edged approach he took to the part. The action- particularly the car chase with the Aston Martin V8 Volante, the scene with the chello and the concluding face off at the end between Bond and Koskov are of particular excellence. However I believe the main reason for the film's success is the culmination of good actors, i.e. Jeroen Krabbe, John Rhys Davies, Maryam-D'Abo, Joe Don Baker and of course former Shakespearean actor Timothy Dalton, the outstanding musical score by John Barry and the excellent title song by A-ha make this the one of the most memorable 80's Bond films. However I don't think it has the edge that 'The Spy Who Loved Me', 'Goldfinger', 'You Only Live Twice' and 'Live and Let Die' had, i.e. it's no where near as fun or funny to watch. Timothy Dalton starts on a high note with this film, but sadly never gets the chance to prove his real worth due to his absolutely shameful performance in the following film 'License To Kill.' If Dalton had made a few more films to this standard, he might have even come closer to the unbeatably excellent standards set by Moore and Connery.

A Good Bond film
Review date: 2005-07-17 Rating: 8 out of 10

The two Timothy Dalton films are very underrated. Lacking the big plots, and humour of the Moore and Brosnan films, they stand as a more realistic interpretation of the spy. It is such a shame that Dalton elected to resign from the role in 1994, following the series being in limbo for some years. Following one of the very best pre-title sequences, we are then transported to the Czech republic, with Bond assigned to smuggle out a Russian Agent who has decided to defect. In some ways this film has dated more than the other ones of this era, the cold war ended soon after it's release, making the plot somewhat old fashioned in this day and age. Nevertheless it boasts terrific locations, and some very good acting is demonstrated by both Dalton, and Thomas Wheatley as the somewhat stuffu agent Saunders. In contrast to his other films as Director, JOhn Glen has particularly unmemorable villains here. Joe Don Baker fresh from his success in Edge of Darkness, is miscast as the villain Whitaker, being unable to replicate the excellence of Christopher Walken's Max Zorin in the previous film in the series, A View To A Kill. Nevertheless there is a freshness to The Living Daylights, which helped take the series in a new direction, albeit briefly

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