The Living Daylights

Year of Release:  1987

Director:  John Glen

Screenplay:  Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson, based on the short story "The Living Daylights" by Ian Fleming

Starring:  Timothy Dalton, Maryam d'Abo, Joe Don Baker, Art Malik, John Rhys-Davis, Jeroen Krabbé

Running Time:  130 minutes

Genre:  Action, adventure, spy

British secret agent James Bond (Dalton) successfully engineers the escape of a Soviet defector (Krabbé) to the West.  However shortly afterwards, the defector is apparently kidnapped by the KGB from a secret safe house in Britain.  Bond is assigned to find him and bring him back, however the defection and the kidnapping turn out to be more complex than at first appears, and Bond finds himself trapped in a complex web of treachery involving arms deals, diamonds and drugs, in a chase that leads from London, to Bratislava, to Vienna, to Tangiers and to the deserts of Afghanistan.

This is the fifteenth film in the James Bond series and the first of two films to star Timothy Dalton as 007.  A fan of the original Ian Fleming books, Dalton had intended to make his Bond closer to the literary source, as a sometimes ruthless, serious, damaged and more realistic character, which came as a surprise after the more lighthearted, comedic approach of his predecessor in the role, Roger Moore.  This may be why Dalton has always been poorly regarded by fans of the Bond films.  It's true that his approach was a shock after the Moore period, and he lacked the charisma of Sean Connery.  However, Dalton really wasn't bad in the role.  The problem was the films themselves.  The Living Daylights starts as a straightforward spy thriller, before becoming more and more ridiculous as it goes along, and the plot becomes ever more confusing.  The main villain, an American arms dealer played by Joe Don Baker, comes across as a petulant childish character who plays with toy soldiers and whose lair is a tricked-out army museum, although the henchman, a muscular assassin called Necros (Andreas Wisniewski), who has a talent for impersonating voices and prefers to strangle people to death with his Walkman does make an impression.  Maryam d'Abo plays Kara, a cellist who is swept up by Bond's adventure and later swept up by Bond.  She starts off as an interesting, ambivalent character whose loyalties are uncertain, but who is always sympathetic, but by the end she has become the typical "Bond girl" who doesn't really have much to do except tag along with Bond.  There are some good set pieces, with the standout being a chase with Bond and Kara in a gadget-packed Aston Martin, which ends up with them using a cello case for a sledge.  The theme song, by Norwegian pop group A-ha, isn't bad.  This is far from being the best Bond film, but it is nowhere near the worst either.  It's entertaining, and does have some really good parts.  The problem is that it doesn't hang together and feels like several different stories shoved into one.  It's too humourless to be funny, but too ridiculous to be really serious.

"Oh, James!" Timothy Dalton and Maryam d'Abo in The Living Daylights
 

On Her Majesty's Secret Service

 Year of Release:  1969

Director:  Peter R. Hunt

Screenplay:  Richard Maibaum, with additional dialogue by Simon Raven, based on the novel On Her Majesty's Secret Service by Ian Fleming

Starring:  George Lazenby, Diana Rigg, Telly Savalas, Bernard Lee, Gabriele Ferzetti, Ilse Steppat

Running Time:  141 minutes

Genre:  Action, adventure, spy

British secret agent James Bond (Lazenby) puts his career on the line as he pursues criminal mastermind Blofeld (Savalas) who is preparing his latest diabolical plan to hold the world to ransom from his remote lair in the Swiss Alps.  Meanwhile, Bond unexpectedly falls in love with the alluring but troubled Tracy (Rigg).

This is the sixth film in the popular James Bond series, and the first without Sean Connery in the lead role, although Connery would return for the next instalment, Diamonds Are Forever (1971).  The producers seemed nervous about recasting the lead role and went to great lengths to persuade the audience that, yes, they were watching a Bond film:  At the end of the film's prologue, Lazenby looks straight at camera and quips "This never happened to the other fellow", the opening titles feature clips from previous Bond films, and in one scene Bond goes through some of his old gadgets.   However this does ring some changes with the traditional Bond formula, for one thing although there is the regular elaborate opening title sequence there is no theme song, although the Louis Armstrong song "We Have All the Time in the World" features prominently throughout the film; also, unlike most Bond films, it sticks very closely to the Ian Fleming novel, which means it has less humour and none of the usual gadgets. I think that fans disliked the recasting of James Bond, as well as the downbeat tone of the film, which culminates in a genuinely shocking ending.  However, I also think that a lot if the things that fans had disliked, have helped the film grow in stature in more recent years, with the downbeat and slightly more realistic (for a Bond film) tone helping it age better than many of the others, particularly in the more gritty Danial Craig era.

This was the one and only time that Australian model turned actor George Lazenby would play the role of James Bond, and he lacks the lethal charisma of Connery, but has a kind of boyish charm, and Lazenby's Bond has a kind of diffident and unsure quality, I don't know how much of that was Lazenby himself - after all it's his first acting role and he is taking over one of the biggest roles in film - but it gives Bond a vulnerability that makes for a more interesting character.  However, his performance is as uneven at times as his English accent, and he does sometimes come across as bland, but when he is at his best he gives a good performance, and his acting in the climax is genuinely affecting.  it's a pity that Lazenby didn't do more Bonds because, on this evidence, as his acting ability and confidence grew he could have really done some interesting things with the character.  Diana Rigg was previously best know for her iconic role as Emma Peel in the spy series The Avengers (1961-1969), which by the way has nothing to do with the Marvel Comics characters, and she makes her first appearance attempting suicide by walking into the ocean, only to be saved by Bond.  Tracy has a darkness and a strong personality that isn't often seen in the "Bond girls".  Bond initially courts her in order to use her father's wealth and resources to track down Blofeld, but he does eventually fall in love with her for real.  Diana Rigg gives a very good performance, dominating every scene that she is in.  As Blofeld, Telly Savalas is okay but he doesn't have the silkily menacing quality that Donald Pleasance had in You Only Live Twice (1967).  Joanna Lumley and future children's TV presenter Jenny Hanley are among the army of brainwashed women in Blofeld's lair.

There are some really enjoyable action set-pieces, particularly the climatic ski chase through the Alps, which also makes for a glamorous location.  While it is not without it's flaws, it is an impressive entry in the series.

Diana Rigg and George Lazenby in On Her Majesty's Secret Service

No Time to Die

 Year of Release: 2021

Director:  Cary Joji Fukunaga

Screenplay:  Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Cary Joji Fukunaga, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge, from a story by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Cary Joji Fukunaga, based on characters created by Ian Fleming

Starring:  Daniel Craig, Rami Malek, Léa Seydoux, Lashana Lynch, Ben Wishaw, Naomie Harris, Jeffrey Wright, Christoph Waltz, Ralph Fiennes, Ana de Armas

Running Time:  163 minutes

Genre:  Action, espionage

James Bond (Craig) has retired from active service for MI6, but his domestic bliss with Madeleine Swann (Seydoux) is interrupted when he suspects her of selling him out to the evil SPECTRE organisation.  Five years later, Bond finds himself drawn into a race between MI6 and the CIA to rescue a kidnapped scientist from the clutches of SPECTRE, but finds himself in a battle to save the world from a deadly weapon that has fallen into the hands of ruthless terrorist Safin (Malek).

So we have been expecting you, Mr. Bond.  And indeed we have.  Work in the film began in early 2016, and it was originally due to be released at the end of 2019, but was delayed a few months to avoid competition with Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker (2019), but was delayed a couple of times more due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  In fact it seems like I have seen the trailer every time I have been to the cinema in the past two years.  Was it worth the wait?  Yes, it was worth it.  The film has all the traditional elements of classic James Bond:  glamour, exotic locations, plenty of action, humour, gadgets and a megalomaniacal villain, but it updates it to appeal to a modern audience.  The female characters are no longer just "Bond girls", there to be decoration and not much more, they are more than a match for Bond, and are the most complex, ambiguous characters.  Also supporting characters such as Q (Ben Wishaw), Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) and M (Ralph Fiennes) have much bigger roles than were traditional.  This is likely to be Daniel Craig's last James Bond film, and if so, this is a perfect way to end Craig's run as 007.  The action is exciting, and, despite having a running time of almost three hours, it's well paced and the narrative keeps moving along.  Rami Malek makes a satisfactorily sinister villain.  Léa Seydoux reprises her role as the tragic Madeleine Swann from the previous Bond film Spectre (2015) and provides the film with it's heart.  Lashana Lynch is good as the new "00 agent" who acts as Bond's partner / rival and possible successor.  This mayn't be the best of the James Bond films, but it is certainly one of the best ones,  the thing is that it's hard to see where the Bond films will go from here, but it will be interesting to see what the future holds.

Daniel Craig and Ana de Armas in No Time to Die
  

Dr. No

Year of Release:  1962

Director:  Terence Young

Screenplay:  Richard Maibaum, Johanna Hawood, Berkely Mather, based on the novel Dr. No by Ian Fleming

Starring:  Sean Connery, Ursula Andress, Joseph Wiseman, Jack Lord, Anthony Dawson, Zena Marshall, John Kitzmiller, Eunice Gayson, Bernard Lee

Running Time:  109 minutes

Genre:  Thriller, action

British secret agent James Bond (Connery) is assigned to investigate the disappearance of a diplomat and his secretary in Kingston, Jamaica.  Quickly becoming a target himself, Bond's investigations lead him to a mysterious private island owned by the sinister Dr. No (Wiseman).

This adaptation of Ian Fleming's 1958 novel Dr. No has a place in cinema history as the first film to feature British super-spy James Bond, and the inaugural instalment of one of the most influential and popular film franchises in cinema history which has chalked up 25 films to date.  Produced on a low budget the film's mix of action, adventure, high living, exoticism and a dash of eroticism made it a huge hit with British audiences in the grey early 1960s. Mixing charisma, intelligence and sex appeal with a strong thread of ruthless brutality, Sean Connery became the quintessential James Bond, and is arguably still the best, and "Bond Girl" Ursula Andress has one of the most iconic entrances in cinema coming out of the tropical sea clad in a bikini.  Unlike most of the later Bond films, this is relatively faithful to Fleming's novel, and, even though the series didn't really hit it's stride until the third film, Goldfinger (1964), it does introduce sone of the elements that would become hallmarks of James Bond, including the trademark "gun barrel" opening, the rousing theme by John Barry, stylish title sequence, elaborate secret lairs for the villain, and the flirtatious banter between Bond and secretary Miss Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell).  As with most of the Bond films, this is a bit problematic by today's standards, and it also suffers from having a fairly bland villain in Dr. No, who barely appears in the film.  It remains a hugely enjoyable adventure film though, and a fantastic slice of escapist entertainment.

     Bond... James Bond:  Sean Connery in Dr. No

Moonraker

Year:  1979
Director:  Lewis Gilbert
Screenplay:  Christopher Wood, based on the novel Moonraker by Ian Fleming
Starring:  Roger Moore, Lois Chiles, Michael Lonsdale, Richard Kiel
Running Time:  126 minutes
Genre:  Thriller, action, science-fiction

This is the film where James Bond goes into space.  Aside from the title and a couple of character names, the film abandons pretty much everything from Ian Fleming's excellent novel, in favour of an overblown attempt to tie-in with the science-fiction boom after the success of  Star Wars (1977).

When a new space shuttle named "Moonraker" is stolen in mid-air, British secret agent James Bond (Moore) is ordered to find out what happened to it.  Following the trail to California and the home of the shuttle's sinister manufacturer, billionaire Hugo Drax (Lonsdale), Bond makes the acquaintence of alluring scientist Dr. Holly Goodhead  (Chiles), as well as his old enemy, hulking killer Jaws (Kiel), who has stainless steel teeth.   As Bond travels from California to Venice, to Rio de Janeiro, to outer space, he begins to realise that there is something far more dangerous than a missing shuttle at work.

For my money, this is probably the worst of the James Bond movies.  The plot is virtually non-existant, and what there is is impossible to take seriously because it is all played for campy laughs (for example the scene where the giant Jaws falls in love with a diminutive blonde girl while the soundtrack plays "Love is a Many Splendoured Thing", and the scene where Bond drives an inflatable gondola through the streets of Venice).  The special effects range from the serviceable to the terrible.  Roger Moore appears on autopilot throughout the whole movie, smirking his way through the endless quips and fights and Michael Lonsdale as Drax makes for a very flat villain.  However the sets are impressive, and even the very worst Bond films still have their share of entertaining moments.  The quip at the end is genuinely funny and some of the action scenes are exciting. 

  Lois Chiles and Roger Moore investigate Moonraker

The Man with the Golden Gun

Year:  1974
Director:  Guy Hamilton
Screenplay:  Richard Maibaum and Tom Mankiewicz, based on the novel The Man with the Golden Gun by Ian Fleming
Starring:  Roger Moore, Christopher Lee, Britt Ekland, Maud Adams, Herve Villechaize, Richard Loo, Soon-Tek Oh
Running Time:  125 minutes
Genre:  Action, thriller, spy

This film is the ninth in the official series based on the "James Bond" novels by Ian Fleming, and the second to star Roger Moore as the British super-spy.  In this entry, Bond receives information that he is the latest target of legendary hit-man Francisco Scaramanga (Lee), who charges a million dollars a kill and always uses a trademark golden gun.  Bond decides to kill Scaramanga first, and so sets off on a hunt through Beirut, Hong Kong and Bangkok only to discover that Scarmanga's real plot threatens far more than just him.

This film is not the best in the series by any reach and is pretty much average for a 1970s James Bond film.  I have to say I have always enjoyed a James Bond film.  They are pretty much the cinematic equivalent of , not really a Big Mac and fries, something more British than that, fish and chips wrapped in newspaper.  Fun at the time, not particularly nutritious at all and you couldn't really sit through too much at one time, but enjoyable, even if there's not much to trouble the memory after you've seen it.  Although, more recently with Daniel Craig in the lead role, the films have been taking on a more complex, darker and contemporary quality.

This film features the usual Bond film mixture of glamour, guns, girls and gags, with some wonderful exotic picture postcard locations.  It's very much a product of it's time with the 1973 energy crisis being a major theme in the plot, as well as using several elements from the martial arts films that were hugely popular at the time.  1970s daredevil Evel Knievel even gets a namecheck at one point when Bond jumps a river in a car, a sequence which is ruined by a ludicrously comical sound effect.  As with many of the 1970s Bond films the humour doesn't really gel very well with ther action.  One of the problems was that Roger Moore was better at the comedy than he was at being an action man.

Christopher Lee, who was a stepcousin to Ian Fleming and knew him fairly well, steals the film as the urbane villain Scaramanga and Herve Villechaize, as Scaramanga's diminutive assistant Nick Nack, also makes an impression.  One of the film's main problems is the female characters.  Britt Ekland appears as the main "Bond Girl" who is portrayed as the stereotypical "dumb blonde" and is there mainly to get kidnapped, cause chaos and look good in a bikini.  She is also the target of what is probably the most sexist scene in the whole of the James Bond series, and if you know the Bond films then you'll know that is really saying something, when she is angry at Bond's liaison with femme fatale Maud Adams and Bond cheerfully replies "Don't worry, darling, your turn will come."  Probably to most people that line would come across as a slightly coded request for a smack in the mouth, but surprisingly she doesn't hit him.  The film also features an irritating racist redneck stereotype sheriff (Clifton James) who appeared in the previous Bond film Live and Let Die (1973).  Intended to be comedic, he serves no purpose here except to be annoying.  The theme song, perfomed by Lulu, marks one of the low points for the Bond theme songs.  The lyrics are just so full of innuendo it becomes quite funny.

The film is too long, and the storyline could have done with tightening up, but then the important thing with Bond movies is not their stories.  This is watchable enough for fans though, and when the film tries to be serious and deliver a few thrills it can be quite good, and a couple of the set-pieces are genuinely impressive.  It also features at least one genuinely great line from Bond' boss "M" (Bernard Lee).  Whne Bond asks who could possibly want to kill him, "M" snaps back:  "Jealous husbands, humiliated chefs, outraged tailors.  The list is endless."

Christopher Lee and Roger Moore in The Man with the Golden Gun