Timothy Dalton's debut as Bond - and 50 per cent of his output. After the lacklustre A View to a Kill the series get back on relative track with an earnest if unmemorable entry. The Cold War plot is suitably retro, Dalton brings serious back, and the worst excesses of Moore have been curbed. However the villains lack spark, the sex is all but absent, and nobody appears to be having much fun.
Most of the best moments involve the cold-eyed hitman Necros or the charming General Pushkin (played by Gimli the dwarf from Lord of the Rings). A great soundtrack helps make the film feel more exciting than it is. A trip to Afghanistan, where Bond allies with the Mujahideen, provides some decidedly dated politics - but a great climactic battle. Like its highly underrated star the film is worthy, even admirable in its way, but somewhat short on joie de vivre.
The Girl: Kara Milovy (Maryam d'Abo)
Quite a sweet Bond girl but not the most interesting of characters. Pines first for Koskov, her treacherous lover, and then inevitably over Bond. Great with a cello, lousy with a sniper rifle: ideally you want that skillset the other way round.
Certainly a love interest rather than a casual fling but Kara can't quite justify her hogging of the limelight: if you're the only girl Bond seduces in the film, you really have to be good.
The Villain: Georgi Koskov (Jerome Krabbe)
A lightweight antagonist. Two-timing Soviet General Koskov is a perfectly watchable figure but a C-list villain at best. Never feels remotely a threat. Brad Whittaker, his buffoonish American arms-dealer ally, also flops in the credibility stakes.
Far too "yee haw!" - although actor Joe Don Baker would reappear more successfully in Goldeneye. The hitman Necros is undoubtedly the best of a uninspired bunch. Silent and deadly, his fight with Bond hanging from a cargo plane is a series highlight.
After Moore's flirtation with Lotus, Bond is back in an Aston Martin. Like the DB5, the Volante boasts a range of "optional extras" such as bulletproof windows, tire spikes and heat-seeking missiles. Dalton tests the lot on some chasing Russian police. Rather joylessly, it must be said.
The Gadget: Keychain
Not the most stylish of gadgets but eminently useful.
Whistling "Rule Britannia" releases a cloud of stun gas, while a wolf whistle triggers immediate explosion. Good thing Q never gave this one to Moore: it would have gone off within five minutes.
The Song: The Living Daylights by A-ha
Another great tune - perhaps the most underrated of all the Bond themes. Weird and wistful, this number and A View to a Kill are probably the greatest consecutive songs in the series.
The Quote
Q gets the best line of the film. He delivers it with aplomb. "Something we're making for the Americans. It's called a Ghetto Blaster."
The Suit
Dalton, bless him, never looked entirely comfortable in a tuxedo. He's more of a dressed-down, no frills Bond. For his aborted hit on Pushkin (great scene) Dalton wears a beige wool gabardine suit from Benjamin Simon, tieless. A classic two-button jacket with double vents, flapped pockets and three-button cuffs.
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