My favorite thing about Dalton is definitely his attitude towards how the character should be played. That level of respect for the character and Ian Fleming is so great to see

Dalton is such a brilliant actor in general. If they brought him back to play a villain, I’d be all for that.

"Stuff my orders! I only kill professionals" one of my favorite lines from Dalton

One of the most powerful scenes in my opinion was when Bond revealed to Kara that he was the one sent to kill her during Koskov's fake defection. This might be such a soap opera moment, and it is further weakened by the fact that we knew from the start, and Kara doesn't give much of a reaction to it. But I still love the scene, and especially Dalton's way of presenting it: In a few seconds before he falls unconscious, Bond has to convince Kara that he is actually a good guy, and his proof is the fact that he actually spared her life instead of killing her like he was told to. There is so much to this short dialogue, and his words still get to me every time: "I was... the one they sent to kill you." Not only is this the moment Kara realizes that Koskov has played her for a sucker, but also that the man she fought to be a heartless killer has actually spared her.

I've always preferred the living daylights over licence to kill, I think it strikes the balance better between fun sillyness and dark grittyness. But I still love license to kill.

I'll take Dalton as my idea of Bond over Craig any day. Love his deadpan reply before he drives off. "Sorry old man, section 5, paragraph 4, need to know.... Sure you understand." Love it.

The ending of this video was bloody hilarious!! Well done, Calvin.

Dalton was the best Bond ever. When I saw it at the cinema when it first came out it was such an antidote to the tired old format of Roger Moore's films. Dalton felt real. He looked handsome but also looked like he could handle himself in a fight. He was the finest actor to have played the role and thus brought an extra sense of gravitas to the part. Licence to Kill for me really cemented his reputation as the ultimate Bond. After him, Brosnan was nothing more than a Bond designed by committee. He was a little of Roger, a little of Sean, he was not his own Bond, just a combo "greatest hits" version. And Craig? Well he gets all the glory as being the tough, no nonsense Bond, but Dalton was one who had it all, the looks, the attitude and the acting chops. All hail Dalton!

@30:05 I always loved this shot of Dalton with the classic gun barrel homage here, seeing bond point his gun directly at the camera with the spotlight on him.

You wound me, Calvin, I absolutely adore Kara. 😭🥰 I think it’s nice to get a relatively normal, even naïve, person as the Bond girl. Not every Bond girl needs to kick ass and be “special” somehow. (This coming from a woman who also really likes Tracy and Vesper)

Fun fact: The actor that plays Necros, Andreas Wisniewski, also portrays the first henchman that John McClane kills in Die Hard, meaning this guy probably holds the record for most henchman roles in Christmas-themed action movies.

It's important to remember that the Mujahedin was not a monolith, and wasn't the Taliban under a different name either. The Taliban only emerged in 1992, four years after the Russians left. At this time a four year civil war between differing factions of the former Mujahedin started, which the Taliban won with the help of Pakistani intelligence. Other factions of the former Mujahedin remained opposed to the Taliban and allied with the west.

I absolutely love how you actually slowed down the part where Dalton squeeze the life out of that balloon and we get a really good look at his facial expression. I always liked that bit, because he truly looks angry and quite dangerous!

While I do have my problems with this film, I have an easy time looking past them because I just love Dalton’s performance. 60% of why I love this film is simply watching Dalton play James Bond (with 25% to all the cool action scenes, 10% John Barry’s score and 5% everything else). Kara is an OK character - I used to find her annoying, over the years I’ve come to appreciate her as a good example of ‘normal person thrown into a world they have no experience of’ - she’s not used to the world of spies and espionage, of course she’d have difficulty flying a plane. Not the best Bond lady, but she’s fine. My main problem with this film is the stakes are never raised particularly high. Coming off of previous films where death and destruction on a large scale were the stakes with potential nuclear weapons going off, here the villain’s plot simply being to sell drugs feels a bit limp. I mean, yeah heroin’s bad, but it doesn’t feel as catastrophic as whole cities being obliterated. Especially since there’s a line where they say the drugs are going to New York - well, that’s all unwell and bad for New York, but I as a viewer don’t care because New York and its drug problems are not a thing in this film. Maybe if Bond had gone to New York during his adventure and seen first-hand the damage heroin does, maybe it would have helped raise the stakes, but as is, it feels completely unrelated to the plot. Simply changing it from New York to London could’ve helped because then at least it’s personal to Bond. I think that’s why the Afghanistan bits are where the plot drags because it fails to live up to audience expectations: we’ve been lead to believe there’s a sinister conspiracy at work, Spiert Spionam killing spies, what could it all be leading up to? And it all turns out to be two men selling drugs to finance an arms deal. It just feels a bit “oh, that’s it?” Yes, drug addiction and war are problems, but they weren’t problems caused by the villains - contrast with Max Zorin destroying Silicon Valley which was a problem entirely down to his doings (or at least it would’ve been if he hadn’t been foiled). I think tying in with this is the problem that neither villain is particularly megalomaniacal - OK, they want to make the villains more human than typical Bond fare, but they never feel particularly threatening. I think if they had made Koskov the head villain and had Whittaker be a Ouromov style deputy-head (or heck, just have him be a henchman) it would’ve worked better. I like Jeroen Krabbé and appreciate the amount of character he was able to give Koskov, but I think the character’s missing that villainous air that would’ve given the scheme some bite, probably because he’s having to share it with Joe Don *Mitchell!* Baker who never really goes anywhere with his character. And yes, the plot is rather convoluted and requires two or three viewings to fully understand, which is never a good thing for popcorn action films. But, yes, as I said, I can overlook those problems because it’s a fun action film with a strong central performance from an actor who really gives a sh*t. As you said, it’s fun without being silly, which is exactly where I like my Bond films (well, I don’t mind a little darkness - I love Licence to Kill after all).

I actually love Caroline Bliss as Moneypenny. I think the more geeky look is cute and I would listen to her Barry Manilow collection any time.

I quite like how Cara is just a normal, naïve girl, but still manages to be decisive, and quite helpful as a result. She isn’t a jaded badass, but does hold her own rather well by the end. Not a dead weight damsel, just… well… innocent.

I have to say I was surprised how invested I was in whether Calvin’s Bond fan card would be revoked. Every time he said something mildly negative I was fearful. And that ending 😂

I am glad that we live in a more enlightened age, where people appear to appreciate Dalton's Bond more than in previous years. Great review, certainly your funniest yet.

Much like You Only Live Twice and Octopussy, this is a film that only gets better with time. Dalton was so good and he's definitely one of my favorite actors to helm the role.

Dalton is certainly the closest to Fleming's Bond and probably my favourite to portray 007. Both his Bond films are excellent. I always liked Licence To Kill the best out of the two for years, but it's swung to The Living Daylights in the past year. It perfectly encapsulates the Bond formula. He comes across as a legit badass, but has a level of charm and suave I think was missing from Craig's Bond.

I love that KGB generals get surnames from classic Russian writers (Gogol, Pushkin). Wish they had generals named Tolstoy, Chekhov and Dostoyevskiy.

The score is great, even "the Pretenders-Where has everybody gone?" was a bit of fun as the song Necros listens to on the way to the mansion.

This has a special place in my heart as it was the first James Bond movie I went to see at the cinema when it was first release. It was my 14th birthday and my late father took me and my brother to see it at the Odeon in Coventry.I remember wondering how the new Bond would be as up to that point. Roger Moore was ‘my’ Bond. My trepidation had been quenched by the end of the pre-credit Gibraltar sequence, I knew we were going to get a more serious Bond and Timothy was WAAAAY ahead of his time and I love this movie mainly because of the memories attached to it. RIP dad and thank you. Xx

I love The Living Daylights it was the film that got me seriously into James Bond especially the Fleming novels. When i read a Bond novel its Timothy Dalton i see as Bond. Just a shame Dalton did not go on to do more movies.

Just to clarify a common misconception, the Mujahideen was NOT just an early version of the Taliban. In fact, the Northern Alliance, the group that allied with the US against the Taliban, were ALSO Mujahideen. The Northern Alliance was also the remnants of the government that took over after the Mujahideen beat the Soviets, only to get overthrown in turn by the Taliban. So it's a bit more complicated than just "we were friends with them in the 80's and now we're enemies."

Since Dalton took over the role in the late 80s when AIDS awareness was at it's height, he became the "safe sex" Bond. One woman in this film (well 2 with the lady on the boat at the beginning) and just 2 in the next film. I think Moore went through about 5 or 6 per film.

And what an exciting Christmas present. TLD is a top 5 Bond film for me as it just strikes the right balance between hardboiled spy story and Bond film theatrics for my taste. I have a great time with your videos even when we rate the films differently, and I've been looking forward to this one for months. Certainly didn't disappoint. Hope you had a very happy Christmas, Calvin!

Timothy Dalton is like a fine wine that ripens and improves over the passage of time.

The first Bond film I ever watched and for me, it’s still the best. The pacing, the score, the locations, the riveting action sequences and Dalton’s intense gritty performance brought Bond back to reality. You couldn’t have asked for a better debut tbh.

If anything, the third act does feel like a classic western to me; something that feels strangely fitting for a bond movie, and rather surprising that this is the only one of the movies to actually do something like that. I get your criticisms, i really do, but i believe that if one were to view this movie as part cold-war spy thriller, part spaghetti western; it actually works quite well :)

Look at Koskov's face after Pushkin says "in a diplomatic bag" - Koskov knows that means he's dead! Now you could say he somehow escaped his guards outside the building before they could execute him and maybe that would have provided possibility for a 3rd Dalton script bringing him back BUT as that 3rd Dalton script never happened and he didn't return in any of the Brosnan films either it should be taken as read that he didn't escape.

The Living Daylights was my introduction to Bond as a young man - primarily because my older sister was really into it... she loved Timothy Dalton, loved Andreas Wisniewski (she had some German friends at the time, so I think she was really digging German culture in general), we knew John Rhys Davies from the Indiana Jones movies, and... y'know, for some reason, I never had any problem with the complexity of the plot. I think as a kid, I just followed it all as it happened, and because of that is maybe why the naivete of Kara didn't bother me so much... she's not a spy, she's not world-weary... she's a cello player. She doesn't really get to anticipate or deduce anything... she follows the notes that are handed to her. As an adult, I can totally understand how that becomes annoying to some, so I don't think you're wrong to feel as you do about her. I guess Maryam D'Abo's performance - plus a bit of my own nostalgia - allows me to just enjoy it. As well, I never once saw Whitaker as the main villain. It always seemed clear to me that Koskov was the brains behind the whole scheme; Whitaker was only in it for the money to sell his arms, but he wasn't Kamal Khan... yes, Koskov and Orlov have essentially the same motives, but there was something nefarious about Khan's duplicity with manipulating Octopussy and her crew (cult?), murdering other agents, etc. HE was the brains behind that plot, while Koskov is the brains behind this one. And yes, it might've been nice to see him and Bond have a showdown, but he came for Koskov and Whitaker stood in the way... if anything, Whitaker is an over-glorified henchman at that point, one that Bond takes down. And sure, Koskov then leaves the movie alive (probably will be tried, convicted, probably either executed or at least sentenced to Siberia... or something like that)... but that also has a bit of the realistic vibe that I think Dalton wanted. The Cold War was starting to wind down a bit, and I think having the villains be a Russian general plotting for military superiority in Afghanistan and an American arms dealer I think placed emphasis more on the idea that it was not a blue vs. red, us vs. them issue. As well, I think this movie DOES suffer a bit, as you say, from being a hangover from the Moore era... the balance between Dalton's need for a darker, grittier realism undoubtedly informed his performance, but I think it reflects in Koskov still being alive at the end. Sure, there could've been a showdown between him and Bond, but... I get an intense amount of satisfaction in hearing Pushkin say, "in a diplomatic bag." It never ceases to put a smile on my face. And I will say, despite your misgivings about this movie, I enjoyed your review and really appreciate that you could look at its finer points and still enjoy it on some level. I do think the humor that we are given works - it's got a tiny bit of the Moore tone, but I think Dalton plays it well... his performance in this always struck me as his balance of his view of Bond and an awareness of the needs of the producers and the audience to not be too dark. I love Dalton's duology, but I do often feel like there MIGHT have been a better transition between The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill if there had been a movie in between... not a third one to follow LtK, but one between TLD and LtK... alas, that was never to be. Oh well...

Aside from the review itself, the quality of editing from Calvin has certainly increased. Can only imagine the amount of time this took. Well done that man!

32:54 I think it’s a callback to Thunderball, since the nuclear bombs in that film have “Handle Like Eggs” printed on them as well. Or maybe it’s just a common saying and the reoccurrence is coincidence. I don’t know - the only thing I handle like eggs are eggs. Never have I had the inclination to make a human heart & nuclear bomb omelette.

The effort you put into these dude. Well planned, executed and performed essays. Bravo

"No, I'm John." I laughed much harder at that part than I probably should have. Well done as always :P

This was a really fun review! Have to say it! "The Living Daylights" is one of my absolute favorite Bond movies and I watch them all. I love the whole series. Kara is one of my two favorite Bond girls (Vesper is the other one) and there are a lot of really great Bond girls. Great chemistry between her and Bond and I like that there is a normal feel to her. I don't think think they have to be larger than life always. She's just someone who got caught up in something totally different than her usual life. Timothy Dalton had a fabulous debut in the role and I'm saying this as a big Sir Roger Moore fan. He played the role closer to what Ian Flemming had in mind for the character from everything I've heard. Your videos are great and I really enjoy them.

Brilliant review as always! These long in depth reviews that you do on each film in the series are almost the gold standard at this point - and are really just about the definitive reviews on them available anywhere. But this time around, the little fun skits that you produce which always accompany them, have risen to another level! Not only are they always hilarious( especially loved the Bond police and the intelligence community laughing stock bits!!) but I see that they require alot of work - acting,props, costumes and some heavy editing. The fact that you do all this extra stuff just to entertain all of us here in the Bond Community is just great and I think I speak for all of us when I tell you it's really appreciated by us - it is a big part of everything you do! I love this film! It's my favorite film of the Dalton Era and I am happy that he is finally getting some recognition for how much he influenced both Brosnan and especially Craig's tenure as James Bond. He was clearly ahead of his time with his serious approach and audiences of the time were definitely not ready for it - so it's great that these days his important contribution to the series is finally getting recognition from the fans! Awesome job as always! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Calvin - thanks for entertaining us all year long!!

Dear LORD. The "No, I'm John" gag was brilliant. Great facial acting Calvin 🤣🤣

Crummy villains aside, this one is kind of the perfect Bond film for me - a nice mix of Fleming influence and silly John Glen/Cubby humor, exciting and beautifully crafted action scenes courtesy of Arthur Wooster and the stunt crew, a delightful cast of secondary characters, a good Barry score, and a breezy pace generally. Dalton rules too, and he fits like a glove with the jaded late Cold War setting.

Love the review! The Living Daylights is actually in my top 10 favorite Bond films list, but I completely understand the criticisms you have. The Afghanistan part is my least favorite part of the film and I think Kara can be annoying at times, but I still really like her character. I really have no idea why I like the film so much lol. I put it in the same category as Octopussy where it's a film that I can just pop on and watch on a Sunday afternoon. I was waiting so long for this review and I'm so glad I finally got to watch it. I can't wait to see what you have in store for us in 2022. Have a very Merry Christmas, Calvin!

I understand the kara comments. BUT the mary goodnight comparison is not warranted. She is clumsy like goodnight BUT she isn’t an agent like goodnight is. She should be totally lost and confused. She kinda got roped into this situation and isn’t supposed to be prepared for any situation remotely close to this. Shes a CELLIST.

I saw this at the cinema when it came out, I was only 10, I remember the ghetto blaster line was so funny back then, it got everyone laughing. Dalton did seem to re-energise the bond fans, we were all really excited to see a new more serious bond.

The Living Daylights has always been one of my favorite Bond films and is easily my favorite one from the '80s. I enjoy how it's a return to form and has a very From Russia With Love plot while still utilizing source material from the Living Daylights short story as well as atmosphere. It's the last Bond film to deal with the Cold War; at the end of the movie Bond and the Soviets represented by General Pushkin have become allies and Kara is allowed to travel between East and West with ease. I always appreciated that (unless I'm mistaken) it's the only time that James Bond goes to a real life war zone when him and Kara get taken to Soviet occupied Afghanistan. Now obviously the movie was filmed in Morocco but it's still cool the producers decided to set it in Afghanistan during the on going Soviet war there. I also liked the attack on the Bladon safe house, always cool when some of the action takes place back in England. And what can you say about Timothy Dalton that hasn't already been said? The guy walked so Daniel Craig could run. He really brought some of that Fleming style back to the character that we hadn't had in a long time. I really like the supporting cast in this movie too. While General Koskov is a bit forgettable, Brad Whitaker is such different Bond villain than we're used to; his battle dioramas are truly awesome it has to be said haha. And Necros is easily the best Red Grant-esqe henchmen since FRWL. General Pushkin is a great potential enemy turned ally. I even like John Terry as Felix Leiter though I may be biased since he's played by John Terry who played Captain Lockhart in Full Metal Jacket the same year and that's one of my favorite movies of all time. Since both movies were shot at Pinewood, I guarantee he was filming both his scenes at the same time. Another Bond ally in the film I liked was Art Malik as Kamran Shah, he was very likable and gave a human face to the Mujahadeen. Problem is as you said, the Afghanistan scenes are when the plot gets really convoluted and it's unclear why certain characters are doing what they're doing; it makes no sense for even Koskov to be selling arms for opium to the Snow Leopard militia even if he is just an opportunist. Then there's Kara who seems to get a lot of criticism for not being a great Bond girl but I think she's totally acceptable. She's way more independent and pro active than Stacy Sutton who by the end of A View To A Kill becomes Olive Oil from Popeye. And M, Q, and Moneypenny were all good in the movie especially Caroline Bliss being a worthy replacement to Lois Maxwell but didn't get a chance to show off her talents as much. As far as gadgets go this movie is one of the best for them. They all feel practical and realistic especially the explosive keychain. The Winterized Aston Martin Volante is just awesome and IMO is the best car in the series after the Goldfinger DB5. Great review!

The Living Daylights is so underrated. It's a great Bond film with fantastic music, stunt work and action sequences. Yes the villains are a bit weak and the story does feel like it's two scripts mashed together but it's still good fun and Dalton is amazing as James Bond.

This review is pure genious. You have always new ideas and new gags to spice up the already interesting reviews. I cannot wait for the next one.

Pushkin's mistress is played by Virginia Hey who was memorable as the bad-ass statuesque "Warrior Woman" in Mad Max2: The Road Warrior. She was the one hit by arrows on top of the truck in the end chase.

Calvin! Kara Milovy IS a great Bond girl!!! My favorites are: Domino Derval, Aki, Anya Amasova, Octopussy, Stacey Sutton, Kara Milovy, Natalya Simonova. *** "The Living Daylights"(1987) was an absolute climax of the franchise! They made the best Bond movie ever!!!

Dalton is one of my favorite bonds mostly because of the dark edginess and almost Shakespearean like approach he had in playing 007

Great review as always! This was the first Bond film I saw in the cinema - on my 10th birthday - so it holds quite a special and momentous place in my heart! I remember the intensity of Dalton’s performance even then. The score and music is some of the best of the whole series, particularly the end credits song by The Pretenders. But oh, the Aston Martin! I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it and it still looks amazing today, and was chuffed to bits it made an appearance in No Time to Die.

Calvin - “Handle Like Eggs” also appears on one of the atomic bombs in “Thunderball.” (In the underwater scene when the Spectre divers are retrieving the bombs from Vulcan.)

I don’t really agree that Whittaker is the main villain in the piece. It’s clearly Koskov, because he’s the one orchestrating the entire scheme to kill his rival, Pushkin, and cover up his arms dealing. Whittaker is just a guy Koskov is using to sell his stolen guns.

I can't help but wonder if Pierce Brosnan became Bond here and went throughout until Die Another Day. With Joe Don Baker playing Whitaker in this film and later CIA Agent Jack Wade in Goldeneye and Tomorrow Never Dies. I wonder how things would've been handled because I can't imagine anyone else playing Jack Wade than Baker. Great review, by the way Calvin. I know it's not everyone's cup of tea but I do have a soft spot for this film and Dalton's duo era as its pretty much the darker part of Bond with License to Kill and Living Daylights was a stepping stone to that long before Craig's Era would delve into it.

The living daylights was the last already released Bond film I ever saw when them Bond marathons started on ITV. It’s one of the films I could randomly watch on its own outside of a Bond film marathon, I do genuinely love it that much. I’d be lying if didn’t agree that the villains in the film are a bit of weakness. Plus there are a couple of technically better films in the series. For Calvin’s comments comparing Kara to Goodnight. It’s a comparison I’ve never really considered before. But I find Kara to be much more central to the plot that Goodnight ever was in TMWTGG, so I struggle to really dislike Kara at all

The french version leaves no doubt about the imminent execution of Koskov at the end

A Living Daylights Review for Christmas? Hey Santa, where we going? I swear, it’s started snowing. Set my hopes up way too high, The living’s in the gifts we buy. Comes the morning and the reindeer fly away, Hundred thousand presents, mine’s a photo frame. I’ve been waiting now for one of us to say, Mix some eggnog, let us piss the day away. Oh, The Christmas Daylights!

This is a Christmas miracle. My favourite Bond movie. The soundtrack is just phenomenal.

One of my favorites! I'm glad to see it getting more attention within the Bond community these days. Dalton was fantastic and I'm glad he's getting the recognition for his time as Bond now that he didn't back in the 80s. Hope you had a merry Christmas, Calvin!

I was really looking forward to watching this review, since Living Daylights is my all-time favourite Bond movie. As such, I must say: Great review! You didn't thrash the movie as much as I feared, and even your criticism is totally valid. I myself am not a huge fan of Kara as a Bond girl, and I do feel that after a whole number of Bond girls actually contributing something to the plot and becoming a valuable asset to Bond himself (even Stacy whose expertise at one point made Bond understand the whole plan of Max Zorin better in "View to a Kill"), we finally got back to the "villain's girlfriend" trope that had already been passé the last time we saw that in "The Man with the Golden Gun". Even though David claimed in your discussion about "Living Daylights" that Kara had somewhat of a character arc, I really don't see it. I have thought a lot about why I like this movie best of the entire series, although objectively I think that three of the others are better, including "License to Kill". But subjectively I came to the conclusion that it just combined all the right elements for me: Dalton is my favourite Bond. He is the most believable, most human and most intense Bond version on the screen; he really conveys the aspects of a dark, cold secret agent (something that Roger Moore only occasionally and involuntarily showed, like in killing Loque during "For Your Eyes Only"). He brought the thriller aspect back to the series, even thoguh John Glen had already shifted the tone of the series during the Moore era. The death of Saunders was brutal and shocking. Also: It was a spy plot worthy of a James Bond novel, unlike "License to Kill" which would become a revenge story like a lot of 80s action movies (like Steven Seagal could have played the part). The action scenes were great, I especially liked the big battle in Afghanistan (to this day the last large battle scene in the entire series). And the music was superb. The nostalgia factor plays into it as well, but overall I still like this movie best of them all, and I frequently rewatch it and have fun with it. It has its flaws, but this actually gives the movie some character and makes it even more enjoyable for me.

I think Tim Dalton is the most plausible Bond. He looks like he could have been a Commander in the RN. Let's hope Henry Cavill is the next one. He reminds me of Dalton, my favourite.

Having gone through the whole of the Bond series earlier in the year with my GF, who'd only ever seen one or two, getting to Dalton felt like a big moment. I remember his films from when I was a child in the late 80s. He always seemed "offish," cold and clinical to my very young mind, and having gone from Connery through Lazenby and Moore, getting to Dalton felt like a grand tonal shift. When we got to The Living Daylights, I'd just finished the Casino Royale novel, and if Dalton isn't the most accurate portrayal of what Fleming wrote then I don't know what is. TLD is in my top 5. I understand its issues, particularly late on and with some of its antagonists, but that opening act and Dalton just nail it. The V8 chase scene is sublime, Bratislava (which I visited in 2017) looks lovely, and Saunders' turnaround and tragedy is a great little arc. I often wonder what a Dalton Goldeneye would be like, in much the same way I wonder how Casino Royale would have been with Brosnan. I'm more than happy we has Brosnan and Craig in both both, but there's always the "what if?" looming.

Love this movie and dalton really was Fleming’s bond. The sniper scene and interrogation scene of Pushkin is just the best in the whole series, Bond is doing real spy-work in this one, a true cold war thriller, i think Dalton plays bond perfect in this one, he’s intense and tough, elegant and smart and he did alot of he’s own stunts and studied the character more then any other bond actor, he nailed it, all the way down to little details, like subtly not liking the coffee in the fair scene, Bond in the books doesnt like coffee. He really deserved a third movie and i always imagine Dalton in for your eyes only, it would have been a perfect trilogy of the dalton era in my view.

Saunders' death marks the culmination of a number of references to 'The third man', also set in Vienna: besides the repeated line 'Balloon, mein Herr?', there's a key scene set on the Ferris wheel at the Prater (the amusement park you mention). The connection? Beyond two Ms in the cast - a delightful Bernard Lee and, more briefly, Robert Brown - a certain Guy Hamilton was assistant director, on top of which John Glen worked in the sound department. You can't blame him for wanting to pay tribute to an earlier classic.

You continue to take your content to greater heights Calvin, this is your best and most entertaining review yet. Hope you have a nice rest of the holidays and cheers to even more success for your channel in 2022!

Have to agree about the sniper sequence - one of my favorites in the whole series, and so good to see some actual 'craft' from Bond. Dalts plays it perfectly.

Omg, that wolf whistle in Kara's dressing room just had me crying tears of laughter. That was amazing!!!

Calvin, that was fantastic, thank you! I don't remember enjoying a new video over Christmas this much since the Only Fools and Horses special, To Hull And Back. And that was a *long* time ago... All the best to you for '22, thanks for all the great videos this year.

Love the comedic inserts in these reviews. Great stuff Calvin.

I've always believed that Timothy and his films have been seriously underrated - he wanted to return to the original gritty of Ians books (in which Bond was a genuine basket case; messed-up background, drank and smoked far too much, almost a psycho etc.). I'd actually forgotten that scene with 007s "FFS" in the cockpit - BRILLIANT! Plus Saunders was pretty good - started off as a typical spineless civil-servanty pedantic jobsworth but grew into his (characters) boots (before being chopped out of them). Excellent review, full marks. Thank you. [My favourite Bond - Brosnan, favourite film - Life and Let Die].

Dalton, for me. Started the trend where the debut film for a new Bond is my personal favourite from that actor ( with Goldeneye and CR being my favourites from Brosnan and Craig respectively) I live the living daylights, and the pre title sequence has, for me one of the best Bond reveals in the series (second only to Dr No)

I'm a lifelong 007 fanatic and The Living Daylights is one of my fave films in the entire series. It is also the last of the John Barry soundtracks and the music is some of the best in the series as well. Dalton is one of the best 007s we have seen and the closest to Fleming's Bond.

Merry Christmas Calvin. Glad your tacking this.

For me, the best Bond films are those that embody the elements of both the cinematic and the literary facets of Fleming's creation. Goldeneye, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, From Russia with Love, and Living Daylights are the films that do the best job at that.

I absolutely love this film. Proper old school Spy thriller story 👍🏼👍🏼

Great way to spend boxing day calvin, been looking forward to this for months and the review did not disapoint. I love this film but its great to see a different perspective. Keep up the good work and I look forward to licence to kill.

A colleague and friend of mine (in Austria) has been an extra in the movie. He plays a policeman in the pipeline-Borde crossing scene...

Timothy Dalton is SO underrated, a very charismatic actor. I really liked him in 'Penny Dreadful' too and ever since I was a kid, Dalton has been my favorite Bond. I appreciate Moore too though a lot, but Connery and Brosnan not so much.

This is my #1 bond film. Definitely for nostalgia but also I feel it's very underrated as it checks all the boxes of what Bond adventures are. Your review was excellent and I loved all the skits sprinkled in, can't wait for more!

That cutaway with the hamper was funny mate 😁✌️ I've been watching these reviews for ages and never once took the opportunity to say how much I find your work informative, meticulous and enjoyable to watch. Look forward to seeing more. Keep up the good work 👍

"Handle like Eggs" was seen in Thunderball or maybe "You Only Live Twice" on a bomb in a scene. Might even have been "The Spy Who Loved Me"

TLD is so close to a perfect Bond film. You right the plot is too complex. Imagine the drug plot gone and insted Koskov wanted Puskin dead so he could take over the KGB. Simple plot but still makes a great film.

Great review Calvin and a welcome and fun watch for this sleepy, carb-fuelled Christmas period! TLD is a film that ages like fine wine for me. Each time I marathon the series, this one seems to rise higher in my list and has now sneaked into my top 10. Dalton plays the part like he's been ready for it for years - it's sad that he only got two. He is so utterly convincing and his commitment to getting the role right cannot be doubted. I'm in the camp that would happily sacrifice A View To A Kill for one more Dalton, which also gives Moore a better finale in Octopussy.

Calvin's skits just keep getting better and better. (Also, as always, great review.) Nice job, sir.

Dude, I LOVED this review, what a nice Christmas present! Great sketched and editing :-)

Great late Christmas video. I love the living daylights, but acknowledge its faults. And I definitely used to be a member of the Bond fan police. I’m glad I’m out of it now, but Dalton is still my favourite Bond. Merry Christmas Calvin.

I had a lot of free time during the pandemic (as I assume most have), so I ended up watching every Bond movie several times and ranking them. One of the things that surprised me was that Dalton ended up being my favourite Bond (based on the average ranking of his movies).

hahaha at 7:10 - wonderful review as ever calvin! happy new year to you and all fellow bond fans ✨ps. the a-ha track is one of my fav bond themes.. such a great song

Great review and video, very funny Calvin🤣. It is one of my favorites, but I understand the issues. For quality action scenes, Dalton and direction it'll always get my vote.

The scene with Pushkin and Bond in the hotel is easily in the top 5 bond scenes. It’s straight Fleming and such a breath of air.

I really enjoy the Timothy Dalton movies and greatly appreciate his love and respect for the genuine portrayal of 007. I only wish he was able to make that 3rd film which would have released around 1991 or 92ish. I must say when anyone mentions Sam Neill I always wish I could experience a parallel universe for a day where he played James Bond from 1987 to 1992 for 3 films.

Great review Calvin Happy belated Christmas!!!!

Funny literally yesterday I rematch your View to a Kill review and was wondering when you would post the next one. And today you post it what a funny coincidence!

I love how you always respect other people’s opinions, Calvin. Don’t worry, I also prefer Licence to Kill over The Living Daylights. By the way, me and my dad recently rewatched Never Say Never Again and I enjoyed it up until the ending. The ending battle is so boring, and makes absolutely no sense. Me and my dad were questioning everything, like how Bond and Leiter got those jet pack things that they use to fly out of the water, how the American crew knew exactly where to pick Bond up, how Bond managed to find Largo and the bomb, and how everyone knew where to find them. Thank you so much for this review, I’ve been looking forward to it for ages and it’s great and funny as always. It’s my extra Christmas present. It really warms my heart to see how passionate you are about this. Hope you had a really great Christmas and that you and your family and loved ones are well! Xxxxx

This is my favourite Bond movie. Tim Dalton is my favourite Bond. A real pity we only got two from him. Nice review.

"Bond police" haha loving that! Thx for the video! Have a merry, merry Christmas, mate!

_TLD_ is #2 in my Bond ranking. Not just a great franchise entry but one of the best Action films of the 1980s. A proper Cold War thriller with a smart & witty script, Dalton is on point, D'Abo is adorable, Barry goes out on top with a majestic score, _Die Hard -_ level Action, & a surprising feel good ending. I love _TLD_ so much.

Love both The Living Daylights and License To Kill. Easily among my top 10 Bond films, one of them might even be in my top 5.

The Living Daylights is definitely my go to Bond Film when I’m in the mood to watch one at random. There’s just something about it that keeps me coming back over and over.

This analysis only made me appreciate this movie even more, there were more nuances to this than I ever realized actually. Dalton really is A+ in his role, it's a true shame he wasn't able to stick around longer. He deserved a long tenure.

You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for a dalton review lol