The Living Daylights
Movie, 1987, Timothy Dalton, Set in 1987
The Living Daylights is #17 of 27 in release order and #15 of 27 in chronological order in the James Bond.
The story
After a defecting Russian general reveals a plot to assassinate foreign spies, James Bond is assigned a secret mission to dispatch the new head of the KGB to prevent an escalation of tensions between the Soviet Union and the West.
The Living Daylights recap
Timothy Dalton takes over as Bond. Bond helps a KGB general, Georgi Koskov, defect in Bratislava, and refuses to shoot a woman sniper, the cellist Kara Milovy. Koskov tells MI6 that the new KGB chief, General Pushkin, is killing British agents, and is then snatched back by the assassin Necros. Bond suspects a setup, meets Pushkin in Tangier and fakes his death. Koskov is working with the American arms dealer Brad Whitaker, using Soviet money for weapons and diamonds to buy opium. Koskov drugs Bond and Kara and takes them to a Soviet airbase in Afghanistan, where they escape with a mujahideen leader, Kamran Shah.
The Living Daylights ending explained
Bond hijacks the cargo plane carrying the opium, plants a bomb in it and drops it on Soviet troops chasing the mujahideen, then kills Necros in a fight hanging off the plane. In Tangier he attacks Whitaker's house, and Whitaker is crushed by a bust of Wellington. Pushkin arrests Koskov. Kara performs in Vienna, and Bond is waiting in her dressing room.
Post-credits scenes
No. There is no post-credits scene.
Where to watch The Living Daylights
The Living Daylights is streaming on Prime Video in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 6.7/10, Rotten Tomatoes 75%
Where it fits
- Release order: after A View to a Kill, before Licence to Kill.
- Chronological order: after A View to a Kill, before Licence to Kill.
What to watch before The Living Daylights
In release order, 14 James Bond essentials come before The Living Daylights (1987), from Dr. No (1962) to A View to a Kill (1985).
Cast
- Timothy Dalton as James Bond
- Maryam D'Abo as Kara Milovy
- Joe Don Baker as Brad Whitaker
- Art Malik as Kamran Shah
- John Rhys-Davies as General Leonid Pushkin
- Jeroen Krabbé as General Georgi Koskov
- Andreas Wisniewski as Necros
- Thomas Wheatley as Saunders
- Desmond Llewelyn as Q
- Robert Brown as M
- Geoffrey Keen as Minister of Defence
- Walter Gotell as General Anatol Gogol
Directed by John Glen.