The Living Daylights

Confused plot and digressive globe trotting notwithstanding, the best Bond in years. A radical rethink on 007 accommodates the new man; Dalton brings a positive emotional commitment to tight spots and courtship, and emerges as a Buchanite romantic hero. The pre-credits sequence on the Rock of Gibraltar grips like wet rope; the murderous milkman's raid on HQ is a chiller; the final shoot-out with Joe Don Baker's arms dealer amid toy soldiers and model battlefields is a fruitful metaphor. Lethal gizmos and digital countdowns are kept to the minimum, which leaves more room for the acting. On the debit side, in place of the usually globally ambitious mastermind, the writers have given us a couple of seedy dealers who keep moving the goalposts: arms, drugs, diamonds. That and unmemorable events in Afghanistan apart, enjoy.