12 Movies That Tried Too Hard To Innovate (And Sucked Anyway)
8. The Living Daylights
After years of wacky stupidity, courtesy of the wildly uneven Roger Moore era, this 15th James Bond film was essentially a soft reboot that went for a gritty Cold War thriller vibe. This was a very good idea as things had got too ridiculous in the last two Bond movies (Octopussy and A View to a Kill) but The Living Daylights went too far in its move away from formula.
In its headfirst dive into seriousness and convoluted spy shenanigans, The Living Daylights lost the charm and escapism that makes the franchise special. Some of the other more serious Bond films, such as From Russia with Love, On Her Majesty's Secret Service and For Your Eyes Only had found the right balance between light-hearted entertainment and gritty plots, but this abandoned any sense of fun and this was a fatal blunder.
As a result of its desperate attempts to be dark and edgy, The Living Daylights is a humourless, empty and stunningly boring movie that has all the charisma of a mouldy cheese sandwich and is not only one of the worst Bond films, but easily the most tedious one to watch.