Ranking Every James Bond Opening Scene From Worst To Best
14. The Living Daylights
The Living Daylights' opening may not be the best in Bond history, but it deserves some recognition. "Mi6 training exercise gone wrong" is an interesting set up, and this cold open serves as a solid introduction to Timothy Dalton's James Bond.
After Roger Moore's exhausting and ridiculous swan song A View To A Kill, the Bond producers wisely decided to bring 007 back to his realistic roots this time around. The Living Daylights had to convey this tonal shift to the audience in addition to selling them on Dalton, and its opening did just that.
Before Bond is revealed in this scene, the audience watches his fellow agents get killed. These deaths increase in brutality as they occur, gradually settling into the darker tone of Dalton's films. When Dalton's Bond finally appears onscreen the audience immediately sympathizes with him because they just watched his colleagues die.
Although the awful 80's score and cheesy conclusion taint this scene, they certainly don't ruin it. The parachuting and tense fight in the speeding car are two solid stunts, and both add value to The Living Daylights' opening. However, the real focal point of this scene is its successful introduction of not only Timothy Dalton, but a new direction for the franchise as well.