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The Living Daylights
Movie

The Living Daylights

1987 • Unknown

Woke Score
2
out of 10

Plot

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.

Overall Series Review

The Living Daylights (1987) is a classic-era James Bond film focusing on Cold War tensions, a KGB defector, and an international arms-for-opium smuggling plot. The narrative is driven by geopolitical intrigue and the personal integrity of Bond, who follows his moral instinct over rigid orders. The film features a return to a more serious, less comedic tone for the franchise. The villains are defined by greed and geopolitical corruption, not by race or gender. The British secret service, MI6, acts as a force for good, trying to prevent global escalation. The primary female character is portrayed as an artistic, vulnerable civilian who is drawn into the spy world, and while she develops resourcefulness, she is not a perfect action hero. The film is fundamentally a traditional spy thriller that operates on universal concepts of good versus evil and loyalty versus betrayal.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics1/10

The plot centers on a Cold War espionage conspiracy between rogue Soviet and American figures, making the conflict ideological and criminal, not racial. Characters are judged by their actions, loyalty, and corruption. James Bond's alliance with the Afghan Mujahideen is based on a shared political enemy (the Soviet invasion) and not an intersectional hierarchy.

Oikophobia2/10

The film explicitly pits Western institutions (MI6) against the totalitarian Soviet state and a corrupt American arms dealer. Criticism is aimed at specific rogue agents and not at Western civilization or its values generally. Bond’s mission upholds British intelligence and stability, viewing core Western institutions as a shield against chaos.

Feminism3/10

The main female lead, Kara Milovy, is a talented professional cellist but is initially depicted as naive and utterly helpless in the field, becoming a victim of her villainous boyfriend's plot. She does not start as a 'Girl Boss' but gradually gains competence and resourcefulness through her time with Bond. Bond's relationship with her is more grounded and emotional than previous iterations, with him requesting separate hotel rooms, suggesting a move toward a more complementary partnership, though the traditional dynamic of the male spy protecting the female artist remains dominant.

LGBTQ+1/10

The narrative adheres entirely to a normative structure. The central relationship is a traditional male-female pairing. There is no presence of alternative sexual ideologies, deconstruction of the nuclear family, or lecturing on gender theory. The focus is on espionage and romance between a man and a woman.

Anti-Theism1/10

The core conflict is political and criminal, driven by an arms and opium smuggling scheme. Religion and spirituality are not major themes. Morality is objective, with clear heroes fighting villains defined by corruption and a lust for money and power, aligning with a transcendent moral law over subjective power dynamics.