Licence to Kill Reviews

Even though I had seen most of the installments starring Sean Connery and a few starring Roger Moore, when I was a kid, I was rather oblivious concerning Timothy Dalton tenure as James Bond. Anyway, 20 years later, I thought it was time to watch his flicks. Personally, I think they made a nice try with him to make the franchise a little darker than it was. Eventually, it was too soon, the audience was just not ready, especially following the fluffiness provided by Roger Moore’ s installments. Furthermore, the makers didn’t really dare to make it too violent or too realistic but this Bond was definitely a precursor to the one portrayed by Daniel Craig 20 years later. Timothy Dalton has been praised as being the closest representation to what Ian Fleming meant with James Bond and also criticized because he managed to make only 2 movies which weren’t really successful and the franchise stopped after him for 6 long years. Personally, I think Dalton did a pretty decent job, I liked the tone of this flick and there were of course some pretty neat action scenes. It was also pretty cool to see a young Benicio Del Toro playing one of the bad guys. Such a fine actor, even here, he did a really good job. Despite being one of the least commercially successful Bond movies, many fans and critics nowadays praises the realism of this movie. I think it is actually a decent installment but I'd rather have Bond on a mission than one of his personal vendettas. To conclude, in spite of its flaws, I still think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

"Effective immediately, your licence to kill is revoked, and I require you to hand over your weapon."

Released in 1989, Licence to Kill denoted the end of the "classic Bond" era. Not only was this the last Bond-buster actively produced by the legendary Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli, but it was also the last Bond film directed by series regular John Glen, and it features the franchise's last opening titles sequence to be designed by Maurice Binder. More notably, it was the final 007 adventure (of only two) for lead star Timothy Dalton, and, unfortunately, it was the first Bond film to disappoint at the American box office. Following Roger Moore's increasingly campy and goofy 007 outings, Licence to Kill revelled in the conventions of the '80s action movie movement, pushing for a gritty tone for the first time since the Connery era. Indeed, the film is closer to a brutal R-rated action film than a light-hearted Bond adventure, and it has received a lot of flack due to this. Yet, for this reviewer's money, the tonal change actually works here. Licence to Kill is a damn good Bond film; a well-constructed actioner with genuine stakes, solid acting and spectacular action.

In the Florida Keys, retiring CIA agent Felix Leiter (David Hedison) is getting married, and his buddy James Bond is the best man. The happy event is interrupted, however, when Bond and Leiter set off to capture notorious Columbian drug baron Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi), who unexpectedly shows up in the area. But after the wedding, Sanchez escapes and comes after Felix. When Bond finds Felix maimed and Felix's wife murdered, he refuses to pursue his next MI6 assignment, ignoring orders from M (Robert Brown) to concentrate on his own personal vendetta of vengeance against Sanchez. As a consequence, Bond is stripped of his job and licence to kill as he sets out to find Sanchez with help from ex-CIA operative Pam Bouvier (Carey Lowell) and beloved gadget expert Q (Desmond Llewellyn).

It's the audaciousness of Licence to Kill which makes it such a success in the eyes of this reviewer, as such risk-taking provides a unique edge. Michael G. Wilson and Richard Maibaum's screenplay shakes up the time-honoured Bond formula, shocking us with Felix's near-death and surprising us with Bond's decision to pursue a mission which has nothing to do with Her Majesty's Secret Service. Licence to Kill is exceedingly dark in tone, a notion which was unprecedented for the 007 series at the time. Aside from a handful of one-liners and a few colourful supporting turns (Wayne Newton is very funny as a televangelist), this is an edgy Bond flick mostly deprived of lunacy and humour. This is because the producers wanted to return to the spirit of Ian Fleming's novels with a more serious, leaner and meaner depiction of the iconic superspy. Alas, while viewers had started growing weary of the jokey Bond exploits, they still expected various Bond trademarks, like over-the-top villains, world domination schemes, inventive gadgets and a smattering of humour. Licence to Kill is mostly divorced of these staples, but filmgoers were not quite ready for such a change in 1989. With 2006's Casino Royale doing something similar with a much better reception, Licence to Kill was fundamentally ahead of its time.

Director John Glen was working with a $32 million budget - by no means tiny, but comparatively slight for this franchise. Thus, there were no huge Pinewood sets or lavish locations. Hell, nothing at all was shot in England; Licence to Kill was mostly shot in Mexico. Surprisingly, the restrictive budget actually works to the picture's benefit; its gritty, grounded disposition renders it far more exciting than a lot of masturbatory, big-budget blockbusters. There's just something inherently exhilarating about a back-to-basics approach. In keeping with the serious tone, Licence to Kill is the most graphically violent Bond film to date. So violent was the film that its more brutal death scenes had to be trimmed to earn a PG-13 rating in America, whereas all previous Bond films had earned an easy PG rating. (Luckily, the cuts were restored on recent home video editions.) The movie has a fair amount of quality action, all of which was competently staged by Glen. Most notable is the exhilarating climax involving tanker trucks that still impresses to this day. Michael Kamen's music is another huge asset. Kamen was a major '80s action luminary, having composed the music for Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, Road House and Action Jackson, among others. Gladys Knight's theme song also warrants a mention; it's enjoyable, but the '80s pop ballad sensibilities are not for everyone.

Dalton simply didn't get a fair shake as 007. He may not get much love and he's no Connery, but Dalton is a strong actor who had all the right qualities to play the character: he was a convincing man of action and had a degree of charm to him as well, not to mention he looked good in a tuxedo. Dalton's performance, which is much truer to Fleming's original creation than anything that audiences had seen in many years, gave Bond much-needed complexity and grit after the character had grown increasingly cartoonish. Not to mention, Dalton looks right at home within an '80s action film. Meanwhile, Davi is a nicely low-key Bond villain. Sanchez does not want to rule the world or cause grand destruction; he's just a vicious drug lord, and he's one hell of a rotten bastard. Of course, there are a few gorgeous women here as well - future Law & Order star Lowell is a top-notch Bond girl as Pam Bouvier, and Talisa Soto is extremely beautiful, too. A very young Benicio Del Toro also appears here playing one of Sanchez's henchmen. In terms of series veterans, Llewellyn remains lovable as Q, and Robert Brown (in his last Bond film) is a strong M.

Admittedly, Licence to Kill could have benefited from a faster pace, as the script does focus more on story and character development than balls-to-the-wall action. Such intricate writing may be appreciated, but the film bogs down from time to time (it does run a hefty 135 minutes). Added to this, some of the shark effects look laughably corny. Still, as Bond films go, Licence to Kill is definitely one of the strongest and most audacious in the franchise, not to mention it's highly entertaining. Interestingly, the original title was Licence Revoked, but the producers were not sure if Americans would understand the meaning of "revoked." So the title was changed to Licence to Kill, even though they used the British spelling of the word "licence." Another score for British Intelligence.

7.7/10

Of all the Bond films, Licence To Kill is probably the most controversial of all. It is probably best described as the marmite of the Bond films. You either love it or pretty much hate it. For some, it brought the series back to the true James Bond of the books. For others, the dark intensity of the film made it seem not in the spirit of cinematic Bond like the films of Roger Moore.
Personally I love Licence To Kill. The story is a clever mix of Live And Let Die and some of Fleming’s short stories. Timothy Dalton proved he was the best Bond actor. He had the style, anger, humour, deadliness, coldness and in some ways loneliness of Ian Fleming’s character. No matter what kind of person you are, you can always relate to James Bond in this film. But for me, the real stand out performance is by Benicio Del Toro as Dario. Has there ever been another Bond villain that is genuinely creepy? Robert Davi is not quite as good ,playing drug lord Franz Sanchez, as Del Toro but he is a worthy enemy of Bond. Anthony Zerbe plays Milton Krest with a cowardly and slimy nature particularly when facing Franz Sanchez. The regulars, Robert Brown, Caroline Bliss and Desmond Llewelyn are all back as their respective MI6’ers and its great that Q gets a much larger role in this film, with his gadgets being very believable.
Rounding out the cast is Frank McRae playing a sort of replacement of Quarrel, Talisa Soto as Lupe, much like the character of Domino in Thunderball and Carey Lowell as CIA agent Pam Bouvier, Bond’s love interest in the film. McRae brings warmth and humour to his character, Sharkey and whilst Talisa Soto is sometimes annoying she makes up for it just by looking stunning. Carey Lowell is just right for her part, and whilst David Hedison’s Felix Leiter is not my favourite he is believable as Bond’s Best friend. It’s nice to have a nod back to Bond’s past in the scene where Felix explains to his wife Della (Priscilla Barnes) that Bond was married once. It’s also nice touch to see the son of Pedro Armendariz as the corrupt president.
As ever in a Bond film the action is superb. The stand out scene being the climatic tanker chase. But my personal favourite involves Bond infiltrating Krest’s headquarters and fighting the guard knocking them around (and in) the fish tanks. The action is noticeably more violent, particularly the scene where a character is placed inside a high pressure tank – we see his head explode in a bloody mess.
Overall, Licence to Kill is one of my favourites. A terrific action thriller and one of the closest films to Ian Fleming’s James Bond.

5/5