Licence to Kill

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

Licence to Kill is directed by John Glen and written by Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson. It's an original story that uses characters and instances created by Ian Fleming. It stars Timothy Dalton, Carey Lowell, Robert Davi, Talisa Soto, Anthony Zerbe, Desmond Llewelyn, David Hedison, Benicio Del Toro, Frank McRae, Everett McGill and Wayne Newton. Music is scored by Michael Kamen and cinematography by Alec Mills.

Bond 16 and 007 goes rogue when drug baron Franz Sanchez leaves Felix Leiter mutilated and his wife dead. With licence revoked by MI6, Bond has to go it alone to enact revenge for the Leiters.

The controversial Bond for ...

A different kind of Bond

Released in 1989, "Licence to Kill" always struck me as the most atypical Bond film. In this one James (Timothy Dalton) goes rogue after a good friend's bride is murdered and the friend is half-eaten by a shark. Stripped of his authority, Bond vengefully goes after the responsible drug lord, Sanchez (Robert Davi).

The opening act drives home that "Licence to Kill" is a more serious and brutal Bond flick. Although there's still a lot of "yeah, right" moments, the comedic edge of past Bond films is all but gone. And the violence is so savage and merciless compared to past films that it almost comes off shocking.

In addition, the spectacular globe-trotting locations are absent in favor of a more one-dime...

I was just not a fan of Timothy Dalton's "007" and so can't say I was looking forward with much enthusiasm to this. Sadly, it didn't surprise - it's a really far fetched, frankly rather unpleasant, outing for Ian Fleming's deadly agent that sees him on the trail of an evil drug lord who fed "Felix" (David Hedison) to a shark whilst doing away that man's new wife. What now ensues is just a series of unremarkable set-piece escapades that have precious little jeopardy to them. Anthony Zerbe just doesn't cut it as the supposedly menacing "Milton Krest" (surely a milk-shake?) nor does Robert Davi as baddie-in-chief "Sanchez". Not that it's unusual for a "Bond" film - but this one really does play a bit too much to stereotype without any of the f...

Man, del Toro was only 21 in this film and still makes a showing as one of the most lethal Bond baddies in the history of the franchise.

And for those of you who are obsessed with Bondlore, this is the 007 film that references the events in OHMSS which proves that Bond is one person and not just a "title" like the people who are trying to completely rewrite the franchise to inject modern politics over story and fun.

Anyway, moving on, this, like The Living Daylights, the closest Bond to Flemming's 007 and the closest Bond to the cold blooded assassin of the early Connery films to-date. So it has always come across as odd that so many people that love Connery 007 hate Dalton.

It's also a break away from MI6 and shows Bond going out ...

License to Kill transformers Bond from a goofy punchline to a vengeful unstoppable force, turning the franchise from whimsical to gritty and producing one of the best films of the series.

License to Kill marked a major shift in the franchise away from the campy, goofy, and almost family-friendly Roger Moore Bind films to something darker and more brutal. Timothy Daltons Bond is savage and emotional, using only his wits to track down an elusive drug lord and devising an elaborate scheme to exact revenge and cripple the entire drug enterprise. No longer are the jokes and gadgets the focus, but instead, the violence and rage of Bond and the villains he faces take center stage. Characters are eaten by sharks, crushed, exploded, and more ...

This 007 film stays true to its motif. This begins an era of "no fun" 007 films, where the wit is very minimal and every scene is whiplash brutal. However, unlike most later 007 films, this one stays true to its design. It doesn't try to "contrive" the story. Instead, there is a flow. One interesting aspect is that we see something worse than "death", as is pointed out earlier, with David Hedison getting brutal treatment in his recurring Felix role. We see the beginning of an era where evil is in charge of the world. No longer is there anyone to be trusted outside of a few men like James and Felix. There is a "darkest before the Dawn" scenario here, but it isn't "contrived" the way later 007 movies do it. There is a lot going for thi...

I was just not a fan of Timothy Dalton's "007" and so can't say I was looking forward with much enthusiasm to this. Sadly, it didn't surprise - it's a really far fetched, frankly rather unpleasant, outing for Ian Fleming's deadly agent that sees him on the trail of an evil drug lord who fed "Felix" (David Hedison) to a shark whilst doing away that man's new wife. What now ensues is just a series of unremarkable set-piece escapades that have precious little jeopardy to them. Anthony Zerbe just doesn't cut it as the supposedly menacing "Milton Krest" (surely a milk-shake?) nor does Robert Davi as baddie-in-chief "Sanchez". Not that it's unusual for a "Bond" film - but this one really does play a bit too much to stereotype without any of the f...