(4 votes, average: 4.75 out of 5)
Loading …Rent Movie.com movie reviews presents Licence to Kill movie review a 1989 film starring Timothy Dalton, Carey Lowell and directed by John Glen James Bond leaves Her Majesty’s Secret Service to stop an evil drug lord and avenge his best friend, Felix Leiter. Shortly after an important drugs bust, CIA agent Felix Leiter is married, but when the drug lord he arrested escapes, kills his wife and mutilates Leighter his old friend British agent James Bond seeks revenge. When “M” orders 007 to drop the matter and start a new assignment, Bond deserts Her Majesty’s Secret Service and embarks on a world wide personal vendetta to kill those responsible. Timothy Dalton’s second and last shot at playing James Bond isn’t nearly as much fun as his debut, two years earlier, in the 1987 The Living Daylights. This time Bond gets mad after a close friend (David Hedison) from the intelligence sector is assassinated on his wedding day, and 007 goes undercover to link the murder to an international drug cartel. Robert Davi makes an interesting adversary, but as with most of the Bond films in the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s–and especially since the end of the cold war–one has to wonder why we should still care about these lesser villains and their unimaginative crimes. Still, Dalton did manage in his short time with the character to make 007 his own, which neither Roger Moore did nor Pierce Brosnan did. –Tom Keogh
Comment by John S. Ryan “Scott Ryan”
# December 31, 2006,
If you enjoyed the first few James Bond films with Sean Connery (before the franchise turned into a campy parody of itself), then you’ll like this one. Although it’s not based on any of Ian Fleming’s original stories, it captures their feel better than anything since _From Russia With Love_.
Timothy Dalton’s steely Bond is arguably the closest to date to Fleming’s original vision for the MI6 secret agent (not ’spy’, please). He’s as tough and lean as Connery ever was, and he brings something of Connery’s lupine charm to the role.
The rest of the movie is extremely well done. Robert Davi is one of the best villains since Goldfinger, and surely one of the most realistic in the entire series. Carey Lowell, though mostly effective, is a little underwhelming in the acting department. And the plot — lifted at least partly from Fleming’s _Live and Let Die_ (which is the source for the bad thing that happens to Felix Leiter early in the film) — gives Dalton’s Bond an excuse to seethe with volcanic fury and go off seeking vengeance.
If I’m not mistaken (and I don’t think I am), this is also the last script to which longtime Bond screenwriter Richard Maibaum contributed. (He died not long after this film was produced.)
I like Pierce Brosnan in the role, and I’d like him better if he got better movies to do; _Goldeneye_ has probably been his best so far. But for some reason, the screenwriters don’t want to make him gritty enough. (And by the time they tried with Roger Moore — in the excellent _For Your Eyes Only_ — it was far too late.)
I also like _The Living Daylights_. But when I want to watch a non-Connery Bond film, this is the one I pick most often.
Probably all Bond fans out there have already seen it. But if you haven’t, you’ve got a treat ahead of you.
Comment by Joshua Miller “Josh”
# December 31, 2006,
“Licence to Kill” is the 2nd and final outing of Timothy Dalton as James Bond. It’s better than his first turn as Bond “The Living Daylights” and has some great action sequences, beautiful women, and even some drama. In the opening of the film, Bond’s friend Felix (David Fedison) is getting married to Della (Priscilla Barnes). Right before the ceremony, Bond and Felix hear that drug lord Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi, an actor you’ll recognize from many films. Even though, I can’t remember which ones) is nearby and they manage to arrest him; The scene ends with Felix arriving at the chapel, to his overjoyed bride. Problem is, Sanchez has a lot of money and is able to bribe one of the officers to help him in escaping. He exacts his revenge by attacking Felix and Della; With Della dead and Felix in the hospital, Bond resigns from the British Secret Service and goes after Sanchez with a personal vendetta. Aiding him is a beautiful pilot named Pam Bouvier (Carey Lowell) and Sanchez’s girlfriend Lupe (Talisa Soto, wife of Benjamin Bratt). A very young Benicio Del Toro turns up as one of Sanchez’s henchmen; It was weird seeing Del Toro, because he looks different and his voice is a lot higher compared to his now-raspy voice. A lot of people complain about Dalton’s interpretation of Bond, which is a far cry from Connery’s (I haven’t seen any Roger Moore or Pierce Brosnan outings yet, so I have only Connery to compare to). I agree that Connery is the best Bond, but it’s not so much in the acting; But the character. Connery’s Bond is almost inhuman. He shows almost no real emotion. He loves women, but he’s never seen in love with a woman. He’s pretty much immortal, always winning in the end. He seems to have no real friends, except Q…But that’s just the guy that makes his weapons. In his outings, Dalton makes Bond human. Everything Bond does in this film is for personal satisfaction, he has friends, he shows emotion. A lot of people don’t like this, they like Bond to be what they want to be. But, I have to respect Dalton for what he did. If you like the James Bond series, then you’ll probably like this film. It’s a pretty strong entry in the series.