Licence to KILL! (1989)!!!!...

Yay (mild)

Meh

I hated this movie when I first watched it, but decided to give it a second chance and now I think it is just meh.

Nay. Not the most incompetent of the series, but perhaps the dullest. Dalton is practically catatonic throughout and there’s not a spark of charisma from any of the other characters. Benicio del Toro was hot back then, mind.

Enthusiastic YAY! This is in my top ten Bonds.

Yay. My favorite bond film. 10/10

Meh


Pros:

some great action sequences, among them a spectacular finale with some of the best explosions ever mounted on screen

Sanchez is a charismatic villain

an intense psychotic henchmen played by Benicio Del Toro

Dalton has grown ino the role and is more assured than in his previous outing

the revenge plot is a nice change from the usual Bond fare

larger role for Desmond Llewellyn's Q


Cons:

It has some not so good action too

The one-liners are silly and don't fit the tone of the film

locations are somewhat boring compared to other Bond films

weak Bond girls, neither Talisa Soto nor Carey Lowell can act and the latter is also saddled with a horrible wig she looks much more attractive with the natural short hair she's wearing at the end of the movie

a silly kung fu scene is thrown in for no reason whatsoever

the pacing is a bit slow it could've been shortened by about 10-15 minutes

The best Bond film. 9/10

Massive Yay!


The controversial Bond for many reasons, Licence to Kill even today has been known to induce fearsome arguments in Bond fan circles. Not since On Her Majesty's Secret Service has a Bond film so polarised opinions. In one corner are the folks who determine it's not a Bond movie, in the other is those who say it's a stripped to the bone human Bond. You either love it or you hate it it seems. True to say that it is more an action thriller than a outright Bond film, no humongous sets, no megalomaniac villain (Davi's drug baron a very realistic menace) and of course there is Bond being pursued by those that have courted him previously as their number one agent. Yet there's a whole raft of scenarios that could only exist in a Bond universe, there's gadgets, too, for those that enjoy that side of Bond. Where else would you see a tanker driving on its side? Or exploding toothpaste and alarm clock, camera's that turn into weapons and a broom that is actually a transmitter? Not Bondian enough? Really?



Licence to Kill is a superior action thriller movie, the script is tight, the cast ace and the picture is crammed full of exceptional action set pieces. From the pre-credits sequence that sees Bond and Leiter enact a mid-air arrest, to the rather brilliant tanker carnage at the finale, the film rarely pauses for breath, and right there in the centre is a brilliant Dalton giving a rogue Bond plenty of layers. He's brainy and classy, fallible and driven, intense and tough, always sexy and always dangerous. Dalton's ability to convey raw emotion as each challenge comes his way is a real treat to watch. But most of all he is right there restoring Bond to being a serious action figure. What Bond fans didn't realise at the time was that it would be 17 years before Bond would be this raw again, then it would be heralded as a brave new start for Bond!



Another of the film's strengths is bringing back Hedison as Leiter, last seen playing the role in Live and Let Die, Hedison has great chemistry with Dalton and it's a joy to see Leiter play an active part in the action on screen. However, the makers do make a misstep by having Leiter be all too jovial at the end of the film, weird since he is minus a limb and his wife was raped and murdered by Sanchez's henchmen. Another big plus is Lowell's Pam Bouvier, a tough and brave Bond girl, sexy as heck, her pilot skills come in handy and she's no mug when it comes to brawling. Lowell does fine work in the role and keeps it away from being a token interest cliché. Davi keeps Sanchez as believable, a very driven drug baron who is cultured and funny, but always pulsing a vicious streak, while McRae has presence, McGill neatly keeps the cards close to his chest, Del Toro a nice line in nastiness and Soto is pretty as a picture and plays Lupe Lamora with skilled vulnerability. And of course there's Llewelyn as Q, who here gets a right old meaty role as he goes out in the field to become Bond's only aid from MI6. Again, not Bondian enough?