Licence to Kill
Licence to Kill
Director: John Glen
Producers: Albert R. Broccoli; Barbara Broccoli (associate), Tom Pevsner (associate); Michael G. Wilson
Writers: Ian Fleming (novel "Live and Let Die" and story "The Hildebrand Rarity"); Michael G. Wilson and Richard Maibaum
Title Song: Lyrics by Jeffrey Cohen and Sung by Gladys Knight
Opening Action Sequence: On their way to Felix' (David Hedison) wedding ceremony, Bond (Timothy Dalton) and Felix Leiter find themselves trying to catch drug dealer Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi) as he flies his jet over Florida. Bond and Leiter jump inside a helicopter and take to the skies in a hurry, just in time to see Sanchez attempt to escape them. Without hesitation, Bond drops from the helicopter onto Sanchez's jet and rigs a cable to it. Leiter and 007 tow the jet into the local authorities, and they both make it back just in time for the wedding.
Bond Visits: United States (Florida); Mexico
Film Gross: $34,667,015--United States; $156,200,000--Worldwide
Plot Summary: Felix Leiter's worst enemy, drug dealer Franz
Sanchez, escapes incarceration and gruesomely tortures Leiter. Anger
welling inside of him, James Bond single-mindedly sets out to find the villain.
In doing so, he is reprimanded by his superior for neglecting other
duties. Overcome with loyalty to his friend, 007 resigns from the secret
service and sets out independently to seek his vengeance.
Bond, now a rogue agent, teams with CIA informant Pam Bouvier (Carey Lowell) and travels to Sanchez's offices in Isthmus City, Mexico. Here 007 meets Sanchez's mistress, Lupe Lamora (Talisa Soto), and helps her to escape the abusive relationship that she has with her lover.
Also helping Bond in his most dangerous and personal mission yet, is "Q", who is on leave from MI6. "Q" faithfully provides 007 with the usual supply of dangerous equipment while Bond aims to seek his revenge and simultaneously prevent Sanchez from continuing his drug production and distribution.
Timothy Dalton gives a better performance in Licence to Kill, as
his more serious Bond interpretation seems right at home in the intense anger
that permeates this film, but the plot of the movie requires Bond to be equally
intense and charming, and Dalton is occasionally shaky in trying to juggle
both.
The Bond girls are, for the most part, effective and get just the right amount of screentime to complement the story and Dalton's performance. Carey Lowell, in particular, makes a good Bond woman. She combines mystique, danger, style and independence, while also exhibiting a weakness for 007. Talisa Soto does not get as interesting a character, but it's just as well because hers isn't one of the main focuses of the film.
Robert Davi is believably dangerous and menacing as Sanchez, lending more of a coldness to his Bond villain than many of the others before him, but his character is fairly underdeveloped. On the plus side, the narcotics angle of the story helps to bring the 007 franchise into a much more contemporary age, no longer self-mocking or dated.
In fact, the entire film could be described in that manner. An abundance of exhilarating action is substituted in place of habitual promiscuity, and the Bond women (especially Lowell) are surprisingly competent. In Licence to Kill, an important turning point in the franchise, Bond is definitely preparing for the nineties.
Where seduction would be used in earlier films, Licence to Kill injects raw suspense. There's lots of the expected (and unexpected) excitement, as Bond shoots, punches and leaps through each situation thrown his way. Mutilation by shark bite, death by explosions, sawed-off bullwhips, people set aflame, bar fights, and a man whose head is exploded, all justify the film's PG-13 rating.
And, once again, "Q" gets out of the office to personally help 007. With him he brings all of the usual Bond fare (plastic explosive toothpaste, a laser camera, etc.) but, as with the rest of the film, few of the gadgets are tongue-in-cheek. This is serious business.
The story (penned by Michael G. Wilson and Richard Maibaum) is written by two pros in the Bond field. Together they craft an impressive script that modernizes the Bond persona so that it doesn't die in the ever-encroaching nineties. Sure, the plot is more cruel and more personal than that of its predecessors, but it seems to have arrived at just the right moment, as it takes the Bond franchise in a whole new direction.
If you're an open-minded Bond fan who's interested in trying something drastically different, see Licence to Kill, one of the most under-rated films in the series. You may find that 007 can be just as enjoyable served cold as he is with a dose of humor.
Grade: B