Sorry, this movie sucks

Best movie ever!

A Major Disappointment

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

This is the second and last film Timothy Dalton made as James Bond, British secret agent 007. In this one, Bond takes on the king of the drug world, Franz Sanchez, played very well by Robert Davi. He even has to resign from the secret service to pursue Sanchez when he was given a different assignment. Bond was best man at his friend, American CIA agent Felix Leiter's wedding. Leiter had led the capture of Sanchez, and the crime boss repayed him by having his new bride raped and killed and then feeding Leiter to the sharks. He survived but lost a leg and an arm. As one can imagine, this Bond film is loaded with action. It's unusual in some ways. First, Q actually gets a role in part of the action. Second, Bond is captured and about done in a few times. Third, he brings the downfall of Sanchez about in an unusual way. The Sanchez stronghold was too impregnable to take down by firepower. So, Bond uses the strength of the Sanchez empire. Sanchez had boasted that he values loyalty more than money. Sanchez knows Bond only as a former secret agent who is now an independent operative. He tries to convince Bond to work for him. Instead, Bond plants doubt in his mind about his associates in his drug empire. It takes some special sleuthing and planting of a few million dollars Bond had obtained by disrupting a sale by Milton Krest (Anthony Zerbe), a trusted business dealer of Sanchez. The doubt festers and as Sanchez misreads his associates' loyalty, he begins to knock off his own associates. Of course, Bond throws some wrenches into the Sanchez operation that help lead to its complete destruction. There are lots of explosions and a long semi convoy chase adds some different action toward the end.

I cannot sing enough praises for "Licence to Kill", not just as a Bond film but as an action film standalone it is up there with the likes of Die Hard. In many ways I am far from surprised that the film is so underrated. Firstly it stars Timothy Dalton who may just be my second favourite Bond after the unbeatable Sean Connery. Dalton took the role very seriously and had a desire to return Bond to the original intention Ian Fleming had for the character. He was in many ways the prototype of the dark and faithful Bond that Daniel Craig gets, in my opinion, far too much credit for. Dalton did it first and did it better, its just unfortunate audiences weren't ready for this interpretation. Dalton followed directly after Roger Moore who had made the role his own after succeeding Connery. Moore's films were campy, light hearted, family friendly, escapist Bond adventures and Moore was the affable gentleman. This was, of course, in stark contrast to Dalton's Bond and "Licence to Kill"- the darkest Bond film ever. This was Dalton's second and final performance as Bond and he was later replaced by another fan favourite in Pierce Brosnan immediately starring in the widely acclaimed Goldeneye. It is understandable that Dalton is often forgotten by audiences or at the very least held in little regard or adoration after starring in only 2 films and nestled in-between Moore and Brosnan.The greatest credit I can give "Licence to Kill" is its plot, its simplicity is its greatest asset. It follows Bond on his personal vendetta against Franz Sanchez- a drug lord who has left one of Bond's best friends Felix Leiter in a near death state and Leiter's wife murdered. It certainly stands apart from the rest of the Bond films- its a believable smaller scale affair that actually enhances the intrigue and stakes. Partly why I love this film so much is that it is the revenge story for Bond that we never got. In "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" his wife was murdered but this was never followed up with the intense revenge story it deserved, quite the opposite in fact with the campy "Diamond's are Forever". This is actually referenced in the film thus asserting this link between the two. It makes you more emotionally invested in Bond as you can see his pain in seeking vengeance for his friends heightened by the fact that Bond knows exactly how Leiter feels. Bond has also "gone rogue" so has to rely on his own abilities to a greater extent than he usually does in most Bond adventures.Perhaps the greatest compliment that I can give to the film is its fast pace and its non-stop action. It is quite unbelievable whenever you finish the movie and look back at how much Bond achieved and progressed throughout the film whilst, at the same time, feeling that it passed by in no time at all. In terms of action set pieces there are few that can trump the use of superb practical effects seen in this movie. Bond always has a reputation of this but this film takes it to a whole different level. There is a fantastic opening scene where a plane is hijacked by Bond (inspiring the hijacking scene in the Dark Knight Rises), some of the best underwater scenes in the franchise and a final truck chase (inspiring scenes in the Dark Knight). Then there are smaller action scenes in the film which in different circumstances may well be a talking point thus showing how good the action sequences are. A lot of credit should go to the direction of John Glen for the seamless progression of the film and its hectic moments. The film, although fast paced, does make time to slow things down and develop the more serious or emotional moments.The last element of the film that I will focus on is the characters. I have already spoken of the type of Bond that Dalton portrayed and his intense and brooding performance is one of the best performances by any Bond actor. He establishes a believable and deep (for a Bond film) relationship with the film's main Bond girl Pam Bouvier (played by Carey Lowell) who is independent, beautiful and can hold her own in a fight. She is quite unique as a Bond girl and is probably my second favourite (after Tracy in On Her Majesty's Secret Service). One of the biggest credits of the film has to go to Franz Sanchez (played by Robert Davi) whose great respect for loyalty makes him, again, markedly different from other Bond villains. As Bond undermines this quality in Sanchez over the course of the film his increasing paranoia is intriguing to watch and makes him more dangerous yet more vulnerable as a result. Only Robert Davi could have matched Dalton's intensity in this film and his he is compelling due to his fantastic charisma. Secondary characters such as Milton Krest, Ed Killifer and Dario (played by a young Benicio Del Toro) are thoroughly hateable and enhances your enjoyment of Sanchez's downfall. Lupe Lamora is a serviceable secondary Bond girl. Q (Desmond LLewelyn) gets a far greater role in this film than previously and his character benefits greatly from it acting like a fatherly figure to Bond. Even the tertiary character in this film are so interesting and memorable: such as Sharkey and the corrupt reverend to name just a couple.Overall this film is a gem in the Bond franchise and I think that modern audiences will certainly appreciate it a lot more than audiences at the time. I do find this Bond adventure to be the most rewatchable of the entire franchise as its fast pace is so exhilarating and its depth so rewarding. That being said I do think that there are better Bond films out there but it is definitely in my top 5.

Timothy Dalton's second Bond appearance after THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS is a surprising, at times rip-roaring thriller with a mean, cold and dark heart that will make it of instant appeal to older and wiser fans. Dalton was always uncomfortable with the lesser, more kiddie-oriented side of the Bond films, and that edginess is apparent here, yet strangely it adds to his charisma. Dalton was the actor who went back to the Fleming books to offer a darker, more ruthless hero who was far closer to the original source material than either Connery or Moore. As a result his Bond is the most interesting, character-driven of the entire film series, and Dalton constantly shines when on screen.The first half an hour of this movie goes into some very dark territory, with violent mutilation, ruthless killing, and an excellent jailbreak sequence. Throughout the film there is plenty of action, from classic opening fight sequences (love the electric eel tank) to a climatic truck chase which is fantastic, effects filled entertainment in the days before CGI went along and ruined things (although you have to allow for a little cheesy blue screen work, after all it was the '80s). Some of the stunts and images at the film's climax clearly inspired the following year's DIE HARD 2 – you'll know them when you see them.The film's biggest fault is a slightly stodgy middle, in which an undercover Bond is dragged down in failed assassination attempts and a general lethargy only heightened by some inspired torture/violence. Anthony Zerbe is on the sidelines as a superbly slimy villain and his death sequence the most graphically gruesome of the films. Robert Davi is the hulking bad guy and his performance here is unforgettable, the best '80s villain that the Bond films were given. As for the female interest, Carey Lowell is both attractive and intelligent, and sassy with it, making her one of the better additions, whilst Talisa Soto lends some sultry exotic charm. The film is particularly good for supporting roles, with a young Benicio del Toro scoring points as an absolutely loathsome henchman and David Hedison as Leiter. Also we get Everett McGill as another memorable bad guy. Desmond Llewelyn has plenty of screen time, and some great laughs in this one. LICENCE TO KILL is one of my favourite Bond films of all time.

I am taking my son through the bond movies by decade. It is fascinating to note, not just the differences in how the different actors portrayed 007, but the movies all reflecting the social values of the decades which produced them. That said, Dalton's bond portrays a need for vengeance that is almost stoic emotionally; he is chaste, but abruptly makes sexual connections later in the movie that seem forced and contrived. He is dedicated to his American friends, yet seemed inexplicably detached from Q and M, his British colleagues. I found these unique personality "quirks" to lack the refined depth and dimensionality of the Connery bond. On a side note, this bond movie had a very strange production value feel to it, an almost campy soap opera or TV A-Team feel to it, with interlude music and film stock that made it appear more like a TV show, and the bond, as portrayed, felt more like a TV show protagonist than a feature film.