Licence to Kill (1989)

A vengeful British spy goes rogue and sets off to unleash vengeance on a drug lord who tortured his best friend, a CIA agent, and left him for dead and murdered his bride after he helped capture him.

Director:

John Glen

Writers:

Michael G. Wilson, Richard Maibaum,

Stars:

Timothy Dalton, Carey Lowell, Robert Davi

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Timothy Dalton	...	James Bond
Carey Lowell	...	Pam Bouvier
Robert Davi	...	Franz Sanchez
Talisa Soto	...	Lupe Lamora
Anthony Zerbe	...	Milton Krest
Frank McRae	...	Sharkey
David Hedison	...	Felix Leiter
Wayne Newton	...	Professor Joe Butcher
Benicio Del Toro	...	Dario
Anthony Starke	...	Truman-Lodge
Everett McGill	...	Ed Killifer
Desmond Llewelyn	...	Q
Pedro Armendáriz Jr.	...	President Hector Lopez (as Pedro Armendariz)
Robert Brown	...	M
Priscilla Barnes	...	Della Churchill Leiter

Storyline

James Bond is on possibly his most brutal mission yet. Bond's good friend, Felix Leiter, is left near to death, by drug baron Franz Sanchez. Bond sets off on the hunt for Sanchez, but not everyone is happy. MI6 does not feel Sanchez is their problem and strips Bond of his license to kill. Bond is now more dangerous than ever. Bond gains the aide of one of Leiter friends, known as Pam Bouvier and sneaks his way into the drug factories, which Sanchez owns. Will Bond be able to keep his identity secret, or will Sanchez see Bond's true intentions?

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Plot Keywords:

drugs | agent | drug lord | cia | cia agent | 

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Taglines:

James Bond 007

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for action violence and drug content

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

14 July 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Permis de tuer

Filming Locations:

707 South Street, Key West, Florida Keys, Florida, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$32,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$34,667,015 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Danjaq, Eon Productions, United Artists

Technical Specs

Runtime:

133 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In some South American media, the Lupe Lamora character was incorrectly attributed to Rudy Rodriguez, a Venezuelan ex beauty-queen who was a very popular soap opera actress and sex symbol at the time and who has a close resemblance to Talisa Soto. So for some years after it was usual to see Rodriguez introduced as a "bond Girl" in some showbiz programs.

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Goofs

Bond says "Bon appetit" as he shuts Krest's henchman in the drawer with the maggots. But the henchman is in no danger; maggots don't eat living flesh.

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Quotes

[first lines]
AWACS radar operator: We have a mid-course deviation. Target heading 036, 126 miles, bearing 062, Havana VOR.
Voice of DEA agent: He's landing at Cray Key. Advise Key West Drug Enforcement.
AWACS radar operator: Roger, sir. AWACS to Key West. Key West Drug Enforcement, please come in.
Voice of DEA agent: If they hurry, they just might be able to grab the bastard.

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Crazy Credits

At the tail end of the credits: "James Bond Will Return"

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Connections

Follows Octopussy (1983)

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Soundtracks

"Mexican Waltz"
(uncredited)
Music by Tony Tape (pseudonym of Gerhard Narholz)
Sonoton Musikverlag

User Reviews

Stimulating adventure in which an avenger Bond goes after a drug baron to revenge an attack on his best partner

Timothy Dalton's second entry in which faces dangerous adventures around the world in this solid , slick thriller with magic mix of action-packed , dazzling stunts, gadgetry, and romance provided by sexy company as Talila Soto and Carey Lowell. Timothy Dalton's last outing with overwhelming action and spectacular scenarios . This was Timothy Dalton second appearance as tough and attractive James Bond of the Ian Fleming's famous creation and screen-written by Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson . This Bond film deals with seductive James Bond OO7 as the ultimate spy hero who undergoes a dangerous mission seeking revenge . This time Bond gets mad after a close friend named Felix Leiter (David Hedison of Voyage to the bottom of the sea) from the intelligence sector being abducted on his wedding day ( the bride is played by Priscilla Barnes), and 007 goes undercover to link the kidnapping to an international drug cartel . James attempts to chase the corrupt kingpin and a double-dealing agent (Everet McGill). Meanwhile , there happens a high-octane race and discovers clues about Sanchez (the ruthless villain well played by Robert Davi) and his hoodlums (Anthony Zerbe , Don Stroud and Benicio Del Toro at one of his first appearances). James is double-crossed and continues to follow the lead to baddie's headquarter . Bond deserts Her Majesty's Secret Service and embarks on a world wide personal vendetta . Meanwhile, 007 join forces with a gorgeous , cocky CIA agent (Carey Lowell who married Richard Gere) and of course he falls in love with her .

Timothy Dalton as new James Bond is nice , lacked in irony, suavity and sympathy characterized by Roger Moore however earns in dimension of humanity , coldness ,cunning , adding intelligence and toughness like Sean Connery and nearly to character created by Ian Fleming . Timothy Dalton made his final intervention as Bond in this Licence to Kill, the toughest of the Bond films since Connery's early efforts .In spite of the spectacular opening sequences the Bond films were starting to look a little bit old and tired just like its star Roger Moore , then the producers Michael Wilson, Albert R. Broccoli and his daughter Barbara Broccoli hired Timothy Dalton to up the series. However , Dalton only played two Bonds ,¨The living daylights¨ and ¨Licence to Kill ¨ with the same director John Glen . Here Bond is an efficient , relentless agent trying to chase obstinately the criminals led by a drug kingpin , traveling around the world as always , as this globe-trotting story to achieve his aims , James along the way uses violent means even pulling off brutal killings against enemies who wreak all sorts of havoc . As always Bond will use gadgets and spectacular cars provided by ¨Q¨ (Desmond Llewelyn in an important appearance) . In addition , there appears at the second intervention Caroline Bliss and Robert Brown as ¨MoneyPenny¨ and ¨M¨ , respectively .

The picture with a low-key intrigue contains sensational chases , silly set pieces, high adventure ,great stunts, ferocious action , amazing gimmicks and exciting images like are the happenings on the frantic boat pursuit , a midair brawl with breathtaking aerial scenes over the controls of an out-of-control aircraft , and unstopped action truck-races in the Mexican desert . Enjoyable title song and stirring musical score fitting to action by Michael Kamen , in similar style to classic John Barry . Riveting and fancy main titles by habitual Maurice Binder . It's brimming with colorful and fascinating cinematography by cameraman Alec Mils. The motion picture produced by habitual producers, Albert ,Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson , being professionally directed by John Glen who directed various outings (Licence to kill, A view to kill , For your eyes only. Octopussy) though with no originality . The film will appeal to James Bond series's buffs but good for fans only ; because this one goes on far too long . Rating : 6 , well worth watching .