Licence to Kill (1989)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

John Glen

Writers (WGA):

Michael G. Wilson (written by) and
Richard Maibaum (written by) ...

Release Date:

14 July 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

Tagline:

Out for revenge. Glimpse behind the cool facade of 007. And see how sweet revenge can really be. [USA poster]

Plot:

James Bond leaves Her Majesty's Secret Service to stop an evil drug lord and avenge his best friend, Felix Leiter.

Plot Keywords:

Drug | Agent | Drug Lord | CIA | Personal Vendetta

Awards:

1 nomination

US TV Schedule:

Mon. July 20

9:00 AM

USA

Cast

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

Also Known As:

Bond 16 (UK) (original script title)
Bond XVI (UK) (original script title)
Licence Revoked (UK) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for action violence and drug content. (2006 video version)

Runtime:

133 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Germany:16 (re-release) (uncut) | West Germany:16 (video rating) (cut) | Ireland:15 | USA:R (original rating) | USA:PG-13 (edited for re-rating) | South Korea:15 | Brazil:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Iceland:12 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Danjaq

Trivia:

Cameo: [Pedro Armendáriz Jr.]President Hector Lopez. His father Pedro Armendáriz played Kerim Bay in From Russia with Love (1963).

Goofs:

Factual errors: Sanchez pays Killifer his $2 million bribe in a medium-sized suitcase, describing it as "all in $20 bills". A single suitcase is much too small to hold 100,000 banknotes.

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 Crab 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.

Movie Connections:

Spin off James Bond: The Duel (1993) (VG)

Soundtrack:

Licence to Kill

Hard-edged Bond film. Not a great commercial success, but it has interesting points.

Timothy Dalton only played Bond twice, but he tried to base his interpretation of the character on the descriptions provided by Ian Fleming in the original novels. Therefore, his Bond is quite ruthless and embittered, and always ready to stick two fingers up at the establishment if he feels they've got it wrong.

Bond is vacationing in Florida, acting as best-man at his friend Felix Leiter's wedding, when the unthinkable happens. Leiter and his wife are assaulted by some Central American thugs; the wife is murdered and Leiter is crippled by sharks. Bond is obviously deeply unhappy about this, but his bosses instruct him to let the matter drop and get on with another assignment. 007 knows who is responsible for the injuries to his friend, so he revokes his licence to kill and becomes a rogue agent, tracking down the villainous drug lord Sanchez (Robert Davi) to his Latin America headquarters. Here, aided by Sanchez's unfaithful mistress Lupe (Talisa Soto) and CIA agent Pam Bouvier (Carey Lowell), Bond attempts to wipe out their enormous clandestine drug operation single-handedly.

There's definitely an uneasy, hard edge to the film which makes it unique among the Bond series. Whether or not this improves the film depends on your personal taste: if you like safe, humorous Roger Moore escapades, you'll probably find this too jarring, whereas if you prefer espionage stories with a bit of grit and sweat, this may be just what you're after. The action sequences are still outrageous in the tried-and-trusted Bond style, with memorable episodes featuring a daring helicopter .vs. airplane pursuit; a barefoot water-skiing sequence; and a truck chase down the side of a mountain. Some of the language, though not out-and-out "foul", is a bit stronger and more believable than in other Bond entries. The theme tune from Gladys Knight and the Pips is one of the better 007-tracks.

Licence to Kill is a new twist on the Bond theme. It isn't the best, and some of its new ideas don't fit with the usual routine (which may or may not be a good thing), but it is certainly interesting.