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The sixteenth James Bond film was released in June of 1989, and although it made more
than 5x its 156 million dollar budget, adjusted for inflation, it has the unfortunate distinction
of being the least financial entry of the series. Directing his fifth Bond film of the
decade, John Glen's PG-13 treatment here would be the first for 007: painting the picture
in a decidedly more realistic and darker tone than the almost playful nature of Moore's
seven films. Starring in his second, and ultimately last picture as the character: Timothy Dalton
stars as MI6's crown agent: who's determination and seriousness guides him on his personal
vendetta to avenge his CIA buddy Felix Leiter: after nefarious Latin American drug lord Robert
Davi brutally mutilates him by literally feeding him to the sharks. Remarking to his henchman
that "loyalty is more important to me than money", Davi's sinister portrayal of the villain
is downright freighting at times: this guy has no issue murdering his own men in cold
blood, looking them right in the eye when he does it, too. Going off-mission, Bond's
boss, "M" is forced to revoke his famous license to kill -- leaving Bond seemingly on his own
to thwart the bad guys. After opening with a thrilling mid-air takedown sequence over
Miami that is remarkably similar to the cold open of "The Dark Knight Rises", this film
settles into a steady and well-paced rhythm that feels more like a generic 80's action
thriller than a familiar Bond spy-caper. In some ways though, the picture is all the better
for it: even the wooden acting of Talisa Soto, one of the two, nearly indistinguishable Bond
girls can't ruin the fun. Carey Lowell plays the other girl, who luckily for Bond has no
issue flying planes and kicking *** -- even if she does start to bicker like a whinny
high schooler when she discovers Bonds been romantically involved with both of them. And
luckily for us, they're both easy on the eyes during many of their numerous costume changes.
Recognizable names like Benicio del Toro and Wayne Newton -- yes, that Wayne Newton-- show
up in limited supporting roles who deliver amusingly devilish and smarmy performances,
respectively. Although he doesn't appear until the half-way mark, Desmond Llewelyn stars
as the venerable gadget guy, "Q", in his largest of his 17 appearances, assisting Bond in the
field. At133 minutes, this picture is littered with cool gadgets and clever escape sequences:
including one of my all time personal favorites, where Bond narrowly avoids underwater death
by harpooning, and then water-skiing behind a seaplane mid take-off. The iconic theme
music swells during all the right moments, and the tension during Bond's undercover sequences
is impressive for a franchise that has been more about flash than substance. The overall
scope and consequence here is lacking however: with Bond tearing through enemies, drugs,
and money for a petty revenge quest that honestly seems beneath the character. And for a "more
realistic" picture, Bond pulling a wheelie in an tanker-trunk to avoid a huge gas fire
just seems ridiculous. A grittier, and more personal affair, fans of Roger Moore might
feel out of place here, but I thought "License To Kill" was a "Taut thriller, lacking Bond
'feel'". Now that you've heard my review, let's check out the YouTube comments for some
of yours.
"License To Kill" on the rate-o-matic... a SEVEN and an EIGHT. Reviews were mixed for
Dalton's Bond: some people are put off by his starkly different portrayal of 007, while
others, myself included, feel his contributions to the series were vastly underrated. You
thought this film was cool. I loved the action, and the revenge plot: but just wish more could
have been in a lot of places, there was something decidedly missing from it, but I thought it
was "Great".