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Directed By
John Glen
Cast:
Tom Adams, Timothy Dalton, Carey Lowell, Robert Davi, Frank McRae, Talisa Soto, David Hedison, Anthony Zerbe, Everett McGill, Wayne Newton, Benicio Del Toro, Desmond Llewelyn, Priscilla Barnes
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Licence to Kill (1989)
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Movie Review by Jarrod
May 28th, 2009
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I have always been a vociferous defender of 'Licence to Kill', Timothy Dalton's second, and final, outing as James Bond. At least, it is better than his debut, The Living Daylights, which promised a darker Bond, and Dalton certainly delivered on that promise. Only Daniel Craig comes close to matching the cold professionalism Dalton brings to the role; his 007 is a ruthless, largely humorless killer, motivated by vengeance, and, for much of the picture, operates as a rogue agent, hunted by M16, so that he can be taken back to London and properly reprimanded for his behavior.
The plot of this movie is actually somewhat plausible, and not totally preposterous. It is more violent than many of its predecessors. Bond is attending the wedding of friend Felix Leiter (David Hedison), essentially his American counterpart. Leiter is pursuing notorious drug lord Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi), and manages to capture him, with Bond's help (only Bond could hijack Sanchez's plane in mid-air, by jumping out of another plane, and then parachuting to safety).
However, Sanchez escapes, abducts Leiter, feeds him to a shark, and kills his wife, Della (Priscilla Barnes). Leiter is still alive, but his leg has to be amputated. While chasing after Sanchez, Bond ends up in South America, where he meets fellow operative Pam Bouvier (Carey Lowell), and Sanchez's abused girlfriend, Lupe Lamora (Talisa Soto). Both Pam and Lupe fall for James, but he does not display much affection towards either of them.
He is focused on Sanchez, whose wealth and influence affords him protection, including having presidents and police officials in his pocket, secretly owning large banks and casinos, interested not in world domination, but simply getting richer. His modest ambitions make him an interesting, atypical villain, yet still a devious one. Q (Desmond Llewelyn) strays away from his lab; presumably on vacation, he seeks out Bond and offers his assistance, with a briefcase full of gadgets. There are only two major action sequences here, the most impressive of which is a chase featuring large tanker trucks speeding along narrow mountain roads. Look for a young, still mostly unknown Benicio Del Toro, as Dario, one of Sanchez's henchmen.
The weakest link is Wayne Newton, as phony televangelist (is there any other kind) Professor Joe Butcher. The emphasis is on plot and character development, so many I think find this particular Bond flick a bit too boring and long-winded, but I find it taut and gripping, especially in the last 40 minutes or so. It was hard for me to adjust to Dalton after Moore and Connery, but I will admit that Dalton is a strong actor, very charismatic, a nice fit for the role. Underrated and unfairly hated.
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