Review of Licence to Kill (1989) by Kai82 — 01 Jan 2021

The sixteenth James Bond movie and a unique one that divided the audience. It is darker, grim and intense. Many called it the revenge James Bond movie. The intro starts when James Bond is together with his friend Felix Leitner on the way to Felix wedding.

They take a short detour when they got the rare chance to get drug lord Franz Sanchez arrested. However you do not just simply arrest a man like Franz Sanchez. James Bond wants now to take down Franz Sanchez more than anything else but is sent to another investigation.

After he turns that done he is suspended and lost his license to kill but this does not stop a James Bond. From here on the actual story starts. Like I mentioned before it is not a typical James Bond movie.

This is a no nonsense approach that breaks with the hallmarks of previous movies. It is darker, colder and more serious than all other movies in the franchise. This is the dividing factor as for many it is the best and most intense movie in the franchise while others even claim it is not a true James Bond movie.

To be fair I think both arguments are partly correct or better said have their merits. In modern times we have arguments / discussions about subverting expectations since the awful Last Jedi taught us how to not do it.

As opposite examples The Mandalorian and Infinity War / Endgame did it right. For all 3 examples you will find the opposite opinion too. To close the circle I think this is an excellent movie that deserves credit and Timothy Dalton gives a James Bond performance that many including me see as one of the best if not the best in the franchise.

On the other hand this is unexpected and left me puzzled when I first watched it. It is a break in style from previous movies and missed my expectation in a way that did not let me enjoy the movie the first time I watched it.

There is the realm of masterpieces that are not your taste and I think this was my first experience with that. On the acting side I already praised Timothy Dalton. It was also his last appearance as James Bond and overall I think he was excellent.

Robert Davi is one of the most underrate villains in the franchise. He make many others look like lesser evils. For the rest of the cast we got solid to great performances but I will specially praise Carey Lowell, Anthony Zerbe and Frank McRae here.

I wont talk about sets, soundtrack or gadgets as these are great but not that relevant for the final rating. Overall I can give you no solid advice. It is a great movie that divided the fans and critiques.

Even I am are often divided if I disliked it or if it is one of the best movies in the franchise. Watch for yourself and be open minded about it would be my advice.