Review of Licence to Kill (1989) by Ben L — 21 Jul 2013

I'm not sure whether I ever watched this entire movie before. I do recall going to the movie as a youngster and leaving early. Watching it in its entirety now, I can see why it traumatized me as a kid. This is like the Temple of Doom of Bond films. They tried taking a new direction with the character, amped up the violence, dialed down the humor, and limited the number of exotic locations. Unfortunately, with all these changes it just doesn't feel like a Bond film. It's a shame really, because with all these risks they took, I think it might have sabotaged Dalton's chances of continuing in the lead role. It was a gutsy move, trying to recreate the character, but apparently they just pushed too many boundaries.

I still like Dalton's interpretation of Bond. He is unique in that he is almost entirely driven by emotion. In fact this entire movie is basically an angry revenge film for Bond. The only problem with Robert Davi as the main villain is that he almost fits the stereotype of a Columbian drug lord too well. He is charming to his friends and ruthless to his enemies. The title of "Bond girl" is juggled between Carey Lowell and Talisa Soto. I like the jealousy this creates for Lowell's character, but Soto seems to connect with Bond a little too quickly to be believable anyways. Thankfully Bond ends with Pam Bouvier and leaves Lupe behind, because it would have felt downright ridiculous to have Bond end up with Sanchez's woman.

If kept simple I think this story could have worked well. Bond in a vengeful rage is groundwork for a great film, it was a nice feature in the Quantum of Solace. Yet they over-complicate the story. They add in countless other organizations trying to get at Sanchez, and stopping Bond in the process. They have Bond working too hard at deception in order to get closer to Sanchez, when he could have easily took him out sooner. At some point I just became confused whether Bond was still looking for revenge or if he cared more about the drugs now. Yet the biggest issues with Licence to Kill are those items I mentioned before which keep it from feeling like a Bond film. The gruesome, graphic deaths are not typical for Bond and don't really suit a franchise that has been about charm and sophistication. Even in the heaviest of times you could count on a witty quip from Bond, but they were nearly non-existent here. Audiences in action movies like that release of a good laugh here and there. Finally the movie spends almost all it's time in Central America, and not exactly the most scenic parts of that region. Bond is about big, fantastical settings, not stripper bars and bland stretches of empty roads. There is some fun in this movie, the semi truck chase at the end is quite entertaining, in fact. However it just doesn't excite me, and I think I still harbor some resentment for how this film terrified me as a kid.