Review of Licence to Kill (1989) by Nick A — 23 Jun 2008

There's a lot of emotional potential in this plot. Bond leaves MI6 to go on a vengeful warpath to kill the man who murdered his best friend on his wedding day. Damn. And Dalton had the acting chops to fulfill this role too.

This is basically Death Wish with James Bond, not a bad concept, but one that suffered unmemorable results. It's alright if it doesn't feel exactly like a Bond film, as OHMSS didn't, but it should at least feel a little like one.

Dalton performs his role a little too well. In a sense, he captures Ian Fleming's James Bond perfectly, a vengeful, angry, and cold killer, the way no other Bond has. Unfortunately, there's also a psychopathic nature to Dalton's Bond here, and while that provides a lot of room for interesting character analysis, it just feels wierd.

While there are no moments in the film where you root for the villian, there are also plenty of moments in which you simply cannot support Bond either.