Dalton brought a seriousness back to the films that somehow got lost in a lot of silliness along the way.
Tools:
Recommend review to a friend »
I know I'm in a minority here, but I'll say it anyway: Timothy Dalton was the best Bond since Connery. George Lazenby was too wooden, Roger Moore too glib, Pierce Brosnan too slight. Dalton brought a seriousness back to the films that somehow got lost in a lot of silliness along the way. Not that "Licence to Kill" isn't still occasionally tongue-in-cheek. It's just more of a throwback to its roots, truer to author Ian Fleming's more hard-edged intentions. But what do I know: The two Dalton movies were the lowest-grossing pictures in the series' history, and when Brosnan took over they went through the roof.
Discounting the early television version of "Casino Royale" and a later parody with David Niven and Woody Allen, "Licence to Kill" was the seventeenth Bond adventure on film. It was directed by veteran Bond filmmaker John Glenn ("For Your Eyes Only," "Octopussy," "A View to a Kill," and "The Living Daylights"). Interestingly, the original title, "Licence Revoked," was changed because the producers weren't sure if the viewing audience would understand the meaning of "Revoked." Besides, you can't go wrong with "Kill" in a title. Anyway, "Licence to Kill" was the second Dalton effort, less compelling than his first outing, "The Living Daylights," more dour, but filled with even more daredevil stunts.
This time, Bond is chasing a Colombian drug lord named Sanchez, played by Robert Davi, who specializes in slimy, nasty characters, this one the slimiest, nastiest of the lot. When Sanchez maims Bond's friend, CIA/DEA agent Felix Leiter, and murders Leiter's new bride, Bond throws away his spy badge, making it a personal vendetta to go after him alone. Along the way, Bond meets the usual assortment of personnel, including Carey Lowell as Pam Bouvier and Talisa Soto as Lupe Lamora, the love interests for Bond. (They were once referred to as "Bond Girls" earlier in the series, in what Judi Dench as M in "Tomorrow Never Dies" would have called the "sexist, misogynist dinosaur" world of 007.)
Ms. Lowell is particularly fetching, soft and sweet on the outside but tough as nails within. Q makes his usual appearance, again played by Desmond Llewelyn, the longest-running actor in the films. Leiter is played this time by David Hedison. (Leiter is played by a different actor each time he appears. Like Llewelyn as Q, this seems to be tradition.) Wayne Newton looks his lounge-lizard best playing a slick TV evangelist named Professor Joe Butcher. Frank McRae plays Sharkey, a friend who helps Bond find out where Sanchez is hiding. And Anthony Zerbe plays Milton Krest, one of Sanchez's accomplices.
Skydiving, scuba diving, water skiing, flame throwing, shark attacks, bar fights, and death by maggot suffocation are among only a few of the ingredients in this new adventure. The climax, involving a pair of giant tanker trucks, stinger missiles, and a winding mountain road, ranks among the best, most exciting, and most harrowing action sequences in any of the Bond installments.
Average user rating (1-5):
[release]3006[/release]