Licence To Kill (1989)

Average rating

(65%)

Starring:	Timothy Dalton \| Carey Lowell \| Robert Davi \| Talisa Soto \| Anthony Zerbe
Director:	John Glen
Studio:	MGM ENTERTAINMENT
Run time:	127 mins
Genres:	Action/Adventure
Languages:	English
Hearing-impaired:	English, German
Subtitles:	Danish, English, Finnish, Greek, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish
Released:	November 03, 2003

In LICENCE TO KILL, James Bond (Timothy Dalton) quits Her Majesty's Secret Service to go after a drug kingpin (Anthony Zerbe) who brutalised a fellow agent and his new bride. This 16th 007 installment is one of the best in the series and the first not based on an Ian Fleming story. Dalton makes his final appearance as Bond in the film; the following 007 outing, GOLDENEYE, features Pierce Brosnan as the dashing secret agent.

Radio Times

Without SMERSH or SPECTRE to outwit (this was the era of Mikhail Gorbachev's glasnost, after all), James Bond turned his attention to big-time drug barons. Timothy Dalton phones in his performance, Desmond Llewelyn is given his biggest role to date and there's a spectacular chase with an oil tanker, but the relentless violence and lack of sexual conquests make this more of a Lethal Weapon than a Bond movie. The title was to have been Licence Revoked until market research implied that Americans didn't know what “revoked” meant. Anyway, when 007 does get his licence revoked, he's asked to hand over his gun. “Then it's a farewell to arms,” he says to “M” in the garden of Hemingway's home in Key West. It's a rare moment of style in a jaded effort.

Rating of 1 stars out of 5
Halliwell's Film Guide

The mixture is much as usual, though the action is more violent and Bond has become more of a free agent.

Highest rated reviews

5 out of 5 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 5.0 stars
GREAT STORY,BUT NOT BOND

A Customer from NEWCASTLE, 22nd June, 2004

This movie has Bond at his most desperate. when Felix Leiter's wife
is murdered and Felix is mauled by a mad shark then Bond is on a mission to catch the man responsible who happens to be a south american drug dealer named Franz Sanchez. traveling through South America to stop Sanchez. The part of Felix Leiter getting his leg ripped off by a shark is nicked from the a scene in the book version of ' Live And Let Die' by Ian Fleming.
Franz Sanchez's hitman Dario{Benicio Del Toro} is pretty nasty too. Talisa Soto plays Sanchez's beat up mistress Lupe Lamora. Cary Elwes plays CIA agent Pam Bouvier. great movie but not of the bond formula. but a very great way to say goodbye to Dalton's Bond.

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Most recent reviews

*** May contain spoilers ***

Rated 4.0 stars
Underated

A Customer from Hereford, 8th March, 2009

Licence To Kill for me is my favourate James Bond film. Dalton plays a tougher no nonsense bond which is what the character is actually like. Here Dalton holds the screen wonderfully and this film is a rollercoaster from start to finish. I would reccomend it. Its a lot more Viiolent that previous bond movie's but thats what keeps you watching in what is going to happen next kind of feeling. Its a shame really because this film did poorly at the box office in America. In England i'd saty it was a hit. Well i made my dad take me back to see it. Just as good as Goldeneye, Miles better than T.N.D & T.W.I.N.E Dont even mention Casino Royale & Quantum Of Solace....... Bond has some great lines The showdown between Bond & Sanchez at the end is edge of your seat stuff Thanks for memories Tim Have a Martini on me

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