License to Kill (1989) Review

 "Bless your heart."
-Professor Joe Butcher



Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi), a ruthless drug lord, escapes from DEA custody and sends his men to get revenge on the man who captured him, Felix Leiter (David Hedison).  Felix is mutilated and his wife is murdered.  With Sanchez seemingly untouchable, James Bond (Timothy Dalton) defies his orders and embarks on a revenge mission.


What Works:

My favorite thing about License to Kill is Timothy Dalton's performance as Bond.  It's one of the best single film performances in the entire series.  This is a man hell-bent on revenge and is willing to do anything to get it.  He doesn't just want to kill Sanchez, he manipulates Sanchez into destroying his entire empire before finally killing him.  The fury is palpable from Dalton for the entire film.  This is the movie Diamonds are Forever and Quantum of Solace should have been.

Sanchez is a fantastic Bond villain and my favorite since Scaramanga.  Davi is both charismatic and brutal.  He's a very well defined character thanks to all of the time they spend developing him.  I would bet that out of all the Bond villains, Sanchez has the most screen time.  If not the most, than it has to be very close.  

Q (Desmond Llewelyn) gets his largest amount of screen time in the series in this movie.  He's actually a key part of the mission and does work as a field agent.  I love it!  The more time we get with Llewelyn, the better.

The action is also very solid.  I love how they capture Sanchez in the opening sequence and it's fun to see Bond in a good, old-fashioned bar fight.  Best of all is the airplane sequence, which features some very impressive stunt work.

Finally, the 3rd act kicks a lot of ass.  It's a truck chase that reminds me of Raiders of the Lost Ark.  The action is spectacular and the movie makes all of the moving parts flow nicely.  It's a dark and violent ending that ends the quest for revenge nicely.


What Sucks:

Carey Lowell plays the main Bond girl, Pam Bouvier, and she's not very good.  The character herself is fine.  She's an ex-army pilot and CIA informant.  She doesn't take any crap from Bond and is a very competent character.  It's Lowell's performance that's the problem.  Some of her line deliveries simply don't work and I think a different actress would have been better suited for the part.

Finally, once Bond gets to Isthmus City, the movie gets a little repetitive.  Bond spends too much time telling Pam and Q to leave and that he works better alone.  This happens like 4 times.  At least one of those could have been cut.


Verdict:

License to Kill is a solid Bond movie and easily the best of the "revenge" films.  Dalton and Davi are excellent, the action is superb, and I love that Q has an expanded role.  Carey Lowell wasn't the right choice to play Pam and the script is a little repetitive, but the movie as a whole has still got it going on. 

 8/10: Really Good 



#1. Octopussy

#2. The Spy Who Loved Me

#3. From Russia with Love

#4. Goldfinger

#5. The Living Daylights

#6. Moonraker

#7. On Her Majesty's Secret Service

#8. License to Kill

#9. Live and Let Die

#10. Dr. No

#11. For Your Eyes Only

#12. Thunderball

#13. You Only Live Twice

#14. A View to a Kill

#15. The Man with the Golden Gun

#16. Diamonds Are Forever   

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