Licence to Kill

Name: Licence to Kill
Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller
Released: July 14, 1989
Duration: 133 min
Rating: 58
Cast: Anthony Starke, Anthony Zerbe, Benicio Del Toro, Carey Lowell, David Hedison

1989

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 25 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 66 Ratings

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7.2	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 66 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

MGM/UA Distribution Company | Release Date: July 14, 1989 | PG-13

Starring: Anthony Starke, Anthony Zerbe, Benicio Del Toro, Carey Lowell, David Hedison, Frank McRae, Robert Davi, Talisa Soto, Timothy Dalton, Wayne Newton

Summary: When his good friend Felix Leiter is beaten and left for dead, James Bond (Timothy Dalton) sets out on a mission, against his organization's wishes, to track down the drug lord Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi) who tortured his friend. [MGM]

Director: John Glen

Genre(s): Action, Adventure, Thriller

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 133 min

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Critic Reviews

Staff (Not Credited)

The James Bond production team has found its second wind with Licence to Kill, a cocktail of high-octane action, spectacle and drama...The thrills-and-spills chases are superbly orchestrated as pic spins at breakneck speed through its South Florida and Central American locations. Read full review

Michael Wilmington

The series has been with us since 1962 and, like many another old timer, tends to repeat itself. Yet, every once in a while, it pulls in its stomach, pops the gun from its cummerbund, arches its eyebrow and gets off another bull's-eye. The newest, Licence to Kill, is probably one of the five or six best of Bond. Read full review

Phil Perrello

If Licence to Kill added more than just scenes with Q to lighten the load, if it provided a love interest as compelling as Vesper and more engaging than Lowell's whiny Pam Bouvier, this Bond could have been one of the instant greats, instead of one that is better appreciated with age. The movie is not perfect, but a lot of what works now in the series got its start in Dalton's last mission as James Bond. Read full review

Mike Clark

Until its roaring-semis climax, there is no genuine excitement here. Only 133 characteristically overlong minutes of painlessly watchable bubble bath. [14 July 1989, p.1D]

Time Out London Staff (Not Credited)

Not as witty as The Living Daylights, but it doesn't let the audience down in the arena of effects, gadgetry, and locations. Read full review

Joe Pollack

James Bond might as well be any of a dozen movie cops. For whatever reason, writers Michael G. Wilson and Richard Maibaum have given us a hero without the suavity, the urbanity, the sophistication of the James Bond who set these particular movies apart. And when Bond is just another hero, the result is just another action movie. It's sometimes exciting, but it misses all the lovely touches that previous films in the series have provided. [14 July 1989, p.3E]

Richard Corliss

The Bond women are pallid mannequins, and so is the misused Dalton -- a moving target in a Savile Row suit. For every plausible reason, he looks as bored in his second Bond film as Sean Connery did in his sixth. Read full review

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User Reviews

killcounter

Sep 28, 2019

This bond is my favorite, This bond is dark which is i like, the kills are brutal, the action scenes was intense, and everything in this movie is gold

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

HeroicAge616

Oct 26, 2021

The best Bond in years, License to Kill delivers a surprisingly personal revenge tale showcases Dalton's abilities.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

NBFC

Jan 9, 2018

I know this tends to be the most divisive entry in the series but it is my personal favorite of the classic series because it’s James Bond out for REVENGE!!!

Darker and more violent than previous entries, the stakes are smaller than by the franchises’ usual (Bond going all Narcos attemptingI know this tends to be the most divisive entry in the series but it is my personal favorite of the classic series because it’s James Bond out for REVENGE!!!

Darker and more violent than previous entries, the stakes are smaller than by the franchises’ usual (Bond going all Narcos attempting to take down a drug lords empire) but it arguably feels more like a James Bond films than ever before.

It’s such a shame that this ended up being Dalton’s second and last stint as the character because it really felt like he was really nailing down his own unique interpretation of the character. He delivers every line in this movie with the right amount of gravitas with dashes of dark humor (Ex. letting a traitorous friend “keep” the bribe money).

I am also gonna say it right now….Robert Davi’s Franz Sanchez is the second best Bond villain ever!! Not only is the climactic tanker truck sequence probably my favorite action sequence in the whole franchise with countless great moments, the way Sanchez is finally defeated has to rank up there as one of the greatest villain deaths of all time.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

FilipeNeto

Feb 19, 2018

Directed by John Glen and produced by Albert Broccoli, it has script by Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson and is the sixteenth film in the franchise. In this film, besides the central cast inherited from previous films, Timothy Dalton is James Bond alongside a great cast: Carey LowellDirected by John Glen and produced by Albert Broccoli, it has script by Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson and is the sixteenth film in the franchise. In this film, besides the central cast inherited from previous films, Timothy Dalton is James Bond alongside a great cast: Carey Lowell plays the Bond-girl Pam Bouvier, Talisa Soto gives life to the bond-girl Lupe, David Hedison plays Felix Leiter, Anthony Zerbe gives life to Milton Krest and Robert Davi is the villain, Franz Sanchez.

In this film, James Bond pursues the killers of his friend, Felix Leiter, disobeying orders from London. This quest for revenge will lead him to the Caribbean, where he will face a powerful drug lord.

This is probably the best Timothy Dalton's contribution to the 007 franchise. The actor truly embodied the vengeful and loyal spirit of Bond, giving realism to each action scene. This is a Bond that has little to do with the sarcastic gentleman of Roger Moore, and that somewhat resembles the macho killer of Sean Connery. Definitely, this Bond is a ruthless assassin, trained to kill, and who kills without thinking twice. The script puts Bond for the first time in a conflict of loyalties: should he be loyal to his friend and avenge his death or remain loyal to his flag and follow orders? The most similar situation we had seen so far was the resignation that Bond presented to M in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" but, if we consider that he was saved by the intervention of Miss Moneypenny, it ends up not being a conflict between boss's orders and employee's loyalty. We can thus say that Dalton closed well his participation in the franchise, since this was the last film of him in the role. I also liked the approach taken by the film to the anti-drug fight, a hot topic which wasn't seen in Bond films since "Live and Let Die", and was approached with realism and very pertinently, in conjunction with other hot topics, addressed more discreetly, as the use of cults and new religions for dubious purposes or massive corruption of the governments in Latin America. A sequence particularly well done is the final fight, combined with the gradual destruction of tankers. The opening theme of this film, sung by Gladys Night, is remarkable.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

Came

Jul 17, 2019

An enjoyable bond movie but more realistic because of a drug cartel villian something that not many bond films have dealt with. This can be interesting for those whom like a more realistic approach. It can also be a let down for some fans since it doesn't have that usual world genocide planAn enjoyable bond movie but more realistic because of a drug cartel villian something that not many bond films have dealt with. This can be interesting for those whom like a more realistic approach. It can also be a let down for some fans since it doesn't have that usual world genocide plan that the villians have. The action scenes are good and Timothy Dalton as bond is good on this one (he should have done more films since he only made two in total), I think that the bond girls are descent but not that special.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Onlyclassicvg1

Aug 30, 2022

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Broyax

Dec 31, 2017

Ce second 007 avec Timothy Dalton est contre toute attente (après un Tuer n'est pas jouer fort médiocre mais regardable) un énorme étron. Tellement mauvais qu'on en revient pas, tellement mauvais que c'en est choquant : je suis sévèrement choqué par tant de nullité nulle à chier.

Certes,Ce second 007 avec Timothy Dalton est contre toute attente (après un Tuer n'est pas jouer fort médiocre mais regardable) un énorme étron. Tellement mauvais qu'on en revient pas, tellement mauvais que c'en est choquant : je suis sévèrement choqué par tant de nullité nulle à chier.

Certes, Forrest, Forrest Gump a dit que n'est nulle que la nullité, mais la nullité nulle à chier, c'est vraiment à chier. Et on ne pourra pas imputer cette catastrophe au seul Dalton mais à l'ensemble du film lui-même dont le scénario a été écrit par un mongolo, s'inspirant grossièrement de l'actualité d'un Pablo Escobar lu dans un Voici ou son équivalent anglo-amerlocain.

Il ne se passe pas grand-chose ou presque rien pour ainsi dire et les personnages secondaires qui font une grande utilisation des "bimbos" écervelées qui essaient d'avoir l'air intelligent, font à coup sûr l'effet foireux de baudruches qui fuient de toutes parts. En vérité, tout est surjoué comme dans un téléfilm de troisième zone ou une pauvre série policière amerloque à la mords-moi-le-noeud. D'ailleurs, le "méchant" trafiquant est incarné par Monsieur FBI en personne, Robert Davi...

La réalisation très plate en devient morne et carrément abrutissante, y compris dans les quelques cascades plus ridicules que dangereuses à dire vrai... à défaut d'être spectaculaires bien entendu. On voudrait bien en rire mais là aussi, impossible même au 75ème degré : le sous-niveau est tel qu'il est désormais sans fond.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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