Licence to Kill
Encyclopedia
Licence to Kill, released in 1989
, is the sixteenth entry in the Eon Productions
James Bond series
and the first one not to use the title of an Ian Fleming
novel. It marks Timothy Dalton
's second and final performance in his brief tenure in the lead role of James Bond
. The story has elements of two Ian Fleming short stories and a novel, interwoven with aspects from Japanese rōnin
tales. The film sees Bond being suspended from MI6 as he goes after drugs lord Franz Sanchez
, who has attacked Bond's CIA friend Felix Leiter
during Leiter's honeymoon. Originally titled Licence Revoked in line with the plot, the name was changed during post-production.
Budgetary reasons made Licence to Kill the first Bond not to be shot in the United Kingdom, with locations in both Florida
and Mexico
. The film earned over $156 million worldwide, and enjoyed a generally positive critical reception, with much praise for the stunts, but some criticism on Dalton's interpretation of Bond and the fact that the production was significantly darker and more violent than its predecessors.
After the release of Licence to Kill, legal wrangling over control of the series and James Bond character resulted in a six-year long delay in production of the next Bond film which resulted in Dalton deciding to not return. It is also the final Bond film for actors Robert Brown (as M) and Caroline Bliss (as Moneypenny), screenwriter Richard Maibaum
, title designer Maurice Binder
, cinematographer Alec Mills, director John Glen and producer Albert R. Broccoli
, although he would later act as a consulting producer for GoldenEye
before his death.
agents collect James Bond – MI6 agent 007 – and his friend, CIA
agent Felix Leiter
, on their way to Leiter's wedding
to have them assist in capturing drugs lord Franz Sanchez
. Bond and Leiter capture Sanchez by attaching a hook and cord to Sanchez's plane in flight near The Bahamas
and pulling it out of the air with a Coast Guard helicopter. Afterwards, Bond and Leiter parachute down to the church in time for the ceremony.
Sanchez bribes DEA agent Ed Killifer and escapes. Meanwhile, Sanchez's henchman Dario and his crew ambush Leiter and his wife Della. Leiter is maimed by a shark as Della is raped and killed. When Bond returns to Leiter's house to find Della dead and Felix alive, but seriously wounded, he swears revenge on Sanchez.
After Bond kills Killifer by pushing him into the tank with the shark that maimed Leiter, M
meets Bond in Key West's Hemingway House
and orders him to an assignment in Istanbul
, Turkey
. Bond resigns after turning down the assignment, but M suspends Bond instead and immediately revokes his licence to kill
. Bond flees from MI6 custody and becomes a rogue agent, bereft of official backing but later surreptitiously helped by MI6 armourer Q
.
Bond boards the Wavekrest – a ship run by Sanchez's henchman Milton Krest – and foils Sanchez's latest drug shipment, stealing five million dollars in the process. Bond recruits Pam Bouvier, an ex-CIA agent-pilot whom he rescues from Dario at a Bimini
bar, and journeys with her to the Republic of Isthmus. In Isthmus City, Bond finds his way into Sanchez's employment by posing as an assassin looking for work. Two Hong Kong Narcotics Bureau
officers foil Bond's attempt to assassinate Sanchez, but Sanchez's men rescue Bond and kill the officers, believing them to be the assassins. Later, with the aid of Bouvier, Q and Sanchez's girlfriend Lupe, Bond frames
Krest by placing the five million dollars he had stolen into the hyperbaric chamber on board the Wavekrest. An angry Sanchez traps Krest in the chamber and then rapidly depressurises it, killing him; meanwhile, for Bond's perceived loyalty, Sanchez admits him into his inner circle.
Sanchez takes Bond to his base, which is disguised as a meditation retreat. Bond learns that Sanchez's scientists can dissolve cocaine
in petrol
and then sell it disguised as fuel to Asian drug dealers. The buying and selling are conducted via the American televangelist Professor Joe Butcher, working under orders from Sanchez's business manager Truman-Lodge. The re-integration process will be available to those underworld clients who can pay Sanchez's price. During Sanchez's presentation to potential Asian customers, Dario discovers Bond and betrays him to Sanchez. Bond starts a fire in the laboratory and attempts to flee, but is captured again and placed on the conveyor belt that drops the brick-cocaine into a giant shredder
. Bouvier arrives and distracts Dario, allowing Bond to drop Dario into the shredder, killing him.
Sanchez flees as fire consumes his base, taking with him four articulated tankers full of the cocaine/petrol mixture. Bond pursues them by plane, with Bouvier at the controls. During the pursuit, three of the four tankers are destroyed. Sanchez attacks Bond aboard the final remaining tanker, which loses control and crashes. Soaked in petrol from the tanker, Sanchez attempts to kill Bond with his machete. Bond then reveals his cigarette lighter – the Leiters' gift for being the best man at their wedding – and sets Sanchez on fire. Burning alive, Sanchez stumbles into the wrecked tanker and causes it to explode. Bouvier, driving the tractor from one of the destroyed tankers, rescues Bond.
Later, a party is held at Sanchez's former residence. Bond receives a call from Leiter telling him that M is offering him his job back. Bond chooses to reject Lupe's advances, suggesting the country's president as a better match and romances Bouvier instead.
was released, producer Albert R. Broccoli
and writers Michael G. Wilson
and Richard Maibaum
started discussing its successor. The film would retain a realistic style, as well as showing the "darker edge" of the Bond character. For the primary location, the producers wanted a place where the series had not yet visited. While China was visited after an invitation by its government, the idea fell through partly because the 1987 film The Last Emperor
had removed some of the novelty from filming in China. By this stage the writers had already talked about a chase sequence along the Great Wall
, as well as a fight scene amongst the Terracotta Army
. Wilson also wrote two plot outlines about a drugs lord in the Golden Triangle
before the plans fell through. The writers eventually decided on a setting in a tropical country while Broccoli negotiated to film in Mexico
, at the Estudios Churubusco
in Mexico City
. In 1985, the Films Act was passed, removing the Eady Levy
, resulting in foreign artists being taxed more heavily. The associated rising costs to Eon Productions
meant no part of Licence to Kill was filmed in the UK, the first Bond film not to do so. Pinewood Studios
, used in every Bond film that far, housed only the post-production and sound re-recording.
(WGA) went on strike
and Maibaum was unable to continue writing, leaving Wilson to work on the script on his own. Although both the main plot and title of Licence to Kill owe nothing to any of the Fleming novels, there are elements from the books that are used in the storyline, including a number of aspects of the short story "The Hildebrand Rarity", such as the character Milton Krest. Live and Let Die
provided the material surrounding Felix Leiter’s mauling by a shark, as well as the close similarity between the villain of the book, Kananga, and Licence to Kills main villain Sanchez. The screenplay was not ready by the time casting begun, with Carey Lowell
being auditioned with lines from A View to a Kill
.
The script – initially called Licence Revoked – was written with Dalton's characterisation of Bond in mind, and the obsession with which Bond pursues Sanchez on behalf of Leiter and his dead wife is seen as being because "of his own brutally cut-short marriage." Dalton's darker portrayal of Bond led to the violence being increased and more graphical. Wilson compared the script to Akira Kurosawa
's Yojimbo, where a samurai "without any attacking of the villain or its cohorts, only sowing the seeds of distrust, he manages to have the villain bring himself down". Wilson freely admitted that the aspect of the destruction-from-within aspect of the plot came more from the cinema versions of the Japanese Rōnin
tales by Kurosawa or Sergio Leone
than from Fleming's use of that plot device from The Man with the Golden Gun
. For the location Wilson created the Republic of Isthmus, a banana republic
based on Panama
, with the pock-marked Sanchez bearing similarities to General Manuel Noriega
. The parallels between the two figures were based on Noriega's political use of drugs trafficking and money laundering
to provide revenues for Panama. Robert Davi suggested the line "loyalty is more important than money", which he felt was fitting to the character of Franz Sanchez, whose actions were noticed by Davi to be concerned with betrayal and retaliation.
The United Artists press kits referred to the film’s background as being "Torn straight from the headlines of today's newspapers" and the backdrop of Panama was connected to "the Medellin cartel in Colombia and corruption of government officials in Mexico thrown in for good measure." This use of the cocaine-smuggling backdrop put Licence to Kill alongside other cinema blockbusters, such as the 1987 films Lethal Weapon
, Beverly Hills Cop II
and RoboCop
and Bond was seen to be "poaching on their turf" with the drugs-related revenge story.
was chosen to play Pam Bouvier, she watched many of the films in the series for inspiration. Lowell had described becoming a Bond girl
as "huge shoes to fill", as she did not see herself as a "glamour girl", even coming to audition in jeans and a leather jacket. While Lowell wore a wig for the scenes set in the United States, a scene where Bouvier cuts her hair was added so Lowell's natural short hair could be used.
Robert Davi
was cast following a suggestion by both Broccoli's daughter Tina, and screenwriter Richard Maibaum, who had seen Davi in the television film Terrorist on Trial: The United States vs. Salim Ajami. For the role of drug baron Franz Sanchez, Davi researched on the Colombian drug cartels
and how to do a Colombia
n accent, and since he was method acting
, he would stay in character off-set. After Davi read Casino Royale
for preparation, he decided to turn Sanchez into a "mirror image" of James Bond, based on Ian Fleming's description of the villain Le Chiffre
. The actor also learned scuba diving
for the scene where Sanchez is rescued from the sunken armoured car.
Davi later helped out on the casting of his mistress, Lupe, by playing Bond in the audition, with Talisa Soto
being picked from twelve candidates because Davi expressed he "would kill for her". David Hedison
returned to play Felix Leiter
, sixteen years after being the agent in Live and Let Die
. Hedison did not expect to return to the role, saying "I was sure that [Live and Let Die] would be my first – and last" and Glen was reluctant to cast the 61-year old actor, since the role even had a scene parachuting. Hedison was the only actor to play Leiter twice, until Jeffrey Wright appeared in both Casino Royale
and Quantum of Solace.
Up-and-coming actor Benicio del Toro
was chosen to play Sanchez's henchman, Dario for being "laid back while menacing in a quirky sort of way", according to Glen. Wayne Newton
got a role after sending a letter to the producers expressing interest in a cameo because he always wanted to be in a Bond film. The President of Isthmus was played by Pedro Armendáriz, Jr., the son of Pedro Armendáriz
, who played Kerim Bey in the second James Bond film, 1963's From Russia with Love
.
ran from 18 July to 18 November 1988. Shooting begun in Mexico, which mostly doubled for the fictional Republic of Isthmus: locations in Mexico City included the Biblioteca del Banco de Mexico for the exterior of El Presidente Hotel and the Casino Español for the interior of Casino de Isthmus whilst the Teatro de la Ciudad was used for its exterior. Villa Arabesque in Acapulco
was used for Sanchez's lavish villa, and the La Rumorosa Mountain Pass in Mexicali
was used as the filming site for the tanker chase during the climax of the film. Sanchez's Olympiatec Meditation Institute was shot at the Otomi Ceremonial Center in Temoaya
. Other underwater sequences were shot at the Isla Mujeres
near Cancún
.
In August 1988, production moved to the Florida Keys
, notably Key West
. Seven Mile Bridge
towards Pigeon Key
was used for the sequence in which the armoured truck transporting Sanchez following his arrest is driven off the edge. Other locations there included Ernest Hemingway House
, Key West International Airport
, Mallory Square, St. Mary's Star of the Sea Church for Leiter's wedding and Stephano's House 707 South Street for his house and patio. The US Coast Guard Pier was used to film Isthmus City harbour. As production moved back to Mexico, Broccoli became ill, leading to Michael G. Wilson becoming co-producer, a position he subsequently retained.
The scene where Sanchez's plane is hijacked was filmed on location in Florida, with stuntman Jake Lombard jumping from an helicopter to a plane, but Timothy Dalton himself being filmed atop the aircraft. The plane towed by the helicopter was a life-sized model created by special effects supervisor John Richardson. After filming wide shots of David Hedison and Dalton parachuting, closer shots were done near the church location. During one of the takes, a malfunction of the harness equipment caused Hedison to fall on the sidewalk. The injury made him limp for the remainder of filming. The aquatic battle between Bond and henchmen had two separate units, a surface one lead by Arthur Woolster which used Dalton himself, and an underwater one which involved experienced divers. The barefoot waterskiing was done by world champion Dave Reinhart, with some close-ups using Dalton on a special rig. Milton Krest's death used a prostethic head which was created by John Richardson's team based on a mold of Anthony Zerbe's face. The result was so gruesome and realistic it had to be shortened and toned down to avoid censorship problems.
For the climactic tanker
chase, the producers used an entire section of a highway near Mexicali, which had been closed for safety reasons. Sixteen eighteen-wheeler
tankers were used, some with modifications made by manufacturer Kenworth
at the request of driving stunts arranger Rémy Julienne
. Most lorries had improvements to their engines in order to run faster, while one model had an extra steering wheel on the back of the cabin so a hidden stuntman could drive while Carey Lowell was in the front and another received extra suspension
on its back so it could lift its front wheels. Although a rig was constructed to help a rig tilt onto its side, it was not necessary as Julienne was able to pull off the stunt without the aid of camera trickery.
, who had played lead guitar on Monty Norman
's original 007 theme
, and Eric Clapton
were asked to write and perform the theme song to Licence to Kill and they produced a theme to match Dalton’s gritty performance, but the producers turned it down and instead Gladys Knight
's song and performance was chosen. The song (one of the longest to ever be used in a Bond film) was based on the "horn line" from Goldfinger
, seen as an homage to the film of the same name
, which required royalty payments to the original writers. The song gave Knight her first British top-ten hit since 1977. The end credits feature the Top 10 R&B hit "If You Asked Me To
", sung by Patti LaBelle
.
John Barry
was not available at the time due to throat surgery, so the soundtrack's score was composed and conducted by Michael Kamen
, who was known for scoring many action films at the time, such as Lethal Weapon
and Die Hard
. Glen said he picked Kamen for feeling he could give "the closest thing to John Barry."
and the British Board of Film Classification
requesting content adaptations, with the BBFC in particular demanding the cut of 36 seconds of film. The 2006 Ultimate Edition DVD of Licence to Kill marked the first release of the film without cuts.
Licence to Kill premiered at the Odeon Leicester Square
in London on , raising £200,000 (£ in pounds) for The Prince's Trust
on the night. The film grossed a total of £7.5 million (£ million in pounds) in the United Kingdom, making it the seventh most successful film of the year, despite the 15 certificate
which cut down audience numbers. Worldwide numbers were also positive, with $156 million, making it the twelfth biggest box-office draw of the year. The US cinema returns were $34.6 million, making Licence to Kill the least financially successful James Bond film in the US, when accounting for inflation. A factor suggested for the poor takings were fierce competition at the cinema, with Licence to Kill released alongside Back to the Future Part II
, Lethal Weapon 2
; Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
(starring former Bond, Sean Connery
) and Batman
.
There were also issues with the promotion of the film: promotional material in the form of teaser posters created by Bob Peak
, based on the Licence Revoked title and commissioned by Albert Broccoli, had been produced, but MGM decided against using them after American test screenings showed 'Licence Revoked' to be a common American phrase for the withdrawal of a driving licence. The delayed, corrected advertising, by Steven Chorney, in the traditional style, limited the film's pre-release screenings. MGM also discarded a campaign created by advertising executive Don Smolen – who had worked in the publicity campaign for eight Bond films before – emphasising the rougher content of the movie.
in The Guardian
was broadly approving of Licence to Kill, liking the "harder edge of the earlier Bonds" that the film emulated, but wishing that it "it was written and directed with a bit more flair." Malcolm praised the way the film attempted "to tell a story rather than use one for the decorative purposes of endless spectacular tropes." Writing in The Guardians sister paper, The Observer
, Philip French
noted that "despite the playful sparkle in his eyes, Timothy Dalton’s Bond is...serious here." Overall French called Licence to Kill "an entertaining, untaxing film". Ian Christie
in the Daily Express
was scathing of the film, saying that the plot was "absurd but fundamentally dull", a further problem being that as "there isn’t a coherent storyline to link [the stunts], they eventually become tiresome."
David Robinson, writing in The Times
observed that Licence to Kill "will probably neither disappoint nor surprise the great, faithful audience", but bemoaned the fact that "over the years the plots have become less ambitious". Robinson thought that Dalton’s Bond "has more class" than the previous Bonds and was "a warmer personality". Iain Johnstone of The Sunday Times
pointed out that "any vestiges of the gentleman spy...by Ian Fleming" have now gone, and in its place is a Bond that is "remarkably close both in deed and action to the eponymous hero of the Batman film
" that was released at the same time as Licence to Kill.
Adam Mars-Jones
of The Independent
was mixed in his review, pointing out that the dating of some of the Fleming ideas, such as imperialism, are out of place; the writers are "trying in effect to reproduce the recipe while leaving out ingredients that would now seem distasteful". Overall Mars-Jones thought that "James Bond is more like a low-tar cigarette than anything else – less stimulating than the throat-curdling gaspers of yesteryear, but still naggingly implicated in unhealthiness, a feeble bad habit without the kick of a vice."
For the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail
, Rick Groen thought that in Licence to Kill "they've excised Bond from the Bond flicks; they've turned James into Jimmy, strong and silent and (roll over, Britannia) downright American", resulting in a Bond film that is "essentially Bond-less". Summing up, Groen thought "Actually, that dialogue...ain't bad. The silence looks good on Timothy Dalton".
In the US press Gary Arnold of The Washington Times
thought that a number of factors "fail to prevent the finished product from jamming and misfiring with disillusioning frequency". Arnold thinks that "demanding that he [Dalton] play Bond's wrathfulness in a transparently seething and hotheaded manner" means that Dalton "seems to waste away on this second outing as Bond." Overall Arnold sees that there is a "failure to recognize that Bond productions are simply too extravagant to permit an uncompromised return to first principles." The critic for The New York Times
, Caryn James, thought Dalton was "the first James Bond with angst, a moody spy for the fin de siecle", and that Licence to Kill "retains its familiar, effective mix of despicably powerful villains, suspiciously tantalizing women and ever-wilder special effects", but was impressed that "Dalton's glowering presence adds a darker tone". James concluded that "for all its clever updatings, stylish action and witty escapism, Licence to Kill…is still a little too much by the book."
Roger Ebert
for the Chicago Sun-Times
gave the film 3½ stars out of 4, saying "the stunts all look convincing, and the effect of the closing sequence is exhilarating... Licence to Kill is one of the best of the recent Bonds." Jack Kroll
, writing in Newsweek
described Licence to Kill as "a pure, rousingly entertaining action movie". Kroll thought that Dalton was "a fine actor who hasn't yet stamped Bond with his own personality", observing "Director John Glen is the Busby Berkeley of action flicks, and his chorus line is the legendary team of Bond stunt-persons who are at their death-defying best here". For Time
magazine, Richard Corliss
bemoaned that although the truck stunts were good, it was "a pity nobody – not writers Michael G. Wilson, and Richard Maibaum nor director John Glen – thought to give the humans anything very clever to do." Corliss found Dalton "misused" in the film, adding that "for every plausible reason, he looks as bored in his second Bond film as Sean Connery did in his sixth".
lists the film with a positive 71% ‘fresh’ rating from 35 reviews, among the reviewers listed in "Top Critics" the score is 50% out of eight reviews. Tom Hibbert of Empire
gives the film only two of a possible five stars, observing that "Dalton … is really quite hopeless". Hibbert concluded that "he may look the part, but Timothy Dalton fails the boots, the scuba gear, or the automobiles left him by Moore and Connery." In 2006, IGN
ranked Licence to Kill fifteenth out of then twenty one Bond films, claiming it is "too grim and had strayed too far from the Bond formula." That same year, Benjamin Svetkey and Joshua Rich of Entertainment Weekly
ranked the film as second worst in the series, questioning Wayne Newton's cameo, and considering that "not even Benicio Del Toro in an early role as a henchman is enough to pep up the action." The magazine also listed Pam Bouvier seventh on their list of worst Bond girl
s, saying Carey Lowell "fumbled this attempt at giving 007 a modern, independent counterpart by turning her into a nagging pest."
Norman Wilner of MSN
considered Licence to Kill the second worst Bond film, above only A View to a Kill
, but defended Dalton, saying he "got a raw deal. The actor who could have been the definitive 007…had the bad luck to inherit the role just as the series was at its weakest, struggling to cope with its general creative decline and the end of the Cold War". In October 2008 Time Out re-issued a review of Licence to Kill and also thought that Dalton unfortunate, saying "one has to feel for Dalton, who was never given a fair shake by either of the films in which he appeared".
Some critics, such as James Berardinelli
, saw a fundamental weakness in the film: the "overemphasis on story may be a mistake, because there are times when Licence to Kills narrative bogs down." Berardinelli gave the film three out of a possible four stars, adding "Licence to Kill may be taut and gripping, but it's not traditional Bond, and that, as much as any other reason, may explain the public's rejection of this reasonably well-constructed picture." Raymond Benson
, the author of nine Bond novels, said of the film: "It boggles my mind that Licence to Kill is so controversial. There's really more of a true Ian Fleming story in that script than in most of the post-60s Bond movies." John Glen has said Licence to Kill "is among my best Bond films, if not the best".
was novelised in 1979.
Licence to Kill was also adapted as a forty-four page, colour graphic novel
, by writer and artist Mike Grell
(also author of original-story Bond comic books), published by Eclipse Comics
and ACME Press in hardcover and trade editions in 1989. The adaptation closely follows the film story, although the ending is briefer, and James Bond is not drawn to resemble Timothy Dalton after Dalton refused to allow his likeness to be licensed. Domark
also published a video game adaptation, 007: Licence to Kill
, to various personal computers.
1989 in film
-Events:* Batman is released on June 23, and goes on to gross over $410 million worldwide.* Actress Kim Basinger and her brother Mick purchase Braselton, Georgia, for $20 million...
, is the sixteenth entry in the Eon Productions
EON Productions
Eon Productions is a film production company known for producing the James Bond film series. The company is based in London's Piccadilly and also operates from Pinewood Studios in the United Kingdom...
James Bond series
James Bond (film series)
The James Bond film series is a British series of motion pictures based on the fictional character of MI6 agent James Bond , who originally appeared in a series of books by Ian Fleming. Earlier films were based on Fleming's novels and short stories, followed later by films with original storylines...
and the first one not to use the title of an Ian Fleming
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
novel. It marks Timothy Dalton
Timothy Dalton
Timothy Peter Dalton ) is a Welsh actor of film and television. He is known for portraying James Bond in The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill , as well as Rhett Butler in the television miniseries Scarlett , an original sequel to Gone with the Wind...
's second and final performance in his brief tenure in the lead role of James Bond
James Bond (character)
Royal Navy Commander James Bond, CMG, RNVR is a fictional character created by journalist and novelist Ian Fleming in 1953. He is the main protagonist of the James Bond series of novels, films, comics and video games...
. The story has elements of two Ian Fleming short stories and a novel, interwoven with aspects from Japanese rōnin
Ronin
A or rounin was a Bushi with no lord or master during the feudal period of Japan. A samurai became masterless from the death or fall of his master, or after the loss of his master's favor or privilege....
tales. The film sees Bond being suspended from MI6 as he goes after drugs lord Franz Sanchez
Franz Sanchez
Franz Sanchez is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the James Bond film Licence to Kill. He was played by Robert Davi. The character is based on Pablo Escobar...
, who has attacked Bond's CIA friend Felix Leiter
Felix Leiter
Felix Leiter is a fictional CIA agent created by Ian Fleming in the James Bond series of novels and films. In both, Leiter works for the CIA and assists Bond in his various adventures as well as being his best friend. In further novels Leiter joins the Pinkerton Detective Agency and in the film...
during Leiter's honeymoon. Originally titled Licence Revoked in line with the plot, the name was changed during post-production.
Budgetary reasons made Licence to Kill the first Bond not to be shot in the United Kingdom, with locations in both Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. The film earned over $156 million worldwide, and enjoyed a generally positive critical reception, with much praise for the stunts, but some criticism on Dalton's interpretation of Bond and the fact that the production was significantly darker and more violent than its predecessors.
After the release of Licence to Kill, legal wrangling over control of the series and James Bond character resulted in a six-year long delay in production of the next Bond film which resulted in Dalton deciding to not return. It is also the final Bond film for actors Robert Brown (as M) and Caroline Bliss (as Moneypenny), screenwriter Richard Maibaum
Richard Maibaum
Richard Maibaum was an American film producer, playwright and screenwriter best known for his adaptations of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels....
, title designer Maurice Binder
Maurice Binder
Maurice Binder was a film title designer best known for his work on 14 James Bond films including the first, Dr. No in 1962 and for Stanley Donen's films from 1958. He was born in New York City, USA, but mostly worked in Britain from the 1950s onwards...
, cinematographer Alec Mills, director John Glen and producer Albert R. Broccoli
Albert R. Broccoli
Albert Romolo Broccoli, CBE , nicknamed "Cubby", was an American film producer, who made more than 40 motion pictures throughout his career, most of them in the United Kingdom, and often filmed at Pinewood Studios. Co-founder of Danjaq, LLC and EON Productions, Broccoli is most notable as the...
, although he would later act as a consulting producer for GoldenEye
GoldenEye
GoldenEye is the seventeenth spy film in the James Bond series, and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film was directed by Martin Campbell and is the first film in the series not to take story elements from the works of novelist Ian Fleming...
before his death.
Plot
DEADrug Enforcement Administration
The Drug Enforcement Administration is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Justice, tasked with combating drug smuggling and use within the United States...
agents collect James Bond – MI6 agent 007 – and his friend, CIA
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
agent Felix Leiter
Felix Leiter
Felix Leiter is a fictional CIA agent created by Ian Fleming in the James Bond series of novels and films. In both, Leiter works for the CIA and assists Bond in his various adventures as well as being his best friend. In further novels Leiter joins the Pinkerton Detective Agency and in the film...
, on their way to Leiter's wedding
Wedding
A wedding is the ceremony in which two people are united in marriage or a similar institution. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes...
to have them assist in capturing drugs lord Franz Sanchez
Franz Sanchez
Franz Sanchez is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the James Bond film Licence to Kill. He was played by Robert Davi. The character is based on Pablo Escobar...
. Bond and Leiter capture Sanchez by attaching a hook and cord to Sanchez's plane in flight near The Bahamas
The Bahamas
The Bahamas , officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is a nation consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets . It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola , northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States...
and pulling it out of the air with a Coast Guard helicopter. Afterwards, Bond and Leiter parachute down to the church in time for the ceremony.
Sanchez bribes DEA agent Ed Killifer and escapes. Meanwhile, Sanchez's henchman Dario and his crew ambush Leiter and his wife Della. Leiter is maimed by a shark as Della is raped and killed. When Bond returns to Leiter's house to find Della dead and Felix alive, but seriously wounded, he swears revenge on Sanchez.
After Bond kills Killifer by pushing him into the tank with the shark that maimed Leiter, M
M (James Bond)
M is a fictional character in Ian Fleming's James Bond series, as well as the films in the Bond franchise. The head of MI6 and Bond's superior, M has been portrayed by three actors in the official Bond film series: Bernard Lee, Robert Brown and since 1995 by Judi Dench. Background =Ian Fleming...
meets Bond in Key West's Hemingway House
Ernest Hemingway House
The Ernest Hemingway House, officially known as the Ernest Hemingway Home & Museum, was the residence of author Ernest Hemingway in Key West, Florida, United States. It is located at 907 Whitehead Street, near a prominent lighthouse close to the Southern coast of the island. On November 24, 1968,...
and orders him to an assignment in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. Bond resigns after turning down the assignment, but M suspends Bond instead and immediately revokes his licence to kill
Licence to kill (concept)
Licence to kill is a literary device used in espionage fiction. It refers to the official sanction by a government or government agency to a particular operative or employee to initiate the use of lethal force in the delivery of their objectives...
. Bond flees from MI6 custody and becomes a rogue agent, bereft of official backing but later surreptitiously helped by MI6 armourer Q
Q (James Bond)
Q is a fictional character in the James Bond novels and films. Q , like M, is a job title rather than a name. He is the head of Q Branch , the fictional research and development division of the British Secret Service...
.
Bond boards the Wavekrest – a ship run by Sanchez's henchman Milton Krest – and foils Sanchez's latest drug shipment, stealing five million dollars in the process. Bond recruits Pam Bouvier, an ex-CIA agent-pilot whom he rescues from Dario at a Bimini
Bimini
Bimini is the westernmost district of the Bahamas composed of a chain of islands located about 53 miles due east of Miami, Florida. Bimini is the closest point in the Bahamas to the mainland United States and approximately 137 miles west-northwest of Nassau...
bar, and journeys with her to the Republic of Isthmus. In Isthmus City, Bond finds his way into Sanchez's employment by posing as an assassin looking for work. Two Hong Kong Narcotics Bureau
Hong Kong Police Force
The Hong Kong Police Force is the largest disciplined service under the Security Bureau of Hong Kong. It is the world's second, and Asia's first, police agency to operate with a modern policing system. It was formed on 1 May 1844, with a strength of 32 officers...
officers foil Bond's attempt to assassinate Sanchez, but Sanchez's men rescue Bond and kill the officers, believing them to be the assassins. Later, with the aid of Bouvier, Q and Sanchez's girlfriend Lupe, Bond frames
Frameup
A frame-up or setup is an American term referring to the act of framing someone, that is, providing false evidence or false testimony in order to falsely prove someone guilty of a crime....
Krest by placing the five million dollars he had stolen into the hyperbaric chamber on board the Wavekrest. An angry Sanchez traps Krest in the chamber and then rapidly depressurises it, killing him; meanwhile, for Bond's perceived loyalty, Sanchez admits him into his inner circle.
Sanchez takes Bond to his base, which is disguised as a meditation retreat. Bond learns that Sanchez's scientists can dissolve cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
in petrol
Gasoline
Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...
and then sell it disguised as fuel to Asian drug dealers. The buying and selling are conducted via the American televangelist Professor Joe Butcher, working under orders from Sanchez's business manager Truman-Lodge. The re-integration process will be available to those underworld clients who can pay Sanchez's price. During Sanchez's presentation to potential Asian customers, Dario discovers Bond and betrays him to Sanchez. Bond starts a fire in the laboratory and attempts to flee, but is captured again and placed on the conveyor belt that drops the brick-cocaine into a giant shredder
Industrial shredder
An industrial shredder is a machine used for reducing the size of all kinds of material. Industrial shredders come in many different variations and sizes. Some examples of materials that are commonly shredded are: tires, metals, car wrecks, wood, plastics, and garbage...
. Bouvier arrives and distracts Dario, allowing Bond to drop Dario into the shredder, killing him.
Sanchez flees as fire consumes his base, taking with him four articulated tankers full of the cocaine/petrol mixture. Bond pursues them by plane, with Bouvier at the controls. During the pursuit, three of the four tankers are destroyed. Sanchez attacks Bond aboard the final remaining tanker, which loses control and crashes. Soaked in petrol from the tanker, Sanchez attempts to kill Bond with his machete. Bond then reveals his cigarette lighter – the Leiters' gift for being the best man at their wedding – and sets Sanchez on fire. Burning alive, Sanchez stumbles into the wrecked tanker and causes it to explode. Bouvier, driving the tractor from one of the destroyed tankers, rescues Bond.
Later, a party is held at Sanchez's former residence. Bond receives a call from Leiter telling him that M is offering him his job back. Bond chooses to reject Lupe's advances, suggesting the country's president as a better match and romances Bouvier instead.
Cast
- Timothy DaltonTimothy DaltonTimothy Peter Dalton ) is a Welsh actor of film and television. He is known for portraying James Bond in The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill , as well as Rhett Butler in the television miniseries Scarlett , an original sequel to Gone with the Wind...
as James BondJames Bond (character)Royal Navy Commander James Bond, CMG, RNVR is a fictional character created by journalist and novelist Ian Fleming in 1953. He is the main protagonist of the James Bond series of novels, films, comics and video games...
: An MI6 agent who has his Double-0 status revoked. - Carey LowellCarey LowellCarey Lowell is an American actress and former model.-Early life:Lowell was born in Huntington, New York and spent much of her childhood traveling with her father, James Lowell, who was a geologist. Immediately after graduating from Bear Creek High School in Lakewood, CO., she was signed by the...
as Pam Bouvier: An ex-ArmyUnited States ArmyThe United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
pilot and CIA informant. - Robert DaviRobert DaviRobert John Davi is an American actor and singer. He has played such roles as Vietnam veteran and Special Agent Johnson in Die Hard, the villainous Jake Fratelli in The Goonies, and Al Torres in Showgirls...
as Franz SanchezFranz SanchezFranz Sanchez is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the James Bond film Licence to Kill. He was played by Robert Davi. The character is based on Pablo Escobar...
: Main antagonist. The most powerful drug lord in Latin America, mentioned as having been wanted by the DEADEADEA is the commonly used acronym for the Drug Enforcement Administration, a United States law enforcement agency.DEA or Dea may also refer to:- Organizations :* DEA , UK development education charity...
for years. - Talisa SotoTalisa Soto-Early life:Born Miriam Soto in Brooklyn, New York, Soto is the youngest of four children born to an Italian mother and a Canadian father of Puerto Rican descent. Her parents later relocated to Northampton, Massachusetts where Soto and her siblings were raised and educated.-Modeling:At the age of...
as Lupe Lamora: Sanchez's girlfriend. - Anthony ZerbeAnthony ZerbeAnthony Jared Zerbe is an American stage, film and Emmy-winning television actor. Notable film roles include the post-apocalyptic cult leader Matthias in The Omega Man, a 1971 film adaptation of Richard Matheson's 1954 novel, I Am Legend; Milton Krest in the 1989 James Bond film Licence to Kill;...
as Milton Krest: Sanchez's henchman who operates Wavekrest Marine Research. - Frank McRaeFrank McRaeFrank McRae is an American actor and former professional football player.McRae was born in Memphis, Tennessee. McRae graduated from Tennessee State University with a double major in drama and history. He was a defensive tackle for the Chicago Bears in the 1967 NFL season.Among his acting roles are...
as Sharkey: Friend of Felix Leiter and owns a boat charter business. - Everett McGillEverett McGillEverett McGill is an American actor, best known for mostly playing villains in films like Licence to Kill, Silver Bullet, Dune, Yanks and Under Siege 2: Dark Territory.-Life and career:...
as Ed Killifer: DEA official - Wayne NewtonWayne NewtonWayne Newton is an American singer and entertainer based in Las Vegas, Nevada. He performed over 30,000 solo shows in Las Vegas over a period of over 40 years, earning him the nicknames The Midnight Idol, Mr. Las Vegas and Mr. Entertainment...
as Professor Joe Butcher: Sanchez's middleman and TV evangelist for Olimpatec Meditation Institute. - Benicio del ToroBenicio del ToroBenicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez is a Puerto Rican and Spanish actor and film producer. He won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a BAFTA Award for his role as Javier Rodríguez in Traffic . He is also known for his roles as Fred Fenster in The Usual...
as Dario: One of Sanchez's henchmen - Anthony StarkeAnthony StarkeAnthony Starke is an American actor. Starke is well known for his one episode role in Seinfeld, playing the 3rd person-speaking character Jimmy in "The Jimmy", as well as playing Jack on The George Carlin Show, on Fox.-Biography:...
as Truman-Lodge: Sanchez's financial advisor. - Pedro Armendáriz, Jr. as President Hector Lopez, the president of Isthmus.
- Desmond LlewelynDesmond LlewelynDesmond Wilkinson Llewelyn was a Welsh actor, famous for playing Q in 17 of the James Bond films between 1963 and 1999.-Early life:...
as QQ (James Bond)Q is a fictional character in the James Bond novels and films. Q , like M, is a job title rather than a name. He is the head of Q Branch , the fictional research and development division of the British Secret Service...
: Supplies Bond with various gadgets and helps him on the field. - David HedisonDavid HedisonAlbert David Hedison, Jr. is an Armenian-American film, television, and stage actor. He was billed as Al Hedison in his early film work. In 1959, when he was cast in the role of Victor Sebastian in the short-lived espionage television series Five Fingers, NBC insisted that he change his name...
as Felix LeiterFelix LeiterFelix Leiter is a fictional CIA agent created by Ian Fleming in the James Bond series of novels and films. In both, Leiter works for the CIA and assists Bond in his various adventures as well as being his best friend. In further novels Leiter joins the Pinkerton Detective Agency and in the film...
: Former CIA agent, now with DEA. - Priscilla Barnes as Della Churchill: Felix Leiter's bride.
- Robert Brown as MM (James Bond)M is a fictional character in Ian Fleming's James Bond series, as well as the films in the Bond franchise. The head of MI6 and Bond's superior, M has been portrayed by three actors in the official Bond film series: Bernard Lee, Robert Brown and since 1995 by Judi Dench. Background =Ian Fleming...
: Head of MI6, revokes Bond of his Double-0 licence. - Caroline Bliss as Miss MoneypennyMiss MoneypennyJane Moneypenny, better known as Miss Moneypenny, is a fictional character in the James Bond novels and films. She is secretary to M, who is Bond's boss and head of the British Secret Service...
: M's personal secretary. - Don StroudDon StroudDonald Lee Stroud is an American actor and surfer who appeared in many films in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and has starred in over 100 films and 175 television shows to date.-Early life:...
as Colonel Heller: Sanchez's head of security. - Grand L. BushGrand L. BushGrand Lee Bush is an American actor of stage, television and major motion pictures.-Personal life:Bush was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Essie and Robert Bush, who was an actor...
as Hawkins: DEA Agent and Bond ally who opposes Bond's vendetta. - Cary-Hiroyuki TagawaCary-Hiroyuki Tagawais a Japanese-American actor.In addition to his extensive film work, he has appeared on television in Star Trek: The Next Generation - "Encounter at Farpoint" , Thunder in Paradise , Nash Bridges , Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding , and Heroes . He also provided the voice of Sin Tzu for the video game...
as Kwang: A Hong Kong Police Narcotics agent sent to infiltrate Sanchez's heart of operations. - Christopher NeameChristopher NeameChristopher Neame is an English actor.-Education:Neame was educated at The King's School, Canterbury, an independent school in Canterbury in Kent.-Life and career:...
as Fallon: An MI6 agent sent by M to arrest Bond, dead or alive. - Diana Lee HsuDiana LeeDiana Lee or Diana Lee-Hsu is an American model and actress. She was chosen as Playboy's Playmate of the Month for May 1988. Her centerfold was photographed by Stephen Wayda and Richard Fegley....
as Loti: A female Hong Kong Narcotics agent working with Kwang.
Production
Shortly after The Living DaylightsThe Living Daylights
The Living Daylights is the fifteenth entry in the James Bond series and the first to star Timothy Dalton as the fictional MI6 agent 007. The film's title is taken from Ian Fleming's short story, "The Living Daylights"...
was released, producer Albert R. Broccoli
Albert R. Broccoli
Albert Romolo Broccoli, CBE , nicknamed "Cubby", was an American film producer, who made more than 40 motion pictures throughout his career, most of them in the United Kingdom, and often filmed at Pinewood Studios. Co-founder of Danjaq, LLC and EON Productions, Broccoli is most notable as the...
and writers Michael G. Wilson
Michael G. Wilson
Michael Gregg Wilson, OBE is the producer and screenwriter of many modern James Bond movies.-Background:Wilson was born in New York City, New York, the son of Dana and actor Lewis Wilson. His father was the first actor to play the DC Comics character Batman in live action, which he did in the...
and Richard Maibaum
Richard Maibaum
Richard Maibaum was an American film producer, playwright and screenwriter best known for his adaptations of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels....
started discussing its successor. The film would retain a realistic style, as well as showing the "darker edge" of the Bond character. For the primary location, the producers wanted a place where the series had not yet visited. While China was visited after an invitation by its government, the idea fell through partly because the 1987 film The Last Emperor
The Last Emperor
The Last Emperor is a 1987 biopic about the life of Puyi, the last Emperor of China, whose autobiography was the basis for the screenplay written by Mark Peploe and Bernardo Bertolucci. Independently produced by Jeremy Thomas, it was directed by Bertolucci and released in 1987 by Columbia Pictures...
had removed some of the novelty from filming in China. By this stage the writers had already talked about a chase sequence along the Great Wall
Great Wall of China
The Great Wall of China is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in northern China, built originally to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire against intrusions by various nomadic groups...
, as well as a fight scene amongst the Terracotta Army
Terracotta Army
The Terracotta Army or the "Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses", is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China...
. Wilson also wrote two plot outlines about a drugs lord in the Golden Triangle
Golden Triangle (Southeast Asia)
The Golden Triangle is one of Asia's two main illicit opium-producing areas. It is an area of around that overlaps the mountains of four countries of Southeast Asia: Burma, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Along with Afghanistan in the Golden Crescent and Pakistan, it has been one of the most...
before the plans fell through. The writers eventually decided on a setting in a tropical country while Broccoli negotiated to film in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, at the Estudios Churubusco
Estudios Churubusco
Estudios Churubusco is one of the oldest and largest movie studios in Latin America located in the Churubusco neighborhood of Mexico City.It was inaugurated in 1945 after a 1943 agreement between RKO and Emilio Azcárraga Vidaurreta...
in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
. In 1985, the Films Act was passed, removing the Eady Levy
Eady levy
The Eady Levy was a tax on box office receipts in the United Kingdom, intended to support the British film industry and named for Sir Wilfred Eady. It was established in 1957 and terminated in 1985.- Background :...
, resulting in foreign artists being taxed more heavily. The associated rising costs to Eon Productions
EON Productions
Eon Productions is a film production company known for producing the James Bond film series. The company is based in London's Piccadilly and also operates from Pinewood Studios in the United Kingdom...
meant no part of Licence to Kill was filmed in the UK, the first Bond film not to do so. Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios is a major British film studio situated in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, approximately west of central London. The studios have played host to many productions over the years from huge blockbuster films to television shows to commercials to pop promos.The purchase of Shepperton...
, used in every Bond film that far, housed only the post-production and sound re-recording.
Writing and themes
The initial outline of what would become Licence to Kill was drawn up by Wilson and Maibaum. Before the pair could develop the script, the Writers Guild of AmericaWriters Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi....
(WGA) went on strike
1988 Writers Guild of America strike
The 1988 Writers Guild of America strike was a strike action taken by members of both the Writers Guild of America, East and the Writers Guild of America, West against major United States television and film studios represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers...
and Maibaum was unable to continue writing, leaving Wilson to work on the script on his own. Although both the main plot and title of Licence to Kill owe nothing to any of the Fleming novels, there are elements from the books that are used in the storyline, including a number of aspects of the short story "The Hildebrand Rarity", such as the character Milton Krest. Live and Let Die
Live and Let Die (novel)
Live and Let Die is the second novel in Ian Fleming's James Bond series, first published in the UK by Jonathan Cape on 5 April 1954, where the initial print run of 7,500 copies quickly sold out. As with Fleming's first novel, Casino Royale, Live and Let Die was broadly well received by the critics...
provided the material surrounding Felix Leiter’s mauling by a shark, as well as the close similarity between the villain of the book, Kananga, and Licence to Kills main villain Sanchez. The screenplay was not ready by the time casting begun, with Carey Lowell
Carey Lowell
Carey Lowell is an American actress and former model.-Early life:Lowell was born in Huntington, New York and spent much of her childhood traveling with her father, James Lowell, who was a geologist. Immediately after graduating from Bear Creek High School in Lakewood, CO., she was signed by the...
being auditioned with lines from A View to a Kill
A View to a Kill
A View to a Kill is the fourteenth spy film of the James Bond series, and the seventh and last to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Although the title is adapted from Ian Fleming's short story "From a View to a Kill", the film is the fourth Bond film after The Spy Who Loved...
.
The script – initially called Licence Revoked – was written with Dalton's characterisation of Bond in mind, and the obsession with which Bond pursues Sanchez on behalf of Leiter and his dead wife is seen as being because "of his own brutally cut-short marriage." Dalton's darker portrayal of Bond led to the violence being increased and more graphical. Wilson compared the script to Akira Kurosawa
Akira Kurosawa
was a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, Kurosawa directed 30 filmsIn 1946, Kurosawa co-directed, with Hideo Sekigawa and Kajiro Yamamoto, the feature Those Who Make Tomorrow ;...
's Yojimbo, where a samurai "without any attacking of the villain or its cohorts, only sowing the seeds of distrust, he manages to have the villain bring himself down". Wilson freely admitted that the aspect of the destruction-from-within aspect of the plot came more from the cinema versions of the Japanese Rōnin
Ronin
A or rounin was a Bushi with no lord or master during the feudal period of Japan. A samurai became masterless from the death or fall of his master, or after the loss of his master's favor or privilege....
tales by Kurosawa or Sergio Leone
Sergio Leone
Sergio Leone was an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter most associated with the "Spaghetti Western" genre.Leone's film-making style includes juxtaposing extreme close-up shots with lengthy long shots...
than from Fleming's use of that plot device from The Man with the Golden Gun
The Man with the Golden Gun (novel)
The Man with the Golden Gun is the twelfth novel of Ian Fleming's James Bond series of books. It was first published by Jonathan Cape in the UK on 1 April 1965, eight months after the author's death. The novel was not as detailed or polished as the others in the series, leading to poor but polite...
. For the location Wilson created the Republic of Isthmus, a banana republic
Banana republic
In political science, the pejorative term Banana Republic denotes a politically unstable country dependent upon limited primary productions , which is ruled by a plutocracy, a small, self-elected, wealthy group who exploit the country by means of a politico-economic oligarchy...
based on Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, with the pock-marked Sanchez bearing similarities to General Manuel Noriega
Manuel Noriega
Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno is a Panamanian politician and soldier. He was military dictator of Panama from 1983 to 1989.The 1989 invasion of Panama by the United States removed him from power; he was captured, detained as a prisoner of war, and flown to the United States. Noriega was tried on...
. The parallels between the two figures were based on Noriega's political use of drugs trafficking and money laundering
Money laundering
Money laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. Many regulatory and governmental authorities quote estimates each year for the amount...
to provide revenues for Panama. Robert Davi suggested the line "loyalty is more important than money", which he felt was fitting to the character of Franz Sanchez, whose actions were noticed by Davi to be concerned with betrayal and retaliation.
The United Artists press kits referred to the film’s background as being "Torn straight from the headlines of today's newspapers" and the backdrop of Panama was connected to "the Medellin cartel in Colombia and corruption of government officials in Mexico thrown in for good measure." This use of the cocaine-smuggling backdrop put Licence to Kill alongside other cinema blockbusters, such as the 1987 films Lethal Weapon
Lethal Weapon
Lethal Weapon is a 1987 American buddy cop action film and the first in a series of films, all directed by Richard Donner and starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover as a mismatched pair of LAPD detectives, and Gary Busey as their primary adversary...
, Beverly Hills Cop II
Beverly Hills Cop II
Beverly Hills Cop II is a 1987 action-comedy film starring Eddie Murphy and directed by Tony Scott. It is the first sequel in the Beverly Hills Cop series. Murphy returns as Detroit police detective Axel Foley, who returns to Beverly Hills, California to track down a joint robbery/gun-running ring...
and RoboCop
RoboCop
RoboCop is a 1987 American science fiction-action film directed by Paul Verhoeven. Set in a crime-ridden Detroit, Michigan in the near future, RoboCop centers on a police officer who is brutally murdered and subsequently re-created as a super-human cyborg known as "RoboCop"...
and Bond was seen to be "poaching on their turf" with the drugs-related revenge story.
Casting
After Carey LowellCarey Lowell
Carey Lowell is an American actress and former model.-Early life:Lowell was born in Huntington, New York and spent much of her childhood traveling with her father, James Lowell, who was a geologist. Immediately after graduating from Bear Creek High School in Lakewood, CO., she was signed by the...
was chosen to play Pam Bouvier, she watched many of the films in the series for inspiration. Lowell had described becoming a Bond girl
Bond girl
A Bond girl is a character or actress portraying a love interest, of James Bond in a film, novel, or video game. They occasionally have names that are double entendres or puns, such as "Pussy Galore", "Plenty O'Toole", "Xenia Onatopp", or "Holly Goodhead"...
as "huge shoes to fill", as she did not see herself as a "glamour girl", even coming to audition in jeans and a leather jacket. While Lowell wore a wig for the scenes set in the United States, a scene where Bouvier cuts her hair was added so Lowell's natural short hair could be used.
Robert Davi
Robert Davi
Robert John Davi is an American actor and singer. He has played such roles as Vietnam veteran and Special Agent Johnson in Die Hard, the villainous Jake Fratelli in The Goonies, and Al Torres in Showgirls...
was cast following a suggestion by both Broccoli's daughter Tina, and screenwriter Richard Maibaum, who had seen Davi in the television film Terrorist on Trial: The United States vs. Salim Ajami. For the role of drug baron Franz Sanchez, Davi researched on the Colombian drug cartels
Illegal drug trade in Colombia
Illegal drug trade in Colombia refers to the practice of producing and distributing illegal drugs with psychoactive effects in Colombia. Colombia has had four major drug trafficking cartels which eventually created a new social class and influenced several aspects of Colombian culture...
and how to do a Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
n accent, and since he was method acting
Method acting
Method acting is a phrase that loosely refers to a family of techniques used by actors to create in themselves the thoughts and emotions of their characters, so as to develop lifelike performances...
, he would stay in character off-set. After Davi read Casino Royale
Casino Royale (novel)
Casino Royale is Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel. It paved the way for a further eleven novels by Fleming himself, in addition to two short story collections, followed by many "continuation" Bond novels by other authors....
for preparation, he decided to turn Sanchez into a "mirror image" of James Bond, based on Ian Fleming's description of the villain Le Chiffre
Le Chiffre
Le Chiffre is a fictional character and the main antagonist in Ian Fleming's James Bond novel Casino Royale. On screen Le Chiffre has been portrayed by Peter Lorre in the 1954 television adaptation of the novel for CBS's Climax! television series, by Orson Welles in the 1967 spoof of the novel and...
. The actor also learned scuba diving
Scuba diving
Scuba diving is a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses a scuba set to breathe underwater....
for the scene where Sanchez is rescued from the sunken armoured car.
Davi later helped out on the casting of his mistress, Lupe, by playing Bond in the audition, with Talisa Soto
Talisa Soto
-Early life:Born Miriam Soto in Brooklyn, New York, Soto is the youngest of four children born to an Italian mother and a Canadian father of Puerto Rican descent. Her parents later relocated to Northampton, Massachusetts where Soto and her siblings were raised and educated.-Modeling:At the age of...
being picked from twelve candidates because Davi expressed he "would kill for her". David Hedison
David Hedison
Albert David Hedison, Jr. is an Armenian-American film, television, and stage actor. He was billed as Al Hedison in his early film work. In 1959, when he was cast in the role of Victor Sebastian in the short-lived espionage television series Five Fingers, NBC insisted that he change his name...
returned to play Felix Leiter
Felix Leiter
Felix Leiter is a fictional CIA agent created by Ian Fleming in the James Bond series of novels and films. In both, Leiter works for the CIA and assists Bond in his various adventures as well as being his best friend. In further novels Leiter joins the Pinkerton Detective Agency and in the film...
, sixteen years after being the agent in Live and Let Die
Live and Let Die (film)
Live and Let Die is the eighth spy film in the James Bond series, and the first to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film was produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman...
. Hedison did not expect to return to the role, saying "I was sure that [Live and Let Die] would be my first – and last" and Glen was reluctant to cast the 61-year old actor, since the role even had a scene parachuting. Hedison was the only actor to play Leiter twice, until Jeffrey Wright appeared in both Casino Royale
Casino Royale (2006 film)
Casino Royale is the twenty-first film in the James Bond film series and the first to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond...
and Quantum of Solace.
Up-and-coming actor Benicio del Toro
Benicio del Toro
Benicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez is a Puerto Rican and Spanish actor and film producer. He won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a BAFTA Award for his role as Javier Rodríguez in Traffic . He is also known for his roles as Fred Fenster in The Usual...
was chosen to play Sanchez's henchman, Dario for being "laid back while menacing in a quirky sort of way", according to Glen. Wayne Newton
Wayne Newton
Wayne Newton is an American singer and entertainer based in Las Vegas, Nevada. He performed over 30,000 solo shows in Las Vegas over a period of over 40 years, earning him the nicknames The Midnight Idol, Mr. Las Vegas and Mr. Entertainment...
got a role after sending a letter to the producers expressing interest in a cameo because he always wanted to be in a Bond film. The President of Isthmus was played by Pedro Armendáriz, Jr., the son of Pedro Armendáriz
Pedro Armendáriz
Pedro Armendáriz was a Mexican actor of the cinema of Mexico and Hollywood.-Early life:Born Pedro Gregorio Armendáriz Hastings in Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico to Pedro Armendáriz García-Conde and Adela Hastings . He was also the cousin of actress Gloria Marín...
, who played Kerim Bey in the second James Bond film, 1963's From Russia with Love
From Russia with Love (film)
From Russia with Love is the second in the James Bond spy film series, and the second to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1963, the film was produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, and directed by Terence Young. It is based on the 1957 novel of the...
.
Filming
Principal photographyPrincipal photography
thumb|300px|Film production on location in [[Newark, New Jersey]].Principal photography is the phase of film production in which the movie is filmed, with actors on set and cameras rolling, as distinct from pre-production and post-production....
ran from 18 July to 18 November 1988. Shooting begun in Mexico, which mostly doubled for the fictional Republic of Isthmus: locations in Mexico City included the Biblioteca del Banco de Mexico for the exterior of El Presidente Hotel and the Casino Español for the interior of Casino de Isthmus whilst the Teatro de la Ciudad was used for its exterior. Villa Arabesque in Acapulco
Acapulco
Acapulco is a city, municipality and major sea port in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific coast of Mexico, southwest from Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semi-circular bay and has been a port since the early colonial period of Mexico’s history...
was used for Sanchez's lavish villa, and the La Rumorosa Mountain Pass in Mexicali
Mexicali
Mexicali is the capital of the State of Baja California, seat of the Municipality of Mexicali, and 2nd largest city in Baja California. The City of Mexicali has a population of 689,775, according to the 2010 census, while the population of the entire metropolitan area reaches 936,826.The city...
was used as the filming site for the tanker chase during the climax of the film. Sanchez's Olympiatec Meditation Institute was shot at the Otomi Ceremonial Center in Temoaya
Temoaya
Temoaya is a town and municipality in Mexico State, Mexico, It is located from Toluca and from Mexico City. It is known for its large ethnic Otomi population, the Centro Ceremonial Otomí and its tradition of making Persian style rugs using Mexican designs....
. Other underwater sequences were shot at the Isla Mujeres
Isla Mujeres
Isla Mujeres is one of the ten municipalities of the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. The municipality, located in the northeastern corner of the state is mostly on the mainland and has a municipal seat of the same name; Isla Mujeres...
near Cancún
Cancún
Cancún is a city of international tourism development certified by the UNWTO . Located on the northeast coast of Quintana Roo in southern Mexico, more than 1,700 km from Mexico City, the Project began operations in 1974 as Integrally Planned Center, a pioneer of FONATUR Cancún is a city of...
.
Florida Keys
The Florida Keys are a coral archipelago in southeast United States. They begin at the southeastern tip of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and extend in a gentle arc south-southwest and then westward to Key West, the westernmost of the inhabited islands, and on to the uninhabited Dry...
, notably Key West
Key West
Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida on the North American continent at the southernmost tip of the Florida Keys. Key West is home to the southernmost point in the Continental United States; the island is about from Cuba....
. Seven Mile Bridge
Seven Mile Bridge
The Seven Mile Bridge is a famous bridge in the Florida Keys, in Monroe County, Florida, United States. It connects Knight's Key in the Middle Keys to Little Duck Key in the Lower Keys...
towards Pigeon Key
Pigeon Key
Pigeon Key is a historic district located on the small island of Pigeon Key in the lower Florida Keys. The island is named "Cayo Paloma" on many old Spanish charts...
was used for the sequence in which the armoured truck transporting Sanchez following his arrest is driven off the edge. Other locations there included Ernest Hemingway House
Ernest Hemingway House
The Ernest Hemingway House, officially known as the Ernest Hemingway Home & Museum, was the residence of author Ernest Hemingway in Key West, Florida, United States. It is located at 907 Whitehead Street, near a prominent lighthouse close to the Southern coast of the island. On November 24, 1968,...
, Key West International Airport
Key West International Airport
Key West International Airport is a county-owned public airport located two miles east of the central business district of Key West, in Monroe County, Florida, United States....
, Mallory Square, St. Mary's Star of the Sea Church for Leiter's wedding and Stephano's House 707 South Street for his house and patio. The US Coast Guard Pier was used to film Isthmus City harbour. As production moved back to Mexico, Broccoli became ill, leading to Michael G. Wilson becoming co-producer, a position he subsequently retained.
The scene where Sanchez's plane is hijacked was filmed on location in Florida, with stuntman Jake Lombard jumping from an helicopter to a plane, but Timothy Dalton himself being filmed atop the aircraft. The plane towed by the helicopter was a life-sized model created by special effects supervisor John Richardson. After filming wide shots of David Hedison and Dalton parachuting, closer shots were done near the church location. During one of the takes, a malfunction of the harness equipment caused Hedison to fall on the sidewalk. The injury made him limp for the remainder of filming. The aquatic battle between Bond and henchmen had two separate units, a surface one lead by Arthur Woolster which used Dalton himself, and an underwater one which involved experienced divers. The barefoot waterskiing was done by world champion Dave Reinhart, with some close-ups using Dalton on a special rig. Milton Krest's death used a prostethic head which was created by John Richardson's team based on a mold of Anthony Zerbe's face. The result was so gruesome and realistic it had to be shortened and toned down to avoid censorship problems.
For the climactic tanker
Tank truck
A tank truck or road tanker is a motor vehicle designed to carry liquefied loads, dry bulk cargo or gases on roads. The largest such vehicles are similar to railroad tank cars which are also designed to carry liquefied loads...
chase, the producers used an entire section of a highway near Mexicali, which had been closed for safety reasons. Sixteen eighteen-wheeler
Semi-trailer truck
A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semi, tractor-trailer, or articulated truck or articulated lorry, is an articulated vehicle consisting of a towing engine , and a semi-trailer A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semi, tractor-trailer, or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) articulated truck...
tankers were used, some with modifications made by manufacturer Kenworth
Kenworth
Kenworth is an American manufacturer of medium and heavy-duty Class 8 trucks based in Kirkland, Washington, United States, a suburb of Seattle. It is a subsidiary of PACCAR, and is also a former manufacturer of transit buses and school buses.-History:...
at the request of driving stunts arranger Rémy Julienne
Rémy Julienne
Rémy Julienne is a pioneering French driving stunt performer, stunt coordinator, assistant director and occasional actor. He is also a former rallycross champion and 1956 French motorcross champion.He is a veteran of over 1,400 films...
. Most lorries had improvements to their engines in order to run faster, while one model had an extra steering wheel on the back of the cabin so a hidden stuntman could drive while Carey Lowell was in the front and another received extra suspension
Suspension (vehicle)
Suspension is the term given to the system of springs, shock absorbers and linkages that connects a vehicle to its wheels. Suspension systems serve a dual purpose — contributing to the car's roadholding/handling and braking for good active safety and driving pleasure, and keeping vehicle occupants...
on its back so it could lift its front wheels. Although a rig was constructed to help a rig tilt onto its side, it was not necessary as Julienne was able to pull off the stunt without the aid of camera trickery.
Music
Initially Vic FlickVic Flick
Victor Harold Flick is an English guitarist, most famous for playing the guitar riff in the "James Bond Theme".-Biography:...
, who had played lead guitar on Monty Norman
Monty Norman
Monty Norman is a singer and film composer best known for being credited with composing the "James Bond Theme".-Biography:...
's original 007 theme
James Bond Theme
The "James Bond Theme" is the main signature theme of the James Bond films and has featured in every Eon Productions Bond film since Dr. No. The piece has been used as an accompanying fanfare to the gun barrel sequence in almost every James Bond film....
, and Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
were asked to write and perform the theme song to Licence to Kill and they produced a theme to match Dalton’s gritty performance, but the producers turned it down and instead Gladys Knight
Gladys Knight
Gladys Maria Knight , known as the "Empress of Soul", is an American singer-songwriter, actress, businesswoman, humanitarian, and author...
's song and performance was chosen. The song (one of the longest to ever be used in a Bond film) was based on the "horn line" from Goldfinger
Goldfinger (song)
"Goldfinger" was the title song from the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger. Composed by John Barry and with lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley, the song was performed by Shirley Bassey for the film's opening and closing title sequences, as well as the soundtrack album release...
, seen as an homage to the film of the same name
Goldfinger (film)
Goldfinger is the third spy film in the James Bond series and the third to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1964, it is based on the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. The film also stars Honor Blackman as Bond girl Pussy Galore and Gert Fröbe as the title...
, which required royalty payments to the original writers. The song gave Knight her first British top-ten hit since 1977. The end credits feature the Top 10 R&B hit "If You Asked Me To
If You Asked Me To
"If You Asked Me To" is the title of a song written and originally released as the lead single for Patti LaBelle's seventh solo studio album, entitled Be Yourself, and for the Licence to Kill soundtrack. The song is a ballad written by critically acclaimed songwriter Diane Warren...
", sung by Patti LaBelle
Patti LaBelle
Patricia Louise Holte-Edwards , better known under the stage name, Patti LaBelle, is a Grammy Award winning American singer, author and actress who has spent over 50 years in the music industry...
.
John Barry
John Barry (composer)
John Barry Prendergast, OBE was an English conductor and composer of film music. He is best known for composing the soundtracks for 12 of the James Bond films between 1962 and 1987...
was not available at the time due to throat surgery, so the soundtrack's score was composed and conducted by Michael Kamen
Michael Kamen
Michael Arnold Kamen was an American composer , orchestral arranger, orchestral conductor, song writer, and session musician.-Background:...
, who was known for scoring many action films at the time, such as Lethal Weapon
Lethal Weapon
Lethal Weapon is a 1987 American buddy cop action film and the first in a series of films, all directed by Richard Donner and starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover as a mismatched pair of LAPD detectives, and Gary Busey as their primary adversary...
and Die Hard
Die Hard
Die Hard is a 1988 American action film and the first in the Die Hard film series. The film was directed by John McTiernan and written by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza. It is based on a 1979 novel by Roderick Thorp titled Nothing Lasts Forever, itself a sequel to the book The Detective, which...
. Glen said he picked Kamen for feeling he could give "the closest thing to John Barry."
Release and reception
Film ratings organizations had objections against the excessive and realistic violence, with both the Motion Picture Association of AmericaMotion Picture Association of America
The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. , originally the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America , was founded in 1922 and is designed to advance the business interests of its members...
and the British Board of Film Classification
British Board of Film Classification
The British Board of Film Classification , originally British Board of Film Censors, is a non-governmental organisation, funded by the film industry and responsible for the national classification of films within the United Kingdom...
requesting content adaptations, with the BBFC in particular demanding the cut of 36 seconds of film. The 2006 Ultimate Edition DVD of Licence to Kill marked the first release of the film without cuts.
Licence to Kill premiered at the Odeon Leicester Square
Odeon Leicester Square
The Odeon Leicester Square is a cinema which occupies the centre of the eastern side of Leicester Square, London, dominating the square with its huge black polished granite facade and high tower displaying its name. Blue neon outlines the exterior of the building at night. It was built to be the...
in London on , raising £200,000 (£ in pounds) for The Prince's Trust
The Prince's Trust
The Prince's Trust is a charity in the United Kingdom founded in 1976 by Charles, Prince of Wales to help young people. They run a range of training programmes, provide mentoring support and offer financial grants to build the confidence and motivation of disadvantaged young people...
on the night. The film grossed a total of £7.5 million (£ million in pounds) in the United Kingdom, making it the seventh most successful film of the year, despite the 15 certificate
15 certificate
The 15 certificate is issued by the British Board of Film Classification to state that, in its opinion, a film, video recording, or game should not be seen or purchased by a person under 15 years old....
which cut down audience numbers. Worldwide numbers were also positive, with $156 million, making it the twelfth biggest box-office draw of the year. The US cinema returns were $34.6 million, making Licence to Kill the least financially successful James Bond film in the US, when accounting for inflation. A factor suggested for the poor takings were fierce competition at the cinema, with Licence to Kill released alongside Back to the Future Part II
Back to the Future Part II
Back to the Future Part II is a 1989 American science fiction comedy film and the second installment of the Back to the Future trilogy. It was directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale, and starred Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Thomas F. Wilson and Lea Thompson...
, Lethal Weapon 2
Lethal Weapon 2
Lethal Weapon 2 is a 1989 action comedy film directed by Richard Donner, and starring Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Patsy Kensit, Joe Pesci, Derrick O'Connor and Joss Ackland...
; Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a 1989 American adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, from a story co-written by executive producer George Lucas. It is the third film in the Indiana Jones franchise. Harrison Ford reprises the title role and Sean Connery plays Indiana's father, Henry...
(starring former Bond, Sean Connery
Sean Connery
Sir Thomas Sean Connery , better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930), better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy...
) and Batman
Batman (1989 film)
Batman is a 1989 superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name, directed by Tim Burton. The film stars Michael Keaton in the title role, as well as Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl and Jack Palance...
.
There were also issues with the promotion of the film: promotional material in the form of teaser posters created by Bob Peak
Bob Peak
Robert "Bob" M. Peak was an American commercial illustrator best known for innovative design in the development of the modern movie poster....
, based on the Licence Revoked title and commissioned by Albert Broccoli, had been produced, but MGM decided against using them after American test screenings showed 'Licence Revoked' to be a common American phrase for the withdrawal of a driving licence. The delayed, corrected advertising, by Steven Chorney, in the traditional style, limited the film's pre-release screenings. MGM also discarded a campaign created by advertising executive Don Smolen – who had worked in the publicity campaign for eight Bond films before – emphasising the rougher content of the movie.
Contemporary reviews
Derek MalcolmDerek Malcolm
Derek Malcolm is a British film critic and historian.Malcolm was educated at Eton College and Oxford University. He worked for several decades as a film critic for The Guardian, having previously been an amateur jockey and the paper's first horse racing correspondent. In 1977, he was a member of...
in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
was broadly approving of Licence to Kill, liking the "harder edge of the earlier Bonds" that the film emulated, but wishing that it "it was written and directed with a bit more flair." Malcolm praised the way the film attempted "to tell a story rather than use one for the decorative purposes of endless spectacular tropes." Writing in The Guardians sister paper, The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
, Philip French
Philip French
Philip French is a British film critic and former radio producer.French, the son of an insurance salesman, was educated at the direct grant Bristol Grammar School, read Law at Oxford University. and post graduate study in Journalism at Indiana University, Bloomington on a scholarship.He has been...
noted that "despite the playful sparkle in his eyes, Timothy Dalton’s Bond is...serious here." Overall French called Licence to Kill "an entertaining, untaxing film". Ian Christie
Ian Christie (film scholar)
Ian Christie is a British film scholar. He has written several books including studies of the works of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, Martin Scorsese and the development of cinema. He is a regular contributor to Sight & Sound magazine and a frequent broadcaster...
in the Daily Express
Daily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
was scathing of the film, saying that the plot was "absurd but fundamentally dull", a further problem being that as "there isn’t a coherent storyline to link [the stunts], they eventually become tiresome."
David Robinson, writing in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
observed that Licence to Kill "will probably neither disappoint nor surprise the great, faithful audience", but bemoaned the fact that "over the years the plots have become less ambitious". Robinson thought that Dalton’s Bond "has more class" than the previous Bonds and was "a warmer personality". Iain Johnstone of The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
pointed out that "any vestiges of the gentleman spy...by Ian Fleming" have now gone, and in its place is a Bond that is "remarkably close both in deed and action to the eponymous hero of the Batman film
Batman (1989 film)
Batman is a 1989 superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name, directed by Tim Burton. The film stars Michael Keaton in the title role, as well as Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl and Jack Palance...
" that was released at the same time as Licence to Kill.
Adam Mars-Jones
Adam Mars-Jones
Adam Mars-Jones is a British novelist and critic.Mars-Jones was born in London, to parents William Mars-Jones, the Welsh High Court judge and President of the London Welsh Trust, and Sheila . Mars-Jones studied at Westminster School, and read Classics at Trinity Hall, Cambridge...
of The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
was mixed in his review, pointing out that the dating of some of the Fleming ideas, such as imperialism, are out of place; the writers are "trying in effect to reproduce the recipe while leaving out ingredients that would now seem distasteful". Overall Mars-Jones thought that "James Bond is more like a low-tar cigarette than anything else – less stimulating than the throat-curdling gaspers of yesteryear, but still naggingly implicated in unhealthiness, a feeble bad habit without the kick of a vice."
For the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
, Rick Groen thought that in Licence to Kill "they've excised Bond from the Bond flicks; they've turned James into Jimmy, strong and silent and (roll over, Britannia) downright American", resulting in a Bond film that is "essentially Bond-less". Summing up, Groen thought "Actually, that dialogue...ain't bad. The silence looks good on Timothy Dalton".
In the US press Gary Arnold of The Washington Times
The Washington Times
The Washington Times is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. It was founded in 1982 by Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon, and until 2010 was owned by News World Communications, an international media conglomerate associated with the...
thought that a number of factors "fail to prevent the finished product from jamming and misfiring with disillusioning frequency". Arnold thinks that "demanding that he [Dalton] play Bond's wrathfulness in a transparently seething and hotheaded manner" means that Dalton "seems to waste away on this second outing as Bond." Overall Arnold sees that there is a "failure to recognize that Bond productions are simply too extravagant to permit an uncompromised return to first principles." The critic for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, Caryn James, thought Dalton was "the first James Bond with angst, a moody spy for the fin de siecle", and that Licence to Kill "retains its familiar, effective mix of despicably powerful villains, suspiciously tantalizing women and ever-wilder special effects", but was impressed that "Dalton's glowering presence adds a darker tone". James concluded that "for all its clever updatings, stylish action and witty escapism, Licence to Kill…is still a little too much by the book."
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
for the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
gave the film 3½ stars out of 4, saying "the stunts all look convincing, and the effect of the closing sequence is exhilarating... Licence to Kill is one of the best of the recent Bonds." Jack Kroll
Jack Kroll
John Kroll – known as Jack Kroll – was an award-winning Newsweek drama and film critic. His career spanned 37 years – more than half the publication's existence.-Biography:...
, writing in Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
described Licence to Kill as "a pure, rousingly entertaining action movie". Kroll thought that Dalton was "a fine actor who hasn't yet stamped Bond with his own personality", observing "Director John Glen is the Busby Berkeley of action flicks, and his chorus line is the legendary team of Bond stunt-persons who are at their death-defying best here". For Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine, Richard Corliss
Richard Corliss
Richard Nelson Corliss is a writer for Time magazine who focuses on movies, with the occasional article on music or sports. Corliss is the former editor-in-chief of Film Comment...
bemoaned that although the truck stunts were good, it was "a pity nobody – not writers Michael G. Wilson, and Richard Maibaum nor director John Glen – thought to give the humans anything very clever to do." Corliss found Dalton "misused" in the film, adding that "for every plausible reason, he looks as bored in his second Bond film as Sean Connery did in his sixth".
Reflective reviews
Opinion on Licence to Kill has not changed with the passing of time and the reviews are still mixed: though film review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
lists the film with a positive 71% ‘fresh’ rating from 35 reviews, among the reviewers listed in "Top Critics" the score is 50% out of eight reviews. Tom Hibbert of Empire
Empire (magazine)
Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008...
gives the film only two of a possible five stars, observing that "Dalton … is really quite hopeless". Hibbert concluded that "he may look the part, but Timothy Dalton fails the boots, the scuba gear, or the automobiles left him by Moore and Connery." In 2006, IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
ranked Licence to Kill fifteenth out of then twenty one Bond films, claiming it is "too grim and had strayed too far from the Bond formula." That same year, Benjamin Svetkey and Joshua Rich of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
ranked the film as second worst in the series, questioning Wayne Newton's cameo, and considering that "not even Benicio Del Toro in an early role as a henchman is enough to pep up the action." The magazine also listed Pam Bouvier seventh on their list of worst Bond girl
Bond girl
A Bond girl is a character or actress portraying a love interest, of James Bond in a film, novel, or video game. They occasionally have names that are double entendres or puns, such as "Pussy Galore", "Plenty O'Toole", "Xenia Onatopp", or "Holly Goodhead"...
s, saying Carey Lowell "fumbled this attempt at giving 007 a modern, independent counterpart by turning her into a nagging pest."
Norman Wilner of MSN
MSN
MSN is a collection of Internet sites and services provided by Microsoft. The Microsoft Network debuted as an online service and Internet service provider on August 24, 1995, to coincide with the release of the Windows 95 operating system.The range of services offered by MSN has changed since its...
considered Licence to Kill the second worst Bond film, above only A View to a Kill
A View to a Kill
A View to a Kill is the fourteenth spy film of the James Bond series, and the seventh and last to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Although the title is adapted from Ian Fleming's short story "From a View to a Kill", the film is the fourth Bond film after The Spy Who Loved...
, but defended Dalton, saying he "got a raw deal. The actor who could have been the definitive 007…had the bad luck to inherit the role just as the series was at its weakest, struggling to cope with its general creative decline and the end of the Cold War". In October 2008 Time Out re-issued a review of Licence to Kill and also thought that Dalton unfortunate, saying "one has to feel for Dalton, who was never given a fair shake by either of the films in which he appeared".
Some critics, such as James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli is an American online film critic.-Personal life:Berardinelli was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey and spent his early childhood in Morristown, New Jersey. At the age of nine years, he relocated to the township of Cherry Hill, New Jersey...
, saw a fundamental weakness in the film: the "overemphasis on story may be a mistake, because there are times when Licence to Kills narrative bogs down." Berardinelli gave the film three out of a possible four stars, adding "Licence to Kill may be taut and gripping, but it's not traditional Bond, and that, as much as any other reason, may explain the public's rejection of this reasonably well-constructed picture." Raymond Benson
Raymond Benson
Raymond Benson is an American author best known for being the official author of the adult James Bond novels from 1997 to 2003. Benson was born in Midland, Texas and graduated from Permian High School in Odessa in 1973...
, the author of nine Bond novels, said of the film: "It boggles my mind that Licence to Kill is so controversial. There's really more of a true Ian Fleming story in that script than in most of the post-60s Bond movies." John Glen has said Licence to Kill "is among my best Bond films, if not the best".
Appearances in other media
The novelisation of the Licence to Kill screenplay was written by the then-novelist of the Bond series John Gardner. It was the first of those novels since MoonrakerMoonraker (film)
Moonraker is the eleventh spy film in the James Bond series, and the fourth to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The third and final film in the series to be directed by Lewis Gilbert, it co-stars Lois Chiles, Michael Lonsdale, Corinne Clery, and Richard Kiel...
was novelised in 1979.
Licence to Kill was also adapted as a forty-four page, colour graphic novel
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
, by writer and artist Mike Grell
Mike Grell
Mike Grell is a comic book writer and artist, known for his work on books such as Green Lantern/Green Arrow and Jon Sable Freelance.-Early life:...
(also author of original-story Bond comic books), published by Eclipse Comics
Eclipse Comics
Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1978, it published the first graphic novel intended for the newly created comic book specialty store market...
and ACME Press in hardcover and trade editions in 1989. The adaptation closely follows the film story, although the ending is briefer, and James Bond is not drawn to resemble Timothy Dalton after Dalton refused to allow his likeness to be licensed. Domark
Domark
Domark Software was a video games software house based in the United Kingdom. The name was derived from the given names of its founders, Dominic Wheatley and Mark Strachan...
also published a video game adaptation, 007: Licence to Kill
007: Licence to Kill
007: Licence to Kill is a 1989 video game based on the James Bond film of the same name, developed by Quixel and published by Domark in 1989...
, to various personal computers.
See also
- Differences between James Bond novels and films
- List of henchmen in Licence to Kill
- List of Bond's allies in Licence to Kill
- Development of the third, unproduced Bond film starring Dalton