License to Kill

Timothy Dalton returned tougher, faster and more brutal in the first PG-13 James Bond film of the franchise. Everything that was set up in The Living Daylights was heightened in License to Kill, with the exception of the humor. James Bond was tough, unforgiving, vengeful and stripped of his 007 status.

Originally titled License Revoked, Eon Productions took James Bond down a really dark path. Even though there is some humor sprinkled in this film, none of it involves 007 himself. He is a rogue agent who will stop at nothing to avenge the death of Felix Leiter's wife Della. This is only the third time since Tracy's death in OHMSS is mentioned in the series and it is a main driving force behind this story.

This movie is great because it doesn't have a huge world domination plot. It is essentially about James Bond infiltrating a drug lord's organization and creating chaos within. The downfall to this movie is yet another annoying american bond girl. Pam Bouvier is pretty obnoxious. I do not know why the Bond Franchise portrays American woman as annoying hardasses that always want to work alone. Why can't they accept that it's okay to work with Bond? Another thing that i am not fond of is Michael Kamen's score to the film, which is just to loud and obnoxious. It is pretty much a cookie cutter 80's action score.

All in all, License to Kill is a pretty good movie. It isn't the greatest, but it is true to Fleming. It's unfortunate that T-Dalt didn't get another shot at 007, but he made a pretty indelible mark on the franchise. Apparently the franchise was thought of as old and worn out. It wouldn't be another six years before 007 Returned!

"Don't worry - we gave her a nice honeyMOOOOON!"

★ ★ ★