And now we come to the franchise killer, Licence to Kill.
Financially unsuccessful and generally derided, Licence to Kill is almost always ranked at or near the bottom of the canon.
And that is totally unjustified. Certainly not without its major problems, Licence to Kill just isn't that bad, and it attempts to nudge the franchise in a direction that it wouldn't experiment with again until the Daniel Craig years.
There are a number of reasons why people don't like this movie. Among the biggest complaints is the plot itself. Bond neither takes on enemy spies nor is the squeaky wheel that ruins the nefarious plans of megalomaniacs; Licence to Kill has much smaller fish to fry. There is a nasty drug kingpin named Sanchez (Robert Davi), and Bond is gonna bring him down. But even if the world is not at stake in this film, there are very personal issues to wrestle with. Sanchez attacked CIA agent and longtime Bond ally Felix Leiter (David Hedison) on his wedding night, killing his bride and lowering him into a shark tank until his legs were eaten off. Now Bond wants revenge. M and his other superiors at MI6 tell him back off. So Bond goes rogue, determined to take down Sanchez on his own.
Nowadays, the idea of Bond quitting MI6 doesn't seem like a big deal. Pierce Brosnan abandoned MI6 in Die Another Day, and it seems like Daniel Craig has made a nasty habit of it in most of his movies. But in 1989, this was pretty shocking. Bond was the Britain's secret weapon, loyal to Queen and country. He never loses his cool, and to have him desert his post to fight some feisty drug dealer was surprising and controversial to many. It doesn't bother me, especially since Licence to Kill features Bond doing more genuine undercover spy work than Roger Moore did during his entire tenure. He works his way down to Mexico, infiltrates Sanchez's gang and sets out to destroy it from the inside.
There is actually a lot of interesting stuff going on in this film, and it has a lot of good qualities. Timothy Dalton takes the seriousness and sense of danger up another notch in this film, making his run in The Living Daylights seem almost joyous in comparison. He's cruel and dangerous here, and that is cool to see. I think the rest of the cast also does good work, particularly Carey Lowell as Bond's new CIA ally Pam Bouvier, and Robert Davi and a VERY young Benicio del Toro as the villains. Long-time Bond helmer John Glen's direction is assured and reliable (he is even quoted as saying this is his favorite Bond film), and there are some exciting stunts - including some ridiculous tricks with 18-wheeler trucks, which would be laughably bad if it weren't for the fact that they were really doing them! That makes the absurd become something impressive!
On the other hand, I don't want to defend the film too much. Licence to Kill is definitely not some sort of misunderstood masterpiece. It has some serious problems. This is a long film, and it could have used some serious stream-lining. And entire subplot with Wayne Newton really serves no purpose and is just a time-kill. The film is utterly devoid of any humor at all, which is definitely a mistake. I really do feel that a key component of this franchise is that Bond enjoys his job, and we enjoy watching him enjoy his job. Licence to Kill is just way too grim. A shark ate off Felix's legs, for crying out loud!
And of course, if I am listing the horrible thing in this movie, I have to reserve a space for Carey Lowell's bad wig in her first scenes. Thank goodness they let her go with her natural short hair for the rest of the movie. Yeesh.
But the biggest problem is that there are stretches where Licence to Kill just doesn't feel like a Bond film. Ultimately, I think the quality that had been Bond's greatest strength for two decades backfired this time around - and by that, I mean the ability to adapt with the times. The late 1980s was the heyday of the rated R action movie, and stars like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone ruled the box office. Gore and violence was in. This was the age of Lethal Weapon, Robocop, Die Hard, Commando, Predator, and Rambo...and James Bond wanted to cash in. There are some truly grisly deaths in Licence to Kill - shockingly so for a PG-13 movie.
The other way the producers bowed to the issues of the late 1980s was by making Bond monogamous because of the AIDs crisis - he only sleeps with Pam Bouvier in this film. And while it is noble that they wanted to acknowledge what continues to be a very serious crisis, it is certainly out of character for Bond to ignore all the other women in the film.
I know the Daniel Craig films are also grim, and it must drive Timothy Dalton up the wall that Craig's tenure is praised for the very reasons that Dalton's tenure is derided. But the simple fact of the matter is that by trying to pursue what was popular in the late 1980s, Licence to Kill loses track of what makes Bond so special and unique. It devolves into your standard late 1980s revenge flick, just with a better actor in the lead. And that is a very serious problem, and certainly contributed to its under performance.
Licence to Kill took a beating at the box office for another reason - bad luck. The film was released in 1989, which was a bonanza year for franchises. It just got swallowed up by franchise films like Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Ghostbusters 2, Batman, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, Back to the Future II, Karate Kid 3, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, and Star Trek V. Wow. No wonder the film failed to ignite the box office.
But here is where I need to defend the film's legacy. It was not a disaster. It did not kill the franchise. Yes, for awhile it did look like there would be no more Bond films, but that had nothing to do with Licence to Kill. There was a run of bad luck. Ongoing fierce legal battles with a bankrupt MGM (the parent company of Bond's distributor, United Artists) left the franchise mired in lawsuits and tangled in development hell. With the production seemingly delayed indefinitely, Dalton retired from the role (important to note - he left; he wasn't let go). After five films, director John Glen also decided to throw in the towel. Then two of Bond's iconic team members passed away - open titles designer Maurice Binder and screenwriter Richard Maibaum, both of whom had been with the franchise since Dr. No. Worst of all, Cubby Broccoli himself had to step back from the driver's seat, as he was struggling with serious health concerns.
You can't blame Licence to Kill, but for a few years, it really was starting to look like James Bond was dead. Thank goodness for Goldeneye.
RANKINGS:
This was a tough film to rank. Licence to Kill has its problems, but its not a badly made film. I think it is going to rest nicely right below Live and Let Die...squarely in the middle of the pack.
1. Thunderball
2. From Russia with Love
3. Goldfinger
4. The Spy Who Loved Me
5. The Living Daylights
6. Dr. No
7. Octopussy
8. For Your Eyes Only
9. Live and Let Die
10. Licence to Kill
11. Man with the Golden Gun
12. Diamonds are Forever
13. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
14. Moonraker
15. You Only Live Twice
16. A View to a Kill
BEST LINE:
When Bond is arguing with M about seeking vengeance against Frank Sanchez:
M: This private vendetta of yours could easily compromise Her Majesty's government. You have an assignment, and I expect you to carry it out objectively and professionally.
James Bond: Then you have my resignation, sir.
M (furious): We're not a country club, 007!
TRIVIA:
The scene where Bond confronts M and then resigns from MI6 was filmed in Ernest Hemingway's old house in Key West. Hence the line: "Well, I suppose this is a farewell to arms." Ah, you gotta love inside jokes...
MVP:
What is the best thing about Licence to Kill? Despite my earlier criticism of Timothy Dalton's humorless take on the role, he is still clearly the best thing about the movie. He's a consummate professional and he was willing to take the character to some truly dark and dangerous places, and that needs to be applauded. And I do feel bad that he gets slammed for some of the same reasons Daniel Craig is praised. It seems hardly fair!
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