License to Kill (1989)

So Bond is the best man in Leiter's wedding in one of the longest intros in the franchise. The latter has a drug-dealer (Robert Davi as Sanchez) to catch on his wedding day, so a detour is required. Predictably they seem to save the day, and parachute to the wedding to the awaiting bride and crowd after some small chases and a very slick special effect tow-in.

But alas! This time there's a cruel twist as Sanchez escapes in time to have a shark eat Leiter's legs and kill his wife. The former a most gruelling scene for this franchise. So there will be no spy-theme this time around. It's a pure personal vendetta against a drug-lord after Bond goes AWOL without his license to kill (Hence the title). How original.

For Dalton though, this works a treat. He excels as a driven, enraged avenger with a singular mission. His own. Davi was a shoe-in for psycho's in this period, and delivers nicely. Del Toro plays his part with flair, but he doesn't have the seriousness about him as a henchman should, as he either stands behind his boss or brings a whole posse. I've seen better actresses than Lowell, but she does spark a decent chemistry with Dalton and suits him perfectly. Zerbe and Soto bring what can be expected from their respective parts. The big treat here though is an extended part for Llewellyn as he tries to mediate between the two women fighting for Bond's affection.

Barry was replaced by Michael Kamen for this film and he predictably opts for more guitars, whether standard electric or more acoustic southern sounds. Not the worst choice, though I do miss the horns.

So at last John Glen managed to find a singular theme throughout a movie. And it's a dark action film. There are some excellent water-stunts and the film really plays to Dalton's strengths. Unfortunately not to Bond's. But it was the darkest Bond to date. And it does have the most callous death Bond has ever inflicted. It still lacks much of the foundation of what Bond is supposed to be.

6/10

Best car used: 1978 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow
Most memorable drink served: Medium dry vodka martini, shaken not stirred
Henchmen: Benicio del Toro as knife-wielding Dario. A most sadistic and deadly little runt.
Villain: Robert Davi as Frank Sanchez. No one better in that decade to play a psycho.
Best one-liner: "Looks like he came to a dead end"
Song: "License to Kill" by Gladys Knight. A welcome throwback to older eras, but not quite to scale.
Bond-girl: Carey Lowell as Pam Bouvier. A personal favourite of mine.