Bondathon: Licence to Kill

Timothy Dalton’s second and final mission as James Bond was one of the darkest films in the franchise and certainly the most violent.

Felix Leiter (David Hedison) is getting married, and James Bond is his best man. However, before the wedding, the pair must go off with the DEA to arrest Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi), one of the most powerful drug lords from Latin America. Unfortunately, Sanchez is able to arrange his escape and punishes Leiter by feeding him into a shark and killing his wife on their wedding night.

When Bond finds out about what happens to Leiter he defies orders and goes on a personal mission, vengeance. He sets out to disrupt Sanchez’s operation in Florida and his home country.

Licence to Kill was infamous for underperforming in North America. It had to compete in a competitive summer that included Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Batman, Back to the Future Part III, and Lethal Weapon 2. It also suffered from mixed reviews at the time. However, similar to what happened to On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, time has been kind to Licence to Kill and it is now highly regarded by Bond fans.

Licence to Kill is now seen as a precursor to the Daniel Craig era because of the tone. Licence to Kill was the most character-driven Bond film since On Her Majesty’s Secret Service because his motivations were so personal. Felix Leiter was one of Bond’s friends and the death of Delia (Priscilla Barnes) brought back memories of Tracy’s death. Felix mentions Bond was married and he was still hurting. Licence to Kill emphasised how close Bond was to Felix and Delia and showed he liked and respected Delia.

The other reason that drove Bond to take up a mission of vengeance was the American authorities had no willingness to go after Sanchez even though he escaped their custody. The Americans suffered from corruption in their ranks and Sanchez threatened to shoot down American planes if they didn’t back off. Except for Pam Bouvier (Carey Lowell) and Q (Desmond Llewelyn), Bond was on his own for most of his mission.

Licence to Kill was aiming to be a topical film. The War on Drugs was a major issue in the ‘80s and by the end of the decade there was more entertainment using it for inspiration. Lethal Weapon 1 and 2 focused on drug trafficking and Tom Clancy’s Clear and Present Danger showed American intelligence and military going to war with the Columbian cartels.

The comparison with Tom Clancy’s Ryanverse is apt because Bond and Jack Ryan are products of the Cold War. However, by the end of the ‘80s, both characters were dealing with issues beyond Western-Soviet relations.

One of the most memorable aspects was the violence. It earned a 15 rating in the UK for its violence. Every previous Bond film had a PG rating and every film after Licence to Kill were rated 12. Licence to Kill sets out the violence and tone early with Sanchez beating up his girlfriend with a whip. Sanchez was a sadistic villain – he took pleasure in torturing Felix. There were some gruesome deaths in the film: one man had his head exploded in a decompression chamber and a young Benicio del Toro was shredded. A scene from Kick-Ass where a gangster explodes in an industrial microwave felt like it was influenced by Licence to Kill.

Due to Licence to Kill being a revenge story it didn’t feel like a Bond film at times. During the first half of the film Bond was acting more like a rogue cop than a spy. He was looking for evidence and leads to find Sanchez’s associates. Licence to Kill turned into a more traditional Bond film when the mission moves to Latin America. Bond dressed up in tuxedos, goes to the casino to gamble large sums of money, uses Q-branch gadgets, and goes to an elaborate villain’s lair.

The second half of Licence to Kill becomes more interesting because Bond infiltrates Sanchez’s organisation and gets him to turn against his underlings. Michael G. Wilson admitted that Yojimbo and A Fistful of Dollars influenced Licence to Kill. It made for a more compelling story because Bond simply didn’t kill Sanchez, he made him distrust those around him.

Licence to Kill had some great stunts. During the pre-credits sequences, Bond and the DEA capture a plane in mid-flight. It was an impressive piece of stunt work and a similar sequence in The Dark Knight Rises must have been influenced by this film. The other big action sequence was the tanker chase at the end. It was a memorable sequence that stood the test of time. My favourite moment from the sequence was when Bond had to tilt a tanker on its side to avoid a missile.

Licence to Kill did have a fantastic climax. Bond was battered and beaten, and Sanchez was angry because he had lost his Asian deal, $500 million worth of cocaine, and his faculty. Bond took everything from Sanchez and Sanchez genuinely looked like he would kill our beloved spy. It ended with a wonderful end when Bond says ‘don’t you want to know why’ and kills Sanchez with the lighter Felix and Delia gave him. Cinematic justice at its finest. It was one of the most personal kills in the Bond franchise and the series was able to successfully repeat this with Goldeneye’s climax.

Sanchez was a massive improvement to villains in the previous film. As stated, he was ruthless and sadistic which made him a more threatening presence. He also had an ego: he lived in opulence, controlled the president of his country, and put a diamond collar around his pet iguana. All these details did make Sanchez a villain that fans would love to hate.

Pam Bouvier was one of the more capable Bond girls. She was a former US Air Force pilot and she showed herself to be a woman of action. She worked with Bond during the bar fight and saved Bond from Dario (del Toro). She also had to deal with Bond’s blatant sexism. Bond was a prick to her.

I found the secondary Bond girl, Lupe (Talisa Soto), to be more interesting. She was Sanchez’s girlfriend and a kept woman like Domino (Thunderball), Andrea (The Man With the Golden Gun), and Sévérine (Skyfall). Sanchez used violence to keep her under control and had scars on her back like Camille in Quantum of Solace. Despite the fear and power Sanchez holds over her, Lupe still helps Bond escape Sanchez’s compound.

On a final note, Q was given his biggest role in a Bond film. He goes out of his way to help Bond and was active in the field. Despite Q having constantly berate Bond for destroying his gadgets, he does care for the agent like a father. Having more Desmond Llewelyn in a Bond film was always good to have. To a lesser extent Moneypenny was also concerned for Bond because she was distracted at work.

Licence to Kill was one of the great, under-appreciated films that got its belated dues. Great for people who want a darker and grittier Bond adventure.