007 Journals: License To Kill

So the year is 1989 and License to Kill is the second, and last, Timothy Dalton James Bond film. So this movie more than previous Bond films feels like a direct translation of what was popular in it's time of release. Hyper violent action movies are all the rage. We had Rambo, Robocop, Lethal Weapon, and of course Scarface which helps influence another part of this movie. This is probably the one entry in the series that feels the least like a Bond film. If you changed the characters names you wouldn't even know the difference between this and any other 80's movie. It's so referential that there's even a Road House style bar fight, because that's what was popular. We have a plot surrounding a drug kingpin where he might as well have been named Tony Montana and the violence is so ramped up from previous films that it just comes off as very reactionary. So with all of this in consideration, the real question is how does it fare as a Bond film?

Well I said it before and I'll say it again. I loved Dalton as Bond in The Living Daylights and I love him even more in License To Kill. This is a very different Bond film where he's not on a mission, it's just a personal revenge story which is something we've never seen Bond do before. He goes rogue to the point that Mi6 even tries to kill him, but then quickly forgets and ignores him. We've seen Bond go rogue before but never like this. So this film features Robery Davi as Sanchez, a ruthless drug lord who has no problem kidnapping Bond's best American friend Felix, and having a shark eat one of his legs. Pretty dark stuff. In fact this movie is so much bloodier and darker than any Bond film that sometimes it's actually curious as to how this movie got approved. We've had a few excessive violence scenes here and there in some of the other movies but this time it was played realisticaly vs seeing Kananga bet blown up like a balloon. It comes off pretty shocking when this film comes around and we have shark wounds and squib shots when previously if someone took a bullet it generally meant grabbing at your chest and falling over.

So while Bond is out for revenge Sanchez is working on building up his cocaine empire (because Scarface) and he has a mistress played by Talisa Soto who is an actress that I always want to like but just have trouble believing. She is beautiful but her acting is always so flat. This was one of her first roles so it's not any better here and is probably the worst I've ever seen her. She just doesn't know how to emote her lines and just sounds monotoned everytime she speaks so I could never tell what emotion she was trying to get across. Bond also has an ex CIA ally played by Carey Lowell who does a better job of carring the female presence in this film. She's tough, she's beautiful, and carries her own in the action scenes better than some previous Bond girls. One weird casting note I'd like to make is Benecio Del Toro as one of Sanchez's hit men. Now there is no super villain aspect to Sanchez, he's just a regualr drug lord which to me makes him a compelling and fearful character because he's based in reality. Del Toro, who looks about eighteen, plays one of his men and while he doesn't have a lot of screen time he sure makes the best out of it by hamming up almost every line he has. Now I wouldn't expect anything less since that's basically what he will become known for but it definitly screams "Hey, I don't get to say much in this movie so I'll make sure they remember everything I say by making it ridiculous." and it completely works. He comes off creepy and insane, pretty much how he does in the real world, and it makes him an odd but memorable character. That honeymoon line alone will be hard to erase from your brain. 

Okay there is something we have to get out of the way. Bond fights ninjas. I know! It's so out of place and random but hey, Ninja's were popular. In all fairness it was contextualized pretty well but man I wish that scene was just Bond fighting some random suited up thugs and not ninjas. There are definitly some issues with this movie. We already spoke about the ninjas, there's the out of place over the top violence, and honestly Dalton surprised me by not delivering the quips with conviction. Overall I think Dalton is a very versitile Bond. He can be tough, he can be angry, he can be loving, he can be dominating, but he just felt uncomfortable about some of his lines when it came to the quips. Although they don't really fit in this dark of a movie and there aren't that many of them but the few that sneak through really should have just been omitted. Not all of the performances were on par either. I already mentioned how flat Talisa Soto comes off but I have to say that this version of Felix is my least favorite. The performance was cringe worthy and he felt like he was acting in a different movie. I disliked a lot of the opening of the movie just because of Felix. He also seems way older than Bond which just comes off odd to me. This actor played Felix in an older Roger Moore film (I think Live and Let Die) so it seems odd to bring him back many years later and have him with a younger looking Bond. Also my biggest gripe but it doesn't affect the movie much is that they never explain how Bond gets reinstated into Mi6. 

For everything that didn't work in this movie I feel like there were twice as many parts that did. The action and stunts are fantastic and there are a lot of them. Bond was clinging to a lot of viechles trying to violently throw him off and it all looks great. Some of the best stunt work in the series. I also really like the plot. It's simple and unique for a James Bond movie. Dalton is the perfect actor to play a darker Bond and while I can see how this dark of a film might have been an issue back then, I think this movie holds up better now in 2015 where we are all desensitized from violence. One of my favorite things about this movie is Q. He gets more screen time than he has before and actually takes part in the mission. I wish we had more of Q like this throughout the series because it was a lot of fun to see him take part in the actual plot. There was even the moment that makes me pine for the James Bond and Q roommates sitcom where they go to sleep in the same room and Bond quips "I hope you don't snore Q." Give me that show!

UPDATE: I forgot to mention the plane stunt that would later be redone in The Dark Knight Rises. As much as this movie pulled from other 80's movies it's interesting to note a movie of the current day borrowing from a movie almost built around being referential. 

Between the two Dalton films I think I like The Living Daylights more since it feels more like a traditional Bond film but License To Kill is still a great time. I rank them both four out of five but The Living Daylights is just slightly better in my opinion. This isn't a film I would say anyone should watch as their first Bond film, you definitly need to see at least a couple more before this to really be able to appreciate it. I'll miss Dalton as Bond but now we move into the era of Bond where I was first introduced. Next will be my first Bond movie Goldeneye.