Retro Review: License to Kill

It should be noted that most people don't even remember this entry into the James Bond franchise. When I organized a screening for this hidden gem into the Bond films on Syracuse University's campus, not one person ever remembered the title of this film, let alone the actor who played Bond in this criminally underrated entry. Why? Probably because their parents never knew about it either. United Artists and Eon Productions originally spent millions on marketing materials for this film to have a different title: License Revoked. However, at the last minute, producers assumed American audiences wouldn't understand that title had any connection to 007, and instead mistake it for having ones drivers license revoked. Don't laugh, it's true! In the end, they pissed all the money away on a marketing campaign they couldn't use in the U.S.

Having said that, this film brought Bond films back to the 60s flare and style. It had a serious villain, exotic locations, and didn't have an over the top plot that had the film's main villain wanting to take over the world. In this case, the lead villain Sanchez, played by Robert Davi (you may remember him as a special agent in Die Hard, as well as one of the Fratelli brothers in The Goonies) merely wanted to be the king of cocaine dealing for the free world. He was truly one of the best Bond villains in the history of the Bond franchise, adding more than just a one dimensional layer to his character. Davi's portrayal would have you believe Sanchez appreciated loyalty from his workers, and was consistent with rewarding that concept. You may also recognize a very young Benecio Del Toro, playing Sanchez's hencemen, Dario. He was very effective, with a few choice lines that helped elevate his character beyond the few words of dialogue his character was given. Not to be forgotten, the two women playing the Bond girls for this film, Carey Lowell, and Talisa Soto. Both brought more of an edge to the stigma of being a Bond girl. Carey's character Pam Bouvier, plays a CIA operative, and really sells the tough girl persona throughout the film. Talisa's character of Lupe Lamora makes you not only believe why Sanchez would be obsessed in not let letting her out of his grasp, but you also gets the sense she can only take so much abuse before snapping herself.  And last but not least, the actor playing James Bond, Timothy Dalton, did a lot of his own stunts, and tried to earnestly project a persona that Ian Fleming wrote about for the Bond character in the original novels. This wasn't Roger Moore, ham it up Bond. This was grab the girl by the throat, and not even have the courtesy to wink at her or the camera "intense Bond", projected so effortlessly by Dalton. The real shame? He (Dalton) never really started getting credit for his portrayal of Bond until about 17 years later when Daniel Craig played Bond in very similar fashion. It took American audiences almost two decades to really appreciate what Dalton was trying to do with the role in this film and his first entry into the series.

Overall, this film hit all the right notes with amazing action stunt sequences from the films opening montage as Bond and Felix Leiter take to the skies in a DEA helicopter to reel in Sanchez, to the films climax in which Bond uses a tanker truck to his advantage in trying to seek revenge on the death of Leiter's wife. I'm not going to spoil the rest of this film, but it's got some of the best, if not the best action scenes ever put on the silver screen. The pace of the film just works. Just when you think it's going to slow down and suffer from the same fate as a lot of the Roger Moore entries, it picks right up and never lets go. Not to be underrated a fantastic score by the late Micheal Kamen, who scored other action films such as Die Hard and Lethal Weapon during the same era. It's a shame poor marketing, and being released in the ultra competitive "summer of 89" prevented it from becoming the blockbuster it should have been financially.

Hopefully, like many films from decades past, it will continue to become more of a fan favorite as time goes on. One of the Bond producers recently said the film was too dark for the time it was released, and I can only help but wonder what a blockbuster it could have been if released in our current era of darker themed heroes and films. Nuff said.