James Bond Licence to Kill

James Bond Licence to Kill (1989)

“Licence to Kill” is a 1989 spy movie that is the 16th entry in the James Bond film series produced by Eon Productions. The movie features Timothy Dalton in his second and final appearance as the MI6 agent James Bond. In the film, Bond is suspended from MI6 as he sets out to bring down drug lord Franz Sanchez, who is responsible for the attack on Bond’s CIA friend Felix Leiter and the murder of Felix’s wife.

This film was directed by John Glen and marked his fifth and final James Bond film. It also marked the final appearances of Robert Brown as M and Caroline Bliss as Miss Moneypenny. The film’s screenwriter, Richard Maibaum, title designer Maurice Binder, and producer Albert R. Broccoli also passed away after this film.

“Licence to Kill” was the first James Bond movie to not use a title from an Ian Fleming story. The film’s plot was largely original, but it drew elements from the Fleming novel “Live and Let Die” and the short story “The Hildebrand Rarity”. The film was also influenced by Akira Kurosawa’s movie “Yojimbo”.

For budget reasons, “Licence to Kill” was the first Bond movie to be shot entirely outside the UK. The film was shot on location in Mexico and the US, with interiors filmed at Estudios Churubusco instead of Pinewood Studios. The movie earned over $156 million worldwide and received generally positive reviews, but it was criticized for its darker tone and Dalton’s portrayal of Bond.

In the film, Bond and Felix Leiter capture drug lord Franz Sanchez, but he later escapes and orders an attack on Felix and the murder of his wife. Bond resigns from MI6 and goes rogue to bring down Sanchez. He teams up with DEA informant Pam Bouvier and together they stop Sanchez’s latest drug shipment and Bond infiltrates his inner circle. Bond eventually destroys Sanchez’s base, kills his henchmen, and brings Sanchez to his death. At the end of the film, Bond is offered his job back at MI6 and chooses to romance Pam Bouvier instead.