A well-produced slick high-octane action thriller that remains escapist and as entertaining as possible throughout.
Comment
02/16/09
Licence to Kill (1989)
73 %
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted: 33
Fresh: 24
Rotten:9
Average Rating: 5.9/10
Runtime: 2 hrs 14 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Synopsis: James Bond (Timothy Dalton) returns with a vengeance in LICENCE TO KILL. Having just witnessed his best friend's wedding, Bond is shocked when he learns that ruthless drug runner Franz Sanchez... [More]
Starring: Timothy Dalton, Carey Lowell, Robert Davi, Anthony Zerbe
Director: John Glen
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Reviews for Licence to Kill
...it often feels more like a typical '80s actioner than a bona fide James Bond adventure...
10/25/08
The Bond women are pallid mannequins, and so is the misused Dalton -- a moving target in a Savile Row suit. For every plausible reason, he looks as bored in his second Bond film as Sean Connery did in his sixth.
10/13/08
Top CriticFast, efficient and unusually gruesome Bond. The tone is sombre, the action is ingenious and in Dalton the series finds the only actor to take 007 seriously.
10/13/08
Hardcore Bond fans may be dismayed by some of the changes, but no one can deny that the action scenes staged by director John Glen are some of the most spectacular of the entire series and well worth the price of admission.
10/13/08
The thrills-and-spills chases are superbly orchestrated as pic spins at breakneck speed through its South Florida and Central American locations.
10/13/08
Top CriticDespite some shaky narrative continuity and muddled motivations, this manages to move pretty briskly, and the action sequences are generally well handled, especially at the climax.
10/13/08
Top CriticEven weak James Bond is better than the norm action flicks, and this one qualifies.
03/20/08
Very hardcore for Bond
02/10/08
No review available.
09/06/07
A cameo by Wayne Newton pushes the film into full-on kitsch, and many feared the series was dead after Licence's poor showing.
02/15/07
No review available.
12/26/06
It's all very pacy, with the overly straightforward plotting dimmed but not obscured by the hi-tech effects.
02/09/06
No review available.
11/04/05
Both the toughest Bond movie ever and the most entertaining Bond movie ever. A rare entry in the series where the danger seems real.
10/14/05
No review available.
07/03/05
Dalton is just a little TOO serious as Bond.
01/08/05
No review available.
07/01/04
No review available.
05/14/04
Dalton brought a seriousness back to the films that somehow got lost in a lot of silliness along the way.
11/21/03
Latest News for Licence to Kill
November 07, 2008:
Bonding with Bond, Day 18: Licence to Kill
Community Manager RT-Ryan has never seen a single James Bond film, except for 2006's Casino Royale. To rectify the situation, he decides to watch every Bond film and write... More...
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