'Much darker forgotten' James Bond film ranks higher than Sean Connery favourite
Rotten Tomatoes has undertaken the mammoth task of ranking all the James Bond films, placing Licence to Kill at number 11 in a franchise spanning 27 films.
With a 79 per cent approval rating from critics, Licence to Kill has had a varied reception - skirting the boundaries of generally favourable reviews - one critic stated: "Many may have forgotten [Timothy] Dalton's time as the iconic agent, but whether you remember him or not, it's worth sinking your teeth into."
This 1989 entry is the sixteenth in the James Bond series and marked Timothy Dalton's second and last appearance as the famed MI6 spy. It was also John Glen's fifth and final film as director and the last to feature Caroline Bliss as Miss Moneypenny and Robert Brown in the role of M.
Reviews were polarised; while it was hailed as "very underrated" by one critic, another conceded it was merely "passably entertaining".
Notably, Licence to Kill was the first of the Bond movies not to borrow its name from an Ian Fleming story. Although the film's narrative is largely original, there are elements inspired by Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo, as well as injections from Fleming's own works - Live and Let Die and The Hildebrand Rarity, reports the Express.
The plot centres around Bond going rogue from MI6 to embark on a vendetta against Franz Sanchez, a nefarious drug lord who is behind a vicious attack on Bond's friend, CIA operative Felix Leiter, and subsequently responsible for murdering Felix's bride just after their nuptials.
GoldenEye (1995) followed Licence to Kill, marking the transition from Timothy Dalton to Irish actor Pierce Brosnan in the coveted James Bond role.
At the box office, Licence to Kill racked up a sum of $156.2 million (equating to $373.3 million when adjusted for 2022), all on a budget of $32 million.
One fan review heaped praises on the film: "One of my favourite Bond films. Loved the darker tone and do love this take on Bond. I enjoyed the story and the action."
Conversely, another viewer expressed disappointment: "Licence to Kill is a very bland Bond movie. Even after just finishing it, I'm having a hard time remembering the specifics about the movie."
On the Rotten Tomatoes ranking list of Bond films, Licence to Kill sits between GoldenEye at number ten and 007: You Only Live Twice at twelve. The Critics Consensus notes: "Licence to Kill is darker than many of the other Bond entries, with Timothy Dalton playing the character with intensity, but it still has some solid chases and fight scenes."
In another critique, it was mentioned: "You may find yourself shaken - not stirred - by the screenwriting cruelty and cynicism behind the 16th Bond."
One enthusiast praised Dalton's interpretation of Bond, commenting: "I enjoyed Moore's stint as Bond, it had excitement and humour but became increasingly silly and needed a reset. Dalton's much darker and more realistically human approach was a perfect bit of casting and made for a great Bond. This is one of my favourites of the franchise and for my tastes better than the following rather 'plastic' feeling Brosnan era."
Reflecting on his choice to portray the iconic character, Dalton mentioned in the 21st edition of OO7 Magazine: "I knew the danger of taking on something like Bond was immense; you know that if it hadn't worked, it would have been a very serious, serious problem for me personally. And I think, in many ways, that perverse thing in all of us wants to take on a challenge and risk oneself, and I wanted to see if I could overcome that challenge and get these movies back into being in a world that I consider to be James Bond's world."
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