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Licence To Kill (1989)
Licence To Kill (1989)
1989 | Action, Drama, Thriller
Probably nobody's favourite Bond film, but it doesn't deserve the stick it gets for supposedly putting the franchise on hiatus for half a decade (behind the scenes issues at MGM/UA were responsible for the delay). A gritty tale of drug-dealing and vengeance, rather closer to the tone of Ian Fleming than any Bond film in twenty years; not that different in tone from some parts of the Daniel Craig era.

The complaint that it just doesn't feel like a Bond movie - too much crunch, not enough glitter - has some truth to it, and Dalton is arguably playing it all just a bit too straight, but the action sequences are well-mounted and it moves along pacily enough. Also has a scene where Benicio del Toro gets squelched by giant spiked wheels, so much to enjoy here on many levels (only joking, Benny).