James Bond 007 – Lizenz zum Töten (1989)

James Bond 007 – Lizenz zum Töten: Directed by John Glen. With Timothy Dalton, Carey Lowell, Robert Davi, Talisa Soto. After capturing a drug lord, Felix Leiter is left for dead and his wife is murdered. James Bond goes rogue and seeks vengeance on those responsible, as he infiltrates an organisation posing as a hitman.

“Timothy Dalton only played Bond twice, but he tried to base his interpretation of the character on the descriptions provided by Ian Fleming in the original novels. Therefore, his Bond is quite ruthless and embittered, and always ready to stick two fingers up at the establishment if he feels theyu0026#39;ve got it wrong. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBond is vacationing in Florida, acting as best-man at his friend Felix Leiteru0026#39;s wedding, when the unthinkable happens. Leiter and his wife are assaulted by some Central American thugs; the wife is murdered and Leiter is crippled by sharks. Bond is obviously deeply unhappy about this, but his bosses instruct him to let the matter drop and get on with another assignment. 007 knows who is responsible for the injuries to his friend, so he revokes his licence to kill and becomes a rogue agent, tracking down the villainous drug lord Sanchez (Robert Davi) to his Latin America headquarters. Here, aided by Sanchezu0026#39;s unfaithful mistress Lupe (Talisa Soto) and CIA agent Pam Bouvier (Carey Lowell), Bond attempts to wipe out their enormous clandestine drug operation single-handedly.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThereu0026#39;s definitely an uneasy, hard edge to the film which makes it unique among the Bond series. Whether or not this improves the film depends on your personal taste: if you like safe, humorous Roger Moore escapades, youu0026#39;ll probably find this too jarring, whereas if you prefer espionage stories with a bit of grit and sweat, this may be just what youu0026#39;re after. The action sequences are still outrageous in the tried-and-trusted Bond style, with memorable episodes featuring a daring helicopter .vs. airplane pursuit; a barefoot water-skiing sequence; and a truck chase down the side of a mountain. Some of the language, though not out-and-out u0026quot;foulu0026quot;, is a bit stronger and more believable than in other Bond entries. The theme tune from Gladys Knight and the Pips is one of the better 007-tracks.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eLicence to Kill is a new twist on the Bond theme. It isnu0026#39;t the best, and some of its new ideas donu0026#39;t fit with the usual routine (which may or may not be a good thing), but it is certainly interesting.”