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Licence to Kill was the sixteenth episode in the adventures of
James Bond 007, and almost the last. Released during the summer
of 1989, it remains one of the lowest-grossing Bond films ever,
and continues to be regarded as the one that nearly killed off
the franchise for good, or at least until GoldenEye was released
six-odd years later. There were other issues that delayed any
further screen exploits of 007, but poor box office is the kiss
of death for Bond, and the chilly reception afforded Licence to
Kill didn't help.
To be fair, the summer of 1989 was one of the definitive blockbuster
summers of the 80s so competition was fierce - just a sampling
of some of the heavy-weights released during those three months
include Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Star Trek V, Ghostbusters
II, Lethal Weapon 2, The Abyss, Batman, and Yahoo Serious' Young
Einstein. (Just kidding on that last one.) There was a serious
lack of available screens to had and suddenly James Bond seemed
like a relic that just wasn't as hip as the competition. Something
had to give, and it was 007. Which is very unfortunate, because
Licence to Kill is a terrific action film and one of the most
underrated of the series.
Gritty and straightforward, the film's mood is very dark and
shockingly violent. Timothy Dalton and director John Glen both
envisioned this film as a return to the Bond of Ian Flemming's
novels with more of a fallible hero than recent Bond fans were
used to. The film also contains more profanity and blood than
ever before, a telling sign that Danjaq felt the need to compete
with other action films on their turf. Licence to Kill was noteworthy
for being the first Bond film to receive a PG-13 rating.
When a vicious drug kingpin, Sanchez, attacks Bond's old friend,
CIA agent Felix Leiter, and Lighter's newlywed bride, the American
police don't seem to be able to do anything. So, for the first
time ever, 007 disobeys direct orders and goes it alone without
his license to kill, with intentions of revenge. With the help
of another CIA agent (Carey Lowell), Bond sets his sites on his
intended prey. One by one, he sets Sanchez up to eliminate his
own henchmen until there's no one left to separate the two foes.
As per usual, there are the obligatory Bond babes. Carey Lowell
is, for my tastes, a bit too stilted in her performance, and Talisa
Soto fares much better as the "property" of Sanchez. Robert Davi
is fabulously creepy and completely demented as Sanchez, who shows
no remorse in any of his actions, as vile as they may be. Returning
to the role of Leiter sixteen years after he first portrayed him
in Live and Let Die is David Hedison. And look for a pre-Usual
Suspects Benicio Del Toro as Sanchez's main butcher.
As for Timothy Dalton, I really do like him as Bond. I thought
both of his turns as 007 were done with a great deal more sincerity
and drama than what Roger Moore delivered. In The Living Daylights
and especially here in Licence to Kill, he brought a very human
element to a character that had become a caricature. Sure, he
still had the mandatory action film one-liners, but he did it
without the tongue-in-cheek delivery that Moore had trademarked.
I just happen to think that he ended up playing Bond at the wrong
point in time and unfortunately had to take the brunt for much
of the financial failure the series was suffering from at the
time. I think history will ultimately judge things differently.
Video: How Does The Disc Look?
Another winner from MGM, although marginally. The 2.35:1 anamorphic
widescreen transfer has the benefit of the film being only ten-years-old.
Colors are strong and rock solid, with absolutely no bleeding
from one color to the next. Detail is generally very strong, with
only occasional lapses into a softer picture. Darker scenes end
up looking extremely film-like with excellent black level and
shadow detail.
Now for the bad news. There's quite a bit more edge enhancement
than I would prefer and it often gives too much shimmer to small
objects, especially in more brightly lit scenes. There's also
more dirt and nics in the print than I would have thought with
License To Kill being so much newer than most of the other films.
I'm fairly surprised that a film of only ten-years in age looks
as old as this one does. That's not to say that it's bad, I'm
just ever so slightly disappointed.
Audio: How Does It Sound?
There's nothing disappointing about the newly remixed Dolby Digital
5.1 soundtrack. One thing I'll say about all the Bond films from
about Moonraker on, is that all of the original mixes were remarkably
well done. Licence to Kill's mix is no exception with a precisely
detailed and directional front soundstage. Cars, movements, and
even explosions are placed to match their visual positions on
screen. Listen to the sound of Sanchez ripping down the curtain
in chapter two for a wonderful example. Most sound designers would
simply mixed the foley directly into the center channel, but here
the sound is panned from left to right smoothly within the span
of about a quarter of a second.
Dynamic range is, as one would expect, much better than previous
films in the series. The .1 LFE channel is used for extra umph
during explosions and other such fitting occasions. The split
surrounds are used effectively and accurately. I don't think people
will have a problem with the new soundtrack for Licence to Kill.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There?
As part of MGM's James Bond Collection, Licence to Kill has been
allotted its share of wonderful supplemental material. As with
almost all the titles in the set you start out with two audio
commentaries that are actually the audio portions of the on-camera
interviews. A host is provided during both to guide the listener
throw the large number of participants and topics. Track one is
director John Glen and members of the cast and is more of an informal
collection of bits and memories. One notable absence on this track
is Timothy Dalton. Track two is producer Michael G. Wilson and
members of the crew giving a more technical batch of information
on subjects like stuntwork and the miniature effects work on the
film.
A full frame 30-minute documentary has been created, "Inside
Licence to Kill," with new interviews from, among others,
director John Glen and actors Robert Davi, Carey Lowell, and Benicio
Del Toro. I'll have to admit, License To Kill is one of the Bond
films I know the least about production-wise and I was totally
engrossed by this feature. One of the topics discussed at some
length is the curse that nearly everyone felt had hit production
at a particular point in location shooting. A picture taken during
that phase seems to give credence to fear of the curse. I'm not
going to say what the picture is, but trust me when I say, it's
creepy.
A still gallery presenting a wide variety of behind-the-scenes
production photographs is available. It is presented in 11 different
sections covering subjects from Key West, Mexico City, and Licence
to Kill around the world with poster art from a variety of regions.
One interesting section is labeled "The Lost Promotional Campaign."
In it, you'll see a few abandoned concepts for when the film was
titled "Licence Revoked."
Both the theatrical teaser and trailer are presented
in non-anamorphic widescreen with 2.0 stereo. There's a ten-minute
1989 featurette devoted to the truck stunts at the picture's
finale, along with a five-minute 1989 featurette created to promote
the film's theatrical release. Both are pretty lightweight, but
it's nice to have them included for the sake of thoroughness.
Finally they have two music videos featuring songs from
the film's soundtrack. The first, Gladys Knight's rendition of
the main theme title track, is pretty hokey. I just couldn't stop
smiling at the sight of her with that stupid tux on. The second
is for Patty LaBelle's "If You Asked Me To," which, other
than the fact that it's in the movie, doesn't have anything to
define itself as a James Bond song. Certainly nothing in the video
even gives a hint of that.
DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc
in your PC?
No ROM extras have been included.
Parting Thoughts
MGM's jewel in their crown is obviously the James Bond films.
With this new release, I think fans of 007 will be quite satisfied
with how their hero comes off. I wished the picture had been a
tad bit better, but if it's a choice between a non-anamorphic
disc over a higher quality anamorphic disc with some slight edge
enhancement, I'll choose the latter every time.
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