License to Kill (1989)

Time to jump into the Timothy Dalton version of James Bond...And...I'm now halfway through his run. Yes, Dalton only did two films and was licensed to do a third but the studio ran into some legal difficulties which ended up with Dalton leaving the franchise.

This one is about James Bond and his CIA friend Felix (from previous films but a new actor, much like Bond). In a case of revenge, Bond is told to stay away from the bad guy or else it might cause an international incident. Of course, Bond ignores this plea and goes out on his own to get revenge on the bad guy. Surprise, surprise...

I don't know what it is with the James Bond franchise but SOMEONE high up must own sharks or something because more than half of the films have sharks in them. It just seems like Mike Myers knew what he was talking about when Dr. Evil said he wanted sharks with lasers on their heads. :)

This film brought up the maturity level of the franchise a bit. It wasn't quite so tongue-in-cheek as previous versions. Dalton still has a couple of one-liners but, in general, the character was more reined in, which isn't a bad thing. There is also less direct forcing of women to sleep with Bond. He even starts to turn one away at one point. These were nice touches as they have always been some of my complaints about the series.

The story also flowed a bit better. It would have been nice to see some more of Wayne Newton, as his character was fun, but it didn't detract enough to hurt the overall film.

Dalton often gets raked over the coals for his performance as Bond but watching it now, in the marathon, he changed the direction of the franchise in a good way and did so with character and class. I think he often gets overlooked in the big picture, which is a shame.

Overall I enjoyed it and remember it quite well from when I saw it so many years ago.

Yes, I'll recommend this one.

P.S. It has Kitana and Shang Tsung from Mortal Kombat in it! :)

P.S.S. It has a young Benicio del Toro in it in his second film ever

P.S.S.S. This is the first Bond film to NOT have Lois Maxwell as Moneypenny in it and that is a crying shame!

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