Licence To Kill (1989)
74%RT Audience Score: 61%
Awards & Nominations: 1 nomination
License 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
Licence to Kill is like a rollercoaster ride that takes you on a wild journey filled with action, violence, and a touch of obsession. Timothy Dalton’s portrayal of Bond brings back the cool, ironic detachment of the Connery years, but with a darker edge. It’s definitely not your typical Bond film, but if you’re in the mood for something different and exciting, then this one’s for you. Just make sure to buckle up and hold on tight!
Production Company(ies)
Santana Pictures, Corporation,
Distributor
United Artists
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Otomi Ceremonial Center, Toluca, Estado de México, Mexico
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for action violence and drug content
Year of Release
1989
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby SR Dolby Surround 7.1
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:2h 13m
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Language(s):English, Spanish
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jul 14, 1989 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 19, 1999
Genre(s)
Action
Keyword(s)
starring Timothy Dalton, Carey Lowell, Robert Davi, Talisa Soto, Anthony Zerbe, Frank McRae, directed by John Glen, written by Michael G Wilson, Richard Maibaum, action, PG-13, James Bond, international drug cartel, revenge, chases, fight scenes, darker, intensity, solid, critic reviews, Michael Wilmington, Jay Boyar, Dave Kehr, Desmond Ryan, Matt Brunson, Jake Tropila, Mike Massie, Kelechi Ehenulo, David Hogan, violence, brutality, Timothy Dalton’s Bond, Bond magic, Bond series, American audiences, British, License to Kill, License Revoked, personal revenge, drug lord, CIA, Felix Leiter, Franz Sanchez, Lupe Lamora, Milton Krest, Sharkey, Dolby Stereo, Dolby Digital, Dolby A, Surround, Dolby SR, Scope (2.35:1), United Artists, box office, gross USA, $34.7M, James Bond 007, Albert R Broccoli, Michael G Wilson, reviewed by Chris Stuckmann, Los Angeles Times, Orlando Sentinel, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer, Film Frenzy, Film Inquiry, Gone With The Twins, Confessions From A Geek Mind, hoganreviews.co.uk, PG-13-rated, spy thriller, dark tone, revenge, MI6, Q, Desmond Llewelyn, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Benicio Del Toro, villains, romances, real stakes, graphic deaths, horror movies, Netflix series, TV shows, MCU movies, renewed and cancelled TV shows, TV premiere dates, worst horror movies of all time, licensing, advertise, careers
Worldwide gross: $156,167,015
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $380,543,408
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 400
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 41,498,736
US/Canada gross: $34,667,015
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $84,475,611
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 832
US/Canada opening weekend: $8,774,776
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $21,382,128
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 620
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $32,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $77,976,704
Production budget ranking: 538
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $41,990,455
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $260,576,249
ROI to date (est.): 217%
ROI ranking: 600
Carey Lowell – Pam Bouvier
Robert Davi – Franz Sanchez
Talisa Soto – Lupe Lamora
Anthony Zerbe – Milton Krest
Frank McRae – Sharkey
Director – John Glen
Producers – Albert R. Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson
Writers – Michael G. Wilson, Richard Maibaum
Director(s)
John Glen
Writer(s)
Michael G. Wilson, Richard Maibaum
Producer(s)
Albert R. Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
1 nomination
Academy Awards
All Critics (59) | Top Critics (16) | Fresh (46) | Rotten (13)
I think it’s very underrated.
April 13, 2020 | Rating: B+
Chris Stuckmann
ChrisStuckmann.com
TOP CRITIC
Every once in a while, [the Bond series] pulls in its stomach, pops the gun from its cummerbund, arches its eyebrow and gets off another bull’s-eye. The newest, Licence to Kill, is probably one of the five or six best of Bond.
May 20, 2014
Michael Wilmington
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
He may look the part, but Timothy Dalton fails the boots, the scuba gear, or the automobiles left him by Moore and Connery.
May 20, 2014 | Rating: 2/5
Tom Hibbert
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
If the series is ever going to return to its Connery-era glory, it definitely needs some new writers, ones who know how to streamline a story and keep the dialogue tight.
May 20, 2014
Jay Boyar
Orlando Sentinel
TOP CRITIC
Dalton revives the cool, ironic detachment of the Connery years, but he also allows a touch of obsession to show through Bond`s surface aplomb.
May 20, 2014 | Rating: 3.5/4
Dave Kehr
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
With Dalton straightening out Bond for the second time, Licence to Kill continues the salvage operation begun in The Living Daylights and rescues a series that was in danger of shooting itself in the foot. With a Walther PPK, of course.
May 20, 2014 | Rating: 2.5/4
Desmond Ryan
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
The most brutal Bond film from the pre-Daniel Craig era.
September 25, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy
Licence to Kill is a different beast entirely. Violent, barbaric, and untamed – this was everything that James Bond decidedly was not. It was here that Dalton’s ideal of Fleming’s agent crystallized.
September 4, 2021
Jake Tropila
Film Inquiry
The level of violence is unlike any other of the series, making the chief antagonist more formidable, memorable, and ultimately less fun.
September 6, 2020 | Rating: 6/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
Daniel Craig shows the grit, the determination and vulnerability that Bond has…Dalton did that years before!
July 16, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
Kelechi Ehenulo
Confessions From A Geek Mind
It may not be up your alley if you’re just into Bond films, but it you’re in the mood for an old fashioned action film, you can do far, far worse than sticking this film on.
January 14, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
David Hogan
hoganreviews.co.uk
Lacks a bit of that Bond magic. Perhaps not the cruder, formulaic elements of other Bond films, but the lightness of touch and inherent charm in the character of Bond himself.
October 29, 2019 | Rating: 3/5
PJ Nabarro
Patrick Nabarro…
Plot
James Bond is on possibly his most brutal mission yet. His good friend Felix Leiter is left near death by drug baron Franz Sanchez. Bond sets off on the hunt for Sanchez, but not everyone is happy. MI6 does not feel Sanchez is their problem and strips Bond of his license to kill making Bond more dangerous than ever. Bond gains the aid of one of Leiter’s friends, known as Pam Bouvier, and sneaks his way into the drug factories which Sanchez owns. Will Bond be able to keep his identity secret, or will Sanchez see Bond’s true intentions?
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels notes that Benicio Del Toro appears as one of the villains in Licence to Kill.
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