Licence to Kill was a dark and gritty James Bond adventure that pointed the way for the future of the franchise, but it was released way too soon. By the time Timothy Dalton stepped into the role as 007 in The Living Daylights, Bond had been around on the big screen for 25 years.
Furthermore, three separate actors had filled the role before Dalton, and it was clear that things were starting to grow stale in the James Bond camp. Dalton’s first movie, the aforementioned Living Daylights, was an average and serviceable Bond outing that did a decent job of introducing Dalton as the new 007.
Though the movie performed quite well, the franchise was in a rut. Therefore, 1989’s Licence to Kill would try to set itself apart from the 15 movies that came before. It did so by eschewing the fun and cheesy tone of its predecessors, and instead opted for a dark and violent approach to the beloved superspy.
Change in the Bond franchise is almost always divisive, and a mᴀssive tone shift was bound to rub some the wrong way. Licence to Kill was Timothy Dalton’s last film as 007, and it has largely faded into the background in a wash of other lesser Bond films. However, it deserves credit for blazing the trail for the franchise’s future.
Licence To Kill Was Bond’s First Dark & Gritty Movie
James Bond Like He Was Never Seen Before
After 15 movies, James Bond had saved the world countless times, and he usually vanquished the villain with a clever wink and nod to the audience. However, Licence to Kill served up a brand-new side of 007, one that was thirsty for revenge after the vicious ᴀssault of Felix Leiter and the murder of Leiter’s new bride.
Getting straight to the point, the movie opens with a shocking violent scene, and things only get bloodier as the film goes on. Bond resigns from his commission in order to pursue his path of revenge, and it’s one of the only times in the franchise thus far that 007 acts emotionally.
Dalton’s performance really helps to sell the pure hatred within Bond, and he goes on a bloody rampage as he tears through Sanchez’ drug empire. The small scale of the adventure is in stark contrast to the worldwide consequences of earlier Bond adventures, but it still feels just as intense and important.
The small scale of the adventure is in stark contrast to the worldwide consequences of earlier Bond adventures, but it still feels just as intense and important.
Though there are elements of Licence to Kill that have some of that classic Bond cheese, the story is grounded. There’s plenty of violence in the James Bond movies, but not much gore. Licence to Kill changes all that with a lot of blood, and more impact in each gunsH๏τ, punch, or encounter with a piece of heavy machinery.
The Pierce Brosnan Era Returned To The Lighter Side
The New 007 Ignored Licence To Kill’s Tone Change
After Licence to Kill, Timothy Dalton left the role and was eventually replaced by Pierce Brosnan. GoldenEye was released in 1995, after the longest hiatus in the franchise’s history up to that point. The Brosnan era kicked off with a bang, and the superspy’s return was a triumphant homage to the fast-paced thrills and light-hearted tone of earlier movies.
Completely reversing the dour and gritty experience of its predecessor, GoldenEye returned Bond to his suave and humorous self, and Brosnan was perfect for spouting clever one-liners. It also proved to be a welcome change with fans, and GoldenEye grossed over $350 million (via Box Office Mojo), a marked improvement over the two Dalton films.
Despite the success of GoldenEye, the Pierce Brosnan era would go into a tailspin after the first film, with the remaining three sequels getting poor reviews. The reliance on classic Bond tropes kept the Brosnan era from doing anything unique, and each movie got cheesier and cheesier as other action films began to shift toward a more grounded tone.
Finally, Die Another Day was the last nail in the coffin of the Pierce Brosnan era, and it completed a three-movie streak in which the Bond films couldn’t earn a Rotten Tomatoes score above 60%. Budgets were inflated, and casts were expanded, but Bond had become a bloated dinosaur that wasn’t keeping up with the times.
|
Pierce Brosnan Bond Film |
Release Year |
Rotten Tomatoes Score |
Box Office |
|---|---|---|---|
|
GoldenEye |
1995 |
80% |
$352 million |
|
Tomorrow Never Dies |
1997 |
57% |
$333 million |
|
The World is Not Enough |
1999 |
51% |
$360 million |
|
Die Another Day |
2002 |
56% |
$430 million |
Casino Royale Proved That Licence To Kill Was The Future Of Bond
Licence To Kill Was Vindicated Almost 20 Years Later
Following Die Another Day, the Bond franchise was given a hard reset with a new actor in the lead role. Daniel Craig stepped in as 007 in Casino Royale, and it was the starkest change the franchise had ever seen. Sticking closer to Ian Fleming’s original novel, Craig’s Bond was angry, cynical, and nowhere near as humorous as his predecessors.
Skyfall is the highest-grossing Bond film of all time, earning $1.1 billion worldwide (via Box Office Mojo).
The movie’s violence was brought up to modern standards, and Bond was a fully-realized character with complex emotions. This allowed for the deepest storytelling of any Bond era, and Craig’s Bond went on an emotional journey across his five-film arc. Though the new era was wholly original, it owes a debt of graтιтude to Licence to Kill.
The second Timothy Dalton Bond film could have easily become one of Craig’s adventures, and they share a similar tone. Had Licence to Kill been released later, it might be regarded as one of the best in the franchise. At the very least, the 1989 thriller proved that James Bond was capable of changing to suit a new era.
