Bond 16: Licence to Kill (1989)

Plot of Licence to Kill: Bond is attending the wedding of his friend Felix Leiter when they have to take time out to capture drug baron Franz Sanchez, but Sanchez escapes and his stooges kill Leiter’s new wife and dangle Leiter into  shark pool, injuring him almost fatally. As a result despite instructions from M, he goes on the hunt for Sanchez, helped by DEA informant Pam Bouvier. He is also helped by Q, who assists in various ways, much to his own exhilaration. Bond targets the Wavecrest which is used by Sanchez for drug deals using a remotely operated submersible, making vast sums of money available to him. He then poses as an assassin for hire to Sanchez, and so joins his entourage and penetrates the drug baron’s base which masquerades and some sort of religious headquarters. Pam Bouvier also gains access, pretending to be a donor. They create chaos in the place which catches fire but four tankers containing drugs in petrol escape. Bond must, with the help of Pam in her plane, catch up with the pantechnicons and eliminate them, together with the drug lord.

Content: No sex or nudity. Pam’s thighs often exposed as she, or sometimes Bond, gropes for her handgun. A lot of reference to drugs, since it is the main theme of the film, however no-one is seen taking any. There a lot of aerial stunts, with a helicopter capturing a small plane in the opening scenes, and more. Also, because a small ship is involved quite a few underwater fights, with Bond generally overcoming the opposition. Once in the religious complex Sanchez negotiates with a number of other crime lords about drug supply, but once there is chaos they run away and the whole place blows up spectacularly. The finale with the four trucks goes on for ages as they are gradually reduced in number with lots of enormous explosions.

A View: I have always been a bit of a James Bond fan, but have no recollection of having seen this film before, however it was not a big surprise, generally following the standard format, of the hero engaging in a number of scenes where he comes out on top. It was mildly criticised for its darker tone, which seems to be based solely on the Leiter wedding disaster. It seems to have made money, probably a relief for EON. If anything I would say that as usual it is a too long and seems to lose track of the main narrative due to the many set pieces. But probably a watch if you are a Bond fan.

Fun Fact: Sanchez is a characterisation of General Noriega, who at the time was selling drugs in Panama, even though he was head of state.