Licence to Kill

Play trailer

Licence to Kill

PG-13

Released Jul 14, 1989

2h 13m

Action

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

79%

Tomatometer

63 Reviews

61%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

James Bond (Timothy Dalton) takes on his most-daring adventure after he turns renegade and tracks down one of the international drug cartel's most-brutal and powerful leaders. After the murder of his just-married friend, he is fighting not only for country and justice, but for personal revenge!

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Critics Consensus

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.

Read Critics Reviews

Leonard Maltin

Video Review

Licence to Kill is just the shot in the arm the James Bond series has been needing.

Rated: 3/4

Aug 5, 2022

Full Review

Chris Stuckmann

ChrisStuckmann.com

I think it's very underrated.

Rated: B+

Apr 13, 2020

Full Review

Michael Wilmington

Los Angeles Times

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

Full Review

Sarah Cortinaz

InSession Film

Many may have forgotten Dalton’s time as the iconic agent, but whether you remember him or not, it’s worth sinking your teeth into.

Apr 23, 2024

Full Review

Tom Ryan

The Sunday Age

It's helped by Sanchez, its wonderful villain, simultaneously sadistic and principled, played as Bond's opposite with a superbly sinister aloofness by Robert Davi. And the ending is suitably spectacular.

Jul 25, 2023

Full Review

Carson Timar

ButteredPopcorn

This is far from a terrible movie as it is easy to sit through and has plenty of enjoyable moments but it also isn't well balanced enough to be a classic.

Rated: B-

Aug 28, 2022

Full Review

Read all reviews

Frank

The usual unbelevable mess James gets into, with an inevitable bruised and lacerated successful result. Acting is superb to point of making the crazy show believable!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/12/22

Full Review

Joshua M

In my top three Bond films. Timothy Dalton does an amazing job as James Bond the film is entertaining with adventure, action beautiful sights and everything else you can ask for!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/19/24

Full Review

Audience Member

Licence to Kill is the darkest and most underrated Bond film ever made. The story sees Bond (Timothy Dalton, in his best performance as 007) resigning from MI6 to take revenge on drug lord Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi), who ordered an attack on Felix Leiter (David Hedison) after being captured by Bond and Felix. The grittiness of the story works with the dark themes to create a Bond film unlike any other, creating scenes such as Felix being attacked by a shark, Benicio del Toro being shredded, Krest being locked in a decompression chamber and his head exploding, and a petrol-soaked Sanchez being burned alive by Bond, resulting in a dark and cold revenge story, and an underrated masterpiece of film.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/12/24

Full Review

Audience Member

This Bond film had a darker side and graphic violence. The carefree cheekiness of previous Bond movies seemed to be gone. Dalton is good, but seems to be a more human version of Bond. This Bond has more reality and less entertainment value. Talisa Soto, Carey Lowell, and Priscilla Barnes were good. The action scenes were chaotic. A better script would have helped. There seemed to be a lot of bad guys without a central villian. I like all the Bond films, but I thought this one could have been better. Cheers.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

07/14/24

Full Review

Lucas t

I think I found the day where I lile Licence to Kill. 8.5/10.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/29/24

Full Review

Benjamin H

While the plot sometimes loses a sense of direction and the final scene detracts from the film's overall mood, Licence to Kill is an intense, rousing and eventful entry in the franchise that presents actual stakes brought nicely to life by Timothy Dalton and his darker and more defiant iteration of 007.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/05/24

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

John Glen

Director

Timothy Dalton

James Bond

Carey Lowell

Pam Bouvier

Robert Davi

Franz Sanchez

Talisa Soto

Lupe Lamora

Anthony Zerbe

Milton Krest

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

Tomorrow Never Dies

57%

53%

Tomorrow Never Dies

Watchlist

GoldenEye

80%

83%

GoldenEye

Watchlist

The World Is Not Enough

51%

49%

The World Is Not Enough

Watchlist

Pink Cadillac

24%

25%

Pink Cadillac

Watchlist

Operation Condor

80%

63%

Operation Condor

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Poll: Who’s Your Favorite Bond Villain?

Digital Multiplex: Classic James Bond movies, The Hunger Games and More

Bonding with Bond, Day 24: Quantum of Solace

View more photos

Synopsis

James Bond (Timothy Dalton) takes on his most-daring adventure after he turns renegade and tracks down one of the international drug cartel's most-brutal and powerful leaders. After the murder of his just-married friend, he is fighting not only for country and justice, but for personal revenge!

Director: John Glen
Producer: Albert R. Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson
Screenwriter: Michael G. Wilson, Richard Maibaum
Distributor: United Artists
Production Co: United Artists, Danjaq Productions
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 14, 1989, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 1, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $34.7M
Runtime: 2h 13m
Sound Mix: Dolby Stereo, Dolby Digital, Dolby A, Surround, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

Most Popular at Home Now