Licence to Kill

PG-13

Released Jul 14, 1989

2h 13m

Action

List

80%

Tomatometer

64 Reviews

61%

Audience Score

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!

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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.

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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

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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

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

This just isn't a Bond film, maybe I'll come around to it in a few years but right now I don't like it that much, it's not because it's darker than previous installments, it's just the movie itself. 6.4/10.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

06/03/24

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

Tom F

Timothy Dalton in a just okay outing.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

04/12/24

Full Review

James B

an awesome bond film great film cool seeing bendico del toro so young it this film great villian and awesome bond girls highly recommend

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/05/24

Full Review

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John Glen

Director

Timothy Dalton

James Bond

Carey Lowell

Pam Bouvier

Robert Davi

Franz Sanchez

Talisa Soto

Lupe Lamora

Anthony Zerbe

Milton Krest

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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)

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