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Licence to Kill

Play trailer Poster for Licence to Kill PG-13 Released Jul 14, 1989 2h 13m Action Play Trailer Watchlist
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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!
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Licence to Kill

Licence to Kill

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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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Critics Reviews

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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 Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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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 John R Terrible acting and worse direction with camera lighting inferior to a high school play. Also the shark ( grey reef or silver tip?) is a fish eating shark of no particular threat to anyone. Utter garbage. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 12/07/24 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 Read all reviews
Licence to Kill

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

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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