After the goofy action and slapstick humor of Roger Moore’s James Bond movies were met with a mixed response, Timothy Dalton was cast as 007 for a refreshing change of pace. The darker, rougher, edgier tone of the Dalton movies was such a tough pill for the fan base to swallow that he only stuck around for two movies before Pierce Brosnan was brought in to reprise the lighthearted tone of the earlier films.
Although Dalton only made two Bond movies, The Living Daylights and License to Kill, the latter is by far his best contribution to the series. With brutal violence, personal stakes, and a classic revenge story, License to Kill is a Bond movie like no other.
License To Kill Is By Far The Darkest Bond Movie
There are a lot of contenders for the title of the darkest Bond movie – the gritty origin story Casino Royale, the brutal From Russia with Love, the revenge-themed For Your Eyes Only, etc. – but License to Kill is darker than all of them.
Thanks to its hard-hitting violence, License to Kill is the only Bond movie to be rated 15 in the UK. Dalton’s Bond is defined by being the darkest, edgiest take on the character, and as dark and edgy as The Living Daylights is, License to Kill tops it.
Bond Is On A Personal Revenge Mission
The cold opens of Bond movies rarely relate to the main plot, but License to Kill begins with the murder of Felix Leiter’s wife and the maiming of Felix himself, which drives Bond into a vengeful rage that carries throughout the rest of the movie.
In most Bond movies, 007 is simply on a mission, but in License to Kill, he abandons an official MI6 investigation to pursue a personal vendetta, which is much more emotionally engaging because it’s not just work.
License To Kill Is The Most Tonally Faithful Adaptation Of Ian Fleming’s Source Material
When it first hit theaters (and even to this day), License to Kill was controversial for its violent content. But it’s easily the closest to the tone of Ian Fleming’s books than any other Bond movie.
All the other Bond movies – even going back to the gritty, grounded Connery movies that launched the franchise – have watered down the cold-blooded violence that Fleming put on the page.
Franz Sanchez Is One Of The Most Sadistic Bond Villains
The villain in License to Kill is a ruthless drug lord named Franz Sanchez. Sanchez isn’t a megalomaniac bent on world domination or a super-rich mogul with an apocalyptic plan to increase his wealth, but his cold-hearted approach to his smaller-scale ambitions makes him one of the most sadistic baddies in 007’s rogues’ gallery.
Sanchez has more in common with Scarface or Pablo Escobar than Dr. No or Auric Goldfinger. Not only does this make him a Bond villain like no other; it makes him one of the most genuinely terrifying villains of the bunch.
The Action Is Non-Stop
The best Bond movies are the most action-packed ones. The action set-pieces are what audiences remember the most vividly. The ones with long stretches of dialogue or espionage investigations that don’t lead to fistfights and car chases don’t connect with fans.
Thankfully, License to Kill doesn’t have this problem. Since Bond is on a narrow-minded quest for vengeance, the action is non-stop.
License To Kill Was A Bond Movie With Gritty Realism Before Casino Royale
Casino Royale is often credited with bringing gritty realism into the Bond franchise with its boundary-pushing edge, visceral fight scenes, and dark ending. But License to Kill brought gritty realism into this franchise long before the world knew who Daniel Craig was.
The Bond films usually offer audiences two hours of pure escapism, but License to Kill opens with a grisly murder and only gets more shocking from there.
Pam Bouvier Is One Of The Most Badass Bond Girls
The trope of the “Bond girl” is one of the franchise’s most outdated motifs, as they tend to be one-dimensional and oversexualized. With the characters of Madeleine, Nomi, and Paloma in No Time to Die, the franchise has finally left this pesky trope behind.
The best examples of pre-No Time to Die Bond girls are the ones who get in on as much of the action as Bond himself. Pam Bouvier, the ex-Army pilot and DEA informant played by Carey Lowell in License to Kill, is a prime example of a badass Bond girl.
License To Kill Has Some Of The Bond Series’ Most Impressive Stunts
The Bond series has always been a showcase for stunt performers, especially since The Spy Who Loved Me opened with a breathtaking Union Jack parachute jump and turned the franchise into an exercise in one-upmanship.
License to Kill has some of the franchise’s most impressive stunts, like running from an exploding tanker. There’s a breathtaking “plane heist” sequence akin to the opening of The Dark Knight Rises. A plane drops a load of crop dust on some henchmen during the climactic chase. Every Bond movie has incredibly staged action, but License to Kill ranks among the most spectacular.
Dario Is An Unforgettable Side Villain
Every Bond movie needs a memorable villain, but the side villains that surround those villains are just as important. In License to Kill, Benicio del Toro gives an unforgettably sinister turn as Sanchez’s most trusted enforcer, Dario.
Thanks to his brutality and the cold menace with which del Toro plays the role, Dario is one of the most memorable Bond movie henchmen alongside Jaws and Oddjob. He also gets one of the most gruesome henchman deaths in the finale, as Bond feeds him legs-first into an industrial-sized cocaine grinder.
Bond Is More Interesting As A Rogue Agent
The traditional Bond formula sees 007 getting a mission briefing from M, pursuing the perpetrators, and bringing them to justice in the nick of time. But License to Kill breaks away from that formula with Bond acting as a rogue agent, which is much more interesting.
Getting a briefing from M and investigating leads and solving a case can feel stale and procedural. Leaving MI6 behind and operating as a rogue agent makes Bond more of a vigilante.
