Licence to Kill (1989)
Out of all the Bond directors up to this point, John Glen might have the most interesting history with the franchise so far. Starting out making what felt like cheap action movies, Glen has switched to trying to embrace a more serious side to the franchise such as in his outing with the franchise The Living Daylights. Sadly in that film, Glen struggled to create a plot that really worked for what he was going for and the film ended up being unnoteworthy in the long run. Serving as his last time with the franchise, Glen looked to once again create a film of craft and substance with Licence to Kill. After catching drug lord Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi) in a thrilling helicopter chase, it seems the work is done for James Bond (Timothy Dalton), but when Sanchez escapes Bond must go after him again.
If that plot sounds a bit uninteresting its because it is. Just like with The Living Daylights, this is a film that has a solid tone and really attempts to be something but the plot itself just doesn't work. Where the opening is thrilling and comes off nicely trying to show Bond as a legitimate badass having to catch a drug dealer and risk his life on the way to a wedding, it also easily is the best part of the film and really messes up the tone of the movie. The film starts on such an energetic high only to slow down drastically and not give the audience much to chew on as the film progresses. If there is one thing that makes Licence to Kill stand out over The Living Daylights it would be the action in it. As proven by his only work in the franchise, John Glen is extremely talented when it comes to crafting action scenes that get the audience on the edge of their seats and much more than Licence to Kill this is a film with enjoyable action scenes that are always entertaining even if the story around it is far from as engaging.
The acting is another big highlight of the film. It was mentioned previously how I was worried for Timothy Dalton considering he wasn't all that impressive in The Living Daylights and only had this one other film to really come into the role of James Bond but honestly he did it. Where he still isn't as memorable as some of the previous actors to fill this role, he does carry that badass charisma that this character requires. It does help that the plot around him really highlights this such as in the opening action scene discussed earlier, but he honestly did impress here and it is kinda a shame that his tenure as Bond had to come to an end so quickly. The other really solid performance would be that of Robert Davi. Where his character is the main thing holding him back, the actual performance he gives is really solid and easily could have been one of the more iconic Bond villains if the character was better.
Sadly despite the movie having so many good elements to it, the film never is able to put it all together mostly due to the weaker and more forgettable plot. 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. There is clear talent here but sadly this era of Bond will end without that talent fully being able to create a true classic.
Sadly despite the movie having so many good elements to it, the film never is able to put it all together mostly due to the weaker and more forgettable plot. 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. There is clear talent here but sadly this era of Bond will end without that talent fully being able to create a true classic.