Licence to Kill
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- This article is about the James Bond film. For the concept in real situations, see licence to kill (concept).
This was the first EON Productions James Bond film to use a title not derived from either an Ian Fleming novel or a short story. It does, however, contain elements and characters from Fleming's novel Live and Let Die and the short story "The Hildebrand Rarity" (from the For Your Eyes Only collection). This would be the last James Bond film to make direct use of Ian Fleming's concepts and characters until Casino Royale (2006).
Plot summary
The story opens with Bond and his friend, DEA agent Felix Leiter (previously of the CIA), on their way to Leiter's wedding. Meanwhile, DEA agents spot drug lord Franz Sanchez flying into Cray Key, Florida, where he catches his mistress in bed with another man; in retaliation for her infidelity, he has his henchmen cut out the man's heart while he brutally whips his mistress. The DEA dispatches a helicopter to collect Leiter and Bond in an attempt to capture Sanchez as he tries to escape. The pair successfully capture Sanchez by pulling his plane out of the air with a Coast Guard helicopter and then parachute down to Leiter's wedding.Later that same day, DEA agent Killifer assists Sanchez in escaping federal custody, lured by Sanchez's promise of two million dollars for whoever aids him in escaping. On their honeymoon night, Leiter and his new wife, Della, are captured by Sanchez's lieutenant Dario and several of Sanchez's henchmen. In retaliation for Sanchez's capture and imprisonment, Leiter is bound and lowered into a shark tank; the shark bites off the lower half of one of his legs. After hearing the news of Sanchez's escape, Bond returns to Leiter's house to find Della in her wedding dress, dead (dialogue by Dario later in the film strongly implies she was raped before being killed). In the study, Bond finds Felix, maimed but still alive, bearing a note from Sanchez: "He disagreed with something that ate him." Apart from giving Felix a wife, this portion of the film is closely modelled on a previously unfilmed chapter of Ian Fleming's Live and Let Die novel, down to a furious James Bond who almost immediately sets out to hunt and kill those involved in his friends' torture and mutilation.
Bond begins his revenge by killing Killifer, causing him to fall into the same tank with the shark which maimed Felix; he then ruins Sanchez's latest drug shipment and steals five million dollars from Sanchez to finance his exploits. Under pressure from the DEA to rein in his agent, M meets Bond in Key West's Hemingway House and orders him to an assignment in Istanbul, Turkey. Bond refuses, but M insists that Bond take the Turkey mission, claiming that Bond's vendetta could easily compromise the British government. Refusing to let the matter go, Bond subsequently resigns and M orders his resignation effective immediately, revoking his licence to kill. Bond then escapes MI6 custody and becomes a rogue agent, bereft of official backing (but later surreptitiously helped by MI6 armourer Q, who voluntarily joins Bond while pretending to be on leave).
Bond journeys to the Latin American country of "The Republic of Isthmus" (closely based on real-life Panama), where he finds his way into Sanchez's employ at the cost of the lives of several Hong Kong narcotics agents and the British Secret Service agent in Isthmus. A scene taking place in the casino is possibly inspired by an event in the novel Diamonds Are Forever in which Lupe is sent to ensure Bond loses at a table of blackjack. After joining with Sanchez, Bond (with the aid of CIA agent-pilot Pam Bouvier) carefully frames Krest, one of Sanchez's key lieutenants, making Krest appear disloyal to Sanchez. Sanchez punishes this perceived disloyalty by trapping Krest in a hyperbaric chamber and then suddenly depressurising the chamber with a fire axe, causing Krest to explode in bloody fashion; for Bond's perceived loyalty, Sanchez permits him into his inner circle of friends. Sanchez takes him to his base, where Bond learns that Sanchez's scientists can render cocaine chemically undetectable by dissolving it in gasoline, and then sell it — disguised as fuel — to Asian drug dealers. The buying and selling are conducted via the fundraising television programs of the fake American televangelist Professor Joe Butcher. The re-integration process will be available to those underworld clients who can pay Sanchez's price. With the aid of Agent Bouvier, Bond destroys Sanchez's processing plant; in the process, Bond kills Dario by feeding him into a massive cocaine grinder. As the processing plant explodes, Bond pursues Sanchez as he escapes with four tanker trucks filled with cocaine-gasoline. After destroying three of the trucks, Bond and Sanchez fight aboard the final remaining tanker, which ends up out of control and then rolls down a hillside. Although Sanchez has the upper hand by having Bond at the point of his machete, he has been soaked in gasoline leaking from the crashed fuel tanker. Bond pulls out a cigarette lighter — Leiter's gift to Bond for being the best man at his wedding — and sets Sanchez afire. Sanchez, burning alive, stumbles into the wrecked tanker truck's cistern, causing its cocaine-gasoline to explode.
Later, Bond and Q attend a party at Sanchez's residence. Bond takes a telephone call from Felix, informing him that M is offering Bond his job back. Bond doesn't give Felix an answer, but instead pursues Agent Bouvier into the pool, where they kiss as the credits roll.
Reception
Taking inflation into account, Licence to Kill is the least financially successful James Bond film[[Citing sources citation needed]]. Since its release, many authors, fans, and critics have debated the reasons for this. One of the chief reasons often reached is the increase in violence, which led to a 15 rating in Britain and a PG-13 rating in the United States; this was the first Bond film to receive a rating higher than PG in the US (all Bond films released after this, up to and including Die Another Day would also be rated PG-13).Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli openly stated that he disliked the handling of the marketing and promotion for Licence to Kill, which was severely affected by a late title change. The original title for the film, Licence Revoked, had a large amount of promotional material already produced by artist Robert Peak. Peak's promotional work was based on Dalton's portrayal of Bond and was more dramatic and hard-edged in what many consider more akin to the style of artwork for Dirty Harry. The delay in producing corrected materials, this time created by Steven Chorney in a more traditional style, is said to have negatively affected the film, particularly in the United States. The reasoning for the name change is purported to have been the result of test screenings shown in the United States where the audience apparently misunderstood the use of the word "revoked" in the vernacular of the film.
It has been reported that there was some confusion with the British spelling of "Licence", which in American English is spelled "License". It is possible that due to this confusion the film was re-titled for the home video market in the United States with the British spelling, "Licence to Kill", although some U.S. television networks display the title with its U.S. theatrical title.
Another factor cited for Licence to Kill's comparatively tepid box office performance is that it was released during one of the most profitable summers in film history, running against such films as Batman; Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade; "[[Star Trek V: The Final Frontier]]" ;Lethal Weapon 2; Honey, I Shrunk the Kids; Ghostbusters II; and Parenthood. All of them, particularly Batman, were big hits for their respective studios. Since then, no James Bond film has been released in the summer.
A third Dalton film
Timothy Dalton was contracted to make three James Bond films; the third, intended for release in 1991, was rumoured to be named The Property of a Lady, however, the title itself has nothing to do with the story outlined by Michael G. Wilson and Alfonse Ruggiero. In fact a more apt title that was reported by the TV Times in 1990 would have been Colonel Sun where the beginning of the story shared a number of similarities. This third Dalton film would have taken place in London, Hong Kong, as well as Tokyo and dealt with the aftermath of the destruction of a chemical weapons laboratory in Scotland. It has been reported that the story was to involve robots (to be constructed by Walt Disney Imagineering) and a terrorist attempting to force the British out of Hong Kong by threatening to paralyse the British military with a computer virus. Some of the plot details were later used or shared similarities with, GoldenEye, which saw the return of the Aston Martin DB5 as Bond's personal vehicle as well as the destruction of a chemical weapons plant, and The World Is Not Enough, which similarly featured Bond and a villainous female companion in a skiing action sequence beginning with Bond jumping from a helicopter and ending ultimately with the female being buried under snow.The film was set to begin filming in early 1991 with a release later that year, however, due to disputes over the ownership of the franchise, it wasn't until 1994 that work began on a new film, using a completely different story written by Michael France. Contrasting popular belief that longtime screenwriter Richard Maibaum would return as screenwriter, it had been reported by Variety in August 1990 that he and director John Glen had both been sacked by Broccoli, which Variety was quick to label a "bloodless coup." Nevertheless, Maibaum died in 1991. In 1994, Dalton exercised an option in his contract that allowed him to resign from the role and move on to other projects.
Cast & characters
- James Bond - Timothy Dalton
- Miss Moneypenny - Caroline Bliss
- M - Robert Brown
- Q - Desmond Llewelyn
- Felix Leiter - David Hedison
- Franz Sanchez - Robert Davi
- Pam Bouvier - Carey Lowell
- Lupe Lamora - Talisa Soto
- Milton Krest - Anthony Zerbe
- Professor Joe Butcher - Wayne Newton
- Truman-Lodge - Anthony Starke
- Colonel Heller - Don Stroud
- Ed Killifer - Everett McGill
- Dario - Benicio del Toro
- Della Churchill - Priscilla Barnes
- Perez - Alejandro Bracho
- Braun - Guy De Saint Cyr
- Sharkey - Frank McRae
- President Hector Lopez - Pedro Armendáriz Jr.
- Kwang - Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa
- Fallon - Christopher Neame
- Hawkins - Grand L. Bush
- Loti - Diana Lee Hsu
- Wavekrest Captain - Roger Cudney
Crew
- Directed by: John Glen
- Produced by: Albert R. Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli
- Written by: Michael G. Wilson, Richard Maibaum
- Composed by: Michael Kamen
- Production design by: Peter Lamont
Soundtrack
Initially Eric Clapton and Vic Flick were asked to write and perform the theme song to Licence to Kill. The theme was said to have been a new version based on the James Bond Theme. The guitar riff heard in the original recording of the theme was played by Flick. The prospect, however, fell apart and Gladys Knight's song and performance was chosen; the slow-moving song (one of the longest to ever be used in a Bond film) included musical references to the theme from Goldfinger. The music video of "Licence to Kill" was directed by Daniel Kleinman, who later took over the reins of title designer from Maurice Binder for the 1995 Bond film, GoldenEye.
Notably, the end credits of the film feature "If You Asked Me To", sung by Patti LaBelle. In 1992, the song was covered and became a hit for singer Céline Dion.
The soundtrack was composed by Michael Kamen, who is best known for composing the soundtrack for the first three Die Hard films and all four Lethal Weapon films.
Track listing
- Licence to Kill — Gladys Knight
- Wedding Party — Ivory
- Dirty Love — Tim Feehan
- Pam
- If You Asked Me To — Patti LaBelle
- James & Felix on Their Way to Church
- His Funny Valentine
- Sanchez Is in the Bahamas/Shark Fishing
- Ninja
- Licence Revoked
Vehicles & gadgets
- Main articles: List of James Bond vehicles and List of James Bond gadgets
- Dentonite Toothpaste — Plastic explosives disguised as ordinary toothpaste. The remote trigger is disguised as a packet of Lark cigarettes.
- Signature Camera Gun — A camera that when assembled became a sniper rifle that only worked for Bond, due to a "optical palm reader" built into the grip.
- Laser Polaroid Camera — When the flash is used on this camera, it shoots a laser. The pictures it takes are X-rays.
- Exploding Alarm Clock — Q carries it with him to Isthmus, but it is not used. "Guaranteed never to wake up anyone who uses it."
- Lincoln Continental Mark VII — Bond's rental car in Key West.
- Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow — Much like Moonraker where Bond was a passenger in a Silver Wraith II, he is chauffeured around Isthmus City in a Rolls-Royce.
Locations
Film locations
- Bahamas
- *Bimini Islands (Barrelhead Bar)
- *Cray Key (where Sanchez finds Lupe)
- Republic of Isthmus (fictional Latin American country)
- *Isthmus City
- United Kingdom
- *Whitehall, Westminster
- USA
- *Key West, Florida
Shooting locations
- Mexico
- *Churubusco Studios, Mexico City (soundstages and on location)
- *Isla Mujeres (underwater sequences)
- *Villa Arabesque, Acapulco, Mexico (Sanchez's mansion)
- United Kingdom
- *Whitehall, Westminster (exterior shot)
- USA
- *Key West, Florida
Trivia
- The story of Felix Leiter's shark attack was originally in the book Live and Let Die, although in the book, Leiter, in addition to losing a leg, loses an arm. The tactic Sanchez uses for smuggling drugs into the United States also comes from Live and Let Die.
- The film was due to be shown on ITV in the UK on March 13, 1996, but was cancelled after the Dunblane Massacre occurred that day.
- James Bond is never shown in the film wearing a necktie, although he does wear a bow tie for a brief period.
- This is the only Bond film which has consistent use of profanity.
- The film featured a real, identifiable brand of cigarettes during one key sequence, which led to the studio requiring the addition of the United States Surgeon General warning regarding cigarette smoking to the closing credits. Smoking occurs in many Bond films; however, this is the only film which featured the warning. The cigarette manufacturer in question paid a fee to have its brand featured, which sparked debate over the appropriateness of product placement in motion pictures.
- The twisting roads in Mexico where the tanker scenes were shot, Rumorosa, were said to be haunted from frequent traffic deaths that had occurred there. The film crew experienced many unexplained accidents and ghostly phenomenon while there, such as trucks driving off by themselves in the night or sightings of ghosts. The final scare came when the still photographer was capturing images of the last tanker explosion. In one picture, a distinct fiery hand is seen coming out of the fireball. The hand was not seen on any of the rushes from the other cameras which further added to its ghastly nature. The making-of documentary on the 1999 DVD talks more about these strange happenings in Mexico.
- Benicio Del Toro is the second Academy Award–winning actor to play a Bond villain, after Christopher Walken in A View to a Kill.
- References are made to Ernest Hemingway twice: the use of his home in the Florida Keys and when Bond hands in his resignation, he says "It's a Farewell to Arms."
- The movie title and the alternate title is said by M when Bond is handing in his resignation: "Your License to Kill is revoked."
Novelisation
Licence to Kill was the first James Bond film since Moonraker to have a novelisation. The then-current Bond novelist John Gardner was commissioned to write the novel based upon the screenplay by Michael G. Wilson and Richard Maibaum. Gardner was faced with a challenge because his books maintain the continuity of Ian Fleming's original novels (albeit updated), and, in Fleming's and Gardner's continuity, Felix Leiter had lost a leg and an arm in a shark attack in Live and Let Die. As a result, Gardner's book requires readers to suspend disbelief as James Bond comes to terms with his friend being maimed twice using the same method in a chapter aptly titled "Lightning Sometimes Strikes Twice". Gardner, however, does not attempt to reconcile the return of Milton Krest, who was murdered in Fleming's short story "The Hildebrand Rarity".
The novelisation stays fairly faithful to the script; however, one key difference is that Bond does not use his famed Walther PPK as he does in the film. Instead Gardner gives Bond a Walther P38K. Gardner also notes that the PPK is not Bond's favourite weapon and that it was taken out of service with the SIS several years ago. Additionally, Q has an extra scene, which takes place during the time when Bond is at Sanchez's Olimpatec Meditation Institute. In the scene Q teams up with a police captain and is involved in a raid on Sanchez's palace. Although John Gardner had written, at this point, eight James Bond novels, this was actually his first to include Q. Prior to Licence to Kill, Q had only been mentioned a couple of times and had been largely replaced by his assistant Ann Reilly, better known as Q'ute.
The novelisation takes place outside the timeline of Gardner's other Bond novels, as his next book, Brokenclaw, disregards the events of Licence to Kill. It also appears that the novelisation takes place sometime prior to Gardner's novel Win, Lose or Die in which Bond is promoted to Captain (in the novelisation, as in the film, Bond is still a Commander).
| Author: | Publisher: | Hardback: | Paperback: | Alternate titles: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Gardner | Glidrose Publications | UK) None | UK) 1989 | License to Kill |
| Preceded by: Win, Lose or Die | ||||
| Followed by: Brokenclaw | ||||
Comic book adaptation
Licence to Kill was adapted as a graphic novel by writer-artist Mike Grell, who would go on to write several original James Bond comic books. The adaptation was published in both hardcover and paperback editions by Eclipse Comics in 1989.External links
| The James Bond films |
|---|
| Official films Dr. No | From Russia with Love | Goldfinger | Thunderball | You Only Live Twice | On Her Majesty's Secret Service | Diamonds Are Forever | Live and Let Die | The Man with the Golden Gun | The Spy Who Loved Me | Moonraker | For Your Eyes Only | Octopussy | A View to a Kill | The Living Daylights | Licence to Kill | GoldenEye | Tomorrow Never Dies | The World Is Not Enough | Die Another Day | Casino Royale | Bond 22 |
| Unofficial films Casino Royale (1954 TV) | Casino Royale (1967 spoof) | Never Say Never Again |
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