What set the two Timothy Dalton Bond movies apart from the rest was that they weren't content to go with the status quo. The Moore movies started off strong but got too jokey, too satirical by the end of the run. The Living Daylights righted the ship with a great action/spy movie, and LtK expands on the James Bond character. Several posts at IMDB talk about LtK as a sort of spiritual sequel to On Her Majesty's Secret Service, and it's hard to disagree with.
Bond is on the vengeance trail here, going up against a drug dealer, not Ernst Blofeld trying to ransom off the world. On the way to old CIA buddy Felix Leiter's wedding, Bond joins Leiter (David Hedison) in an effort with the DEA to scoop up infamous drug kingpin Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi) who comes into jurisdiction for a quick snatch and grab job. Watch it here if curious. But when Sanchez is caught, he offers $2 million to anyone who can help him escape. Of course, there's a treacherous agent in the midst who helps Sanchez escape. The drug dealer begins his own path of revenge, maiming Leiter and killing his new wife.
Looking to avenge his friend and wife, Bond resigns from MI6 when he's told to take no part in the case against Sanchez. With no limits on his actions, Bond can move freely and act as viciously as the men he's chasing. It's good to see Bond go out on his own here instead of being tied down by MI6's rules and regulations. To a certan point we've seen similar stories in other movies, like Quantum of Solace, but this is the first time he's completely on his own although Q (Desmond Llewelyn) does show up and offer his support with a few gadgets. It's always great to see Q, especially here where he's allowed out of his lab.
On the vengeance trail, Bond tries to infiltrate Sanchez's inner circle, pitting the dealer against his most loyal men. It's as he gets closer to him that Bond discovers a bigger plan at work, a system of organizing the drug cartels from the east and west. They've developed a new way of transporting heroin, a system that makes the drug impossible to detect. It does provide for a great closing sequence with four oil tankers transporting the heroin racing down a mountain road, Bond doing his best to slow them down.
As Sanchez, Davi is a good if not great villain. He's not a maniacal hothead, instead a businessman with a plan to make millions. Sanchez insists on loyalty from his men and pays well to get it so when Bond shows up saying his men are looking to betray him the obvious problems arise. As for his henchmen, they're some of the best. Always a reliable bad guy/sidekick, Don Stroud is Heller, a mysterious American with a past in the armed forces, and a young Benicio Del Toro makes a frightening appearance as Dario, an ex-contra who does Sanchez's dirty work. Del Toro is only in a handful of scenes, but with some crazy eyes and his maniacal laughing makes the most of his smaller part.
On to the Bond girls, one good, one not so good. A pre-Law and Order Carrie Lowell plays Pam Bouvier, a former Army pilot who worked as one of Leiter's informants. Somewhat wooden in the part, Lowell is good in the part because she's not the helpless Bond girl who constantly needs 007 to save her. She's tough, able to handle herself, although when it comes down to it, she's got the hots for Bond. As for the not so good, Talisa Soto plays Lupe, Sanchez's girlfriend who wants out. Does she look good? Of course. Does her character serve a purpose? Not really. Others in the supporting cast include Anthony Zerbe and for the must-have odd casting in a Bond movie, Wayne Newton.
Unfortunately for the Bond series, this was the last movie in the bunch for six years until 1995's Goldeneye with Pierce Brosnan taking over the title role. LtK wasn't received that well in the U.S. at the box office, but I enjoyed it as much for a change of pace as anything. I went into the two Timothy Dalton movies with somewhat low expectations, but I can say now I think he's one of the better Bonds behind Connery and Craig.
License to Kill, <----trailer (1989): ***/****
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