With
Skyfall dropping in theaters in just a couple months, along with the 50th anniversary of the James Bond series, a close friend and fellow film nerd, Brandon Peters, has generously offered to do a comprehensive review of the entire 007 film franchise. Today is the sixteenth entry, with a full review of Timothy Dalton's second and sadly final turn as James Bond,
License to Kill. I hope you enjoy what is a pretty massive feature leading up the November 9th release of
Skyfall. I'll do my best to leave my two-cents out of it, give or take a few items I have up my sleeve (including a possible guest review from my wife as she sings the praises of her favorite 007 film, you won't believe what it is). But just because I'm stepping aside doesn't mean you should. Without further ado...
License To Kill
1989
Director: John Glen
Starring: Timothy
Dalton, Robert Davi, Carey Lowell, Benicio del Toro, Talisa Soto
Rated: PG-13
Why don’t you wait
until you’re asked?
Why don’t you ask me?
~Exchange between
James Bond and Pam Bouvier
STATS
Kills: 6
Girls: Lupe Lamora,
Pam Bouvier
Car: Lincoln Mark VII
LSC
Locales: Miami,
Republic of Isthmus
Odd Villain Trait:
Dario is an lunatic with a silver tooth and a switchblade
Song: “License To
Kill” performed by Gladys Knight*
Other notable song:
“If You Ask Me To” performed by Patti LaBelle
Director John Glen finishes out his tenure as director of
the James Bond franchise delivering the film he was trying to make with his
first effort (For Your Eyes Only). The film takes a much darker and gritty
course than any preceding 007 entry. The
script and direction plays in favor to Timothy Dalton’s strengths as James Bond
that would make Ian Fleming smile if he were around to see it. In a summer movie season packed with more
colorful large scale pictures the initial reaction to License To Kill was not that of a positive one, and audiences did
speak with their wallets.
This is the end. Hold your breath and count to ten. After three months of extensive and rather superb retrospective reviews of every single 007 film that's been currently released since 1962, it all comes down to this. What follows below is Brandon Peter's final analysis, split up into two sections. Part one is HERE. Part two is a critical ranking of every single film, complete with links to his respective essays, so you can all argue in the comments section. Following that is my actual review of Skyfall, which I saw on Monday night was holding off on reviewing until Brandon had his say on all that had come before. Expect said review to drop later this afternoon. And yes, once Brandon sees Skyfall (hopefully in IMAX, as it really should be seen in said format), he will offer his take on this site as well. But for now, let's all dive in and see how the chips fall. As always, share your thoughts in the comments section below (for what it's worth, I rather agree with probably 90% of the rankings, at a glance). At the very least, you should give him a hearty thanks for crafting this rather fantastic ongoing series. We look forward to whatever Mr. Peters decides to contribute from this point on and look forward to his adventures in the Great Valley.
This is the end. Hold your breath and count to ten. After three months of extensive and rather superb retrospective reviews of every single 007 film that's been currently released since 1962, it all comes down to this. What follows below is Brandon Peter's final analysis, split up into two sections. Part one, which deals with favorite characters, favorite villains, and the like, is below. Part two, which is a critical ranking of every single film, will hopefully follow in the next couple days. Following that is my actual review of Skyfall, which I saw on Monday night but am holding off writing about until Brandon finishes his series. And yes, once Brandon sees Skyfall (hopefully in IMAX, as it really should be seen in said format), he will offer his take on this site as well. But for now, let's start the end game for this epic 007 retrospective. As always, share your thoughts in the comments section below.
With Skyfall dropping in theaters in just a couple months, along with the 50th anniversary of the James Bond series, a close friend and fellow film nerd, Brandon Peters, has generously offered to do a comprehensive review of the entire 007 film franchise. Today is the fifteenth entry, with a full review of Timothy Dalton's criminally underrated debut, and my introduction to the James Bond series, The Living Daylights. I hope you enjoy what is a pretty massive feature leading up the November 9th release of Skyfall. I'll do my best to leave my two-cents out of it, give or take a few items I have up my sleeve (including a possible guest review from my wife as she sings the praises of her favorite 007 film, you won't believe what it is). But just because I'm stepping aside doesn't mean you should. Without further ado...
