This is the second and last film Timothy Dalton made as James Bond, British secret agent 007. In this one, Bond takes on the king of the drug world, Franz Sanchez, played very well by Robert Davi. He even has to resign from the secret service to pursue Sanchez when he was given a different assignment. Bond was best man at his friend, American CIA agent Felix Leiter's wedding. Leiter had led the capture of Sanchez, and the crime boss repayed him by having his new bride raped and killed and then feeding Leiter to the sharks. He survived but lost a leg and an arm. As one can imagine, this Bond film is loaded with action. It's unusual in some ways. First, Q actually gets a role in part of the action. Second, Bond is captured and about done in a few times. Third, he brings the downfall of Sanchez about in an unusual way. The Sanchez stronghold was too impregnable to take down by firepower. So, Bond uses the strength of the Sanchez empire. Sanchez had boasted that he values loyalty more than money. Sanchez knows Bond only as a former secret agent who is now an independent operative. He tries to convince Bond to work for him. Instead, Bond plants doubt in his mind about his associates in his drug empire. It takes some special sleuthing and planting of a few million dollars Bond had obtained by disrupting a sale by Milton Krest (Anthony Zerbe), a trusted business dealer of Sanchez. The doubt festers and as Sanchez misreads his associates' loyalty, he begins to knock off his own associates. Of course, Bond throws some wrenches into the Sanchez operation that help lead to its complete destruction. There are lots of explosions and a long semi convoy chase adds some different action toward the end.

Divisive Bond Movie, not the least is Timothy Dalton's Dark, Personal Vendetta Portrayal, and a Focused, Intentional Return to Serious James Bond with very Little Whimsy, Jokes, and Sex.Initially Dismissed by Fans and Critics as "Anomaly" with Mediocre Box-Office, it has Gained Reputation over the Years and is now usually Ranked in the Top Ten.Brutal, Bloody, and with Considerable Concern for Realism (except perhaps for the thrilling chase climax), it is a Bond for those that had Their Fill of Fluff from the Roger Moore Movies. It's about as Far Removed from those Entries as one could get.Some Casting Highlights include Carey Lowell as a Bond Girl who's as Lethal and well trained as She is Gorgeous. Robert Savi as the Pocked Marked Psycho Drug Lord, and Wayne Newton who is Typecast as a Smooth Talking, Fake Evangelist.Anthony Zerbe is Memorable with some Excellent Scenes in the First Half. Q's Role is more Involved this time and adds some Flesh to the Gadget Guru.Overall, depending on Taste, Dalton's Two Films as Bond Stand Up and are Considered by Bond Aficionados as more than Worthy of the Fictional God of the Genre and is Highly Recommended.

This movie,well loved by many fans,seems to be forgotten by the public,and I don't see why,if they praise Daniel Craig for being dark,why not Dalton?First,the good,the action,it is well choreographed and has great stunt work.The score and the cinematography are,like always,fantastic.The story,it is simple,but very suspenseful and personal,Bond isn't off fighting some businessman in a volcano lair,he's fighting a drug dealer who killed his best friend.The characters,they are well written and feel real.The Bond girl,she is tough and has good chemistry with Timothy Dalton.The villain,he is very serious and realistic.Plus the movie was never boring.Now,the bad,I thought the Bond Girl was a bit annoying at times,there was some bad acting,and it doesn't have the Bond "feel",if you understand.License to Kill is a great Bond movie,that doesn't feel like one.

I am taking my son through the bond movies by decade. It is fascinating to note, not just the differences in how the different actors portrayed 007, but the movies all reflecting the social values of the decades which produced them. That said, Dalton's bond portrays a need for vengeance that is almost stoic emotionally; he is chaste, but abruptly makes sexual connections later in the movie that seem forced and contrived. He is dedicated to his American friends, yet seemed inexplicably detached from Q and M, his British colleagues. I found these unique personality "quirks" to lack the refined depth and dimensionality of the Connery bond. On a side note, this bond movie had a very strange production value feel to it, an almost campy soap opera or TV A-Team feel to it, with interlude music and film stock that made it appear more like a TV show, and the bond, as portrayed, felt more like a TV show protagonist than a feature film.