moriarty@tc.fluke.com (Jeff Meyer) (07/26/89)
LICENCE TO KILL
A film review by Jeff Meyer
Copyright 1989 Jeff Meyer
Pity me: I began going to see James Bond pictures right when Roger Moore
took over the part. I didn't find out quite what I'd been missing until the
Guild Theater in Portland began running the entire series twice a year (one of
the few theaters with class enough to serve Vanilla Cokes), and I got a chance
to see DR. NO, FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, and GOLDFINGER. I would admit that
there were other non-Connery Bond films I enjoyed (ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET
SERVICE is a favorite, for Diana Rigg if nothing else, and FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
seemed to *want* to go back to an espionage storyline), but in general, trips
to a new Bond picture were saved until everything else of interest had been
seen, accompanied by an air of resignation that was usually fully justified.
When Timothy Dalton took over as the new Bond, I couldn't have been more
pleased; while THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS dragged a bit at the end and had
exceptionally weak villains, the first half was everything I could want from a
Bond picture. When I heard that LICENCE TO KILL would have a script written
for specifically for Dalton (THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS had been written with Moore
in mind), I was even more hopeful that we were heading back towards the good
ol' Bonds.
Well, we've still got a ways to go, but things continue to look up.
LICENCE TO KILL has several strong points: some depth to Bond, some interesting
companions, a strong villain, some *real* suspense (find some of *that* in a
Moore Bonder!), and some opportunities for Dalton to stretch in the role. The
problems with the film can generally be summed up by changing the instances of
"some" in the last sentence to "more." There's still too much emphasis on
stunts and not enough on characterization, suspense and movie espionage. (As
opposed to "real espionage," e.g., LeCarre.) LICENCE TO KILL is a tantalizing
film, because you can hear the motor revving up during its entire length --
it's just that the engine never seems to catch.
The film concentrates on Bond on a mission of revenge, and Dalton does a
good job with this: his obsessive drive to avenge a murder occasionally clouds
his normally cool judgment, and he has to depend on the help of several friends
to survive (a very nice touch). Dalton continues to play Bond as the
professional of DAYLIGHTS (this is a Bond who is an assassin, and he works like
one -- the double-oh licence is not for show); unfortunately, the script
centers on Bond's obsession so completely that he's still fairly one-note. I
kept feeling that John Glen, Michael Wilson and Richard Maibaum needed to be
violently jarred during this film and told to tone down the stunts and keep the
plot beefed up. Things get too loose before the final stunt/battle sequence
(which is admittedly a doozy).
Other actors: Robert Davi, who's played villains for years, seems to
really be picking only the cream of the crop for Bad Guy roles these days:
Sanchez in LICENCE, and the Jersey don in the current WISEGUY arc. He's not a
Gert Frobe or a Klaus Maria Brandauer, but he does a nice job with it. (I
really wished the script filled in his character a bit.) It's a bit much to
swallow underground cities of SPECTRE agents and island retreats with private
armies these days; a South American drug kingpin has the same general
capabilities, and a touch of realism to boot. Carey Lowell is excellent as
Bond's lover/accomplice; it's a little much to see her get teary when someone
else kisses James after she's held her own in a bar fight, but that's why the
phrase "artistic license" was invented (also "Bond Women"). Anthony Zerbe
plays a variation of all those flunky roles he used to play in Quinn-Martin TV
series. David Hedison makes Bond movie history as the only man to play Felix
Leiter twice -- a real first. (He also played Leiter in LIVE AND LET DIE.)
Too bad he didn't have the Flying Sub in the opening sequence.... The rest of
the actors are no great shakes, with the exception of Q, who doesn't overplay
the role too badly this time. (Ah, hell, all of us engineers love him anyway.
We'd all like his job.) And while we're at it, whose idea was it to stick
Wayne Newton in here? "Bless your heart," my ass....
Overall, I found LICENCE TO KILL to be a good deal like THE LIVING
DAYLIGHTS: strong start, but weak towards the end. Fully entertaining enough,
though, and better than any of the Moore Bonds. Keep Glen & company under
tighter control next time out, and let's have some more meat to the plot; these
guys show promise for producing a Classic Bond in the future that could stand
up to the Big Three.
Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer
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