License to Kill (1989)

"He disagreed with something that ate him." -Note on Felix Leiter

James Bond: I help people with problems.
Franz Sanchez: Problem solver.
James Bond: More of a problem eliminator.

Thus ends the Timothy Dalton Bonds, and I have to say that all in all they are completely decent Bonds. No shame, some glory.

That said, License To Kill (LTK) is a Bond aberration. It's grizzly and gruesome. The trick of a James Bond is that it glosses over some of these messy details with fun, zingers, and sexist machismo. No other Bond actually shows the level of blood and murder like LTK. It's honestly a little jarring. LTK is like if a western were reverse made into a ronin samurai story. I say this because usually Bond has a mission and in general respects the orders of M etc. -if cheekily disregards their advice. But, LTK is a strict revenge pic -with a side plot of drugs etc. (The story with Wayne Newton and the drugs is pretty confusing and superfluous.)  So, yeah it's a little out of character for Bond to go rogue.

There were some strange trends and historic points I have to touch on with LTK.

1. Moving on from the Russians
1. So, The Russians had been the heel of Bond films since 64', so why abandon the formula? Here are some ideas. I wasn't quite sure. 
1. Producers just wanted to be different. *This time no Russians
2. The writers were Cassandras and realised that the USSR would be collapsing at right about LTK's release
3. Maybe they just thought that Bond fighting with the Mujahadeen against Russians went to far. -It even makes Bond seem a little like Rambo.  Heroes need to differentiate. 
2. Ladies that can join the fray
1. Carey Lowell as Pam B is the first Bond girl I can recall that actually joins in fight and is not a helpless damsel. It took 25 years, but here is where it starts. 
2. I actually think the idea of a Miss Lowell led revenge pic might have been better than LTK.
3. Hong Kong connection
1. Why was there a complicated Hong Kong vice plot? It was a ring of fire drug play...but
2. I feel sorta bad for Diane Lee. She is featured heavily in the opening sequence, but is only in the movie for like 10 minutes, dies, and has maybe 1 line. 
4. Business strategy for movies
1. Copycatting is a time-honored tradition. I think everyone in the 80's copied Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indy's truck chase after the arc. Bond is no different.  It isn't original, but it works well. 
2. What I am curious about is why the shift to a more gruesome Bond? Lots of other films and genres attempted to move in a darker more gritty direction to locate a new audience?*Look to my post on the Black Cauldron, but another example is Robocop.  
1. Was this new direction financially successful? The results were positive, but not dramatic, but I do think that the lesson gained by producers etc was that explosions, and a little more blood are better for finances than exposition. 

Oh here is a quote from Benicio Del Toro (Yes, he is in LTK) 

-License to Kill is not one of the great Bonds.

On a scale of 1 ronin out for revenge to 47 ronin, I give License to Kill 3.18 out of 5 stars.