Licence to Kill
From Includipedia, the inclusionist encyclopedia
- This article is about the James Bond film. For the concept in real situations, see licence to kill (concept).
| Licence to Kill | |
|---|---|
| Image:007LTKposter.jpg Licence to Kill film poster | |
| James Bond | Timothy Dalton |
| Also starring | Carey Lowell Robert Davi Talisa Soto |
| Directed by | John Glen |
| Produced by | Albert R. Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli |
| Novel/Story by | Michael G. Wilson, Richard Maibaum |
| Screenplay | Michael G. Wilson, Richard Maibaum |
| Cinematography by | Alec Mills |
| Music by | Michael Kamen |
| Main theme | Licence to Kill |
| Composer | N. Michael Walden Jeffrey Cohen Walter Afanaseiff |
| Performer | Gladys Knight |
| Editing by | {{{editing}}} |
| Distributed by | MGM/UA Distribution Co. |
| Released | July 14, 1989 |
| Running time | 133 min. |
| Budget | $36,000,000 |
| Worldwide gross | $156,200,000 |
| Preceded by | The Living Daylights (1987) |
| Followed by | GoldenEye (1995) |
| IMDb profile | |
Licence to Kill is a 1989 spy film. It is the 16th installment in the James Bond series, and the last to star Timothy Dalton as MI6 agent James Bond. Licence to Kill was the first official James Bond film to use a title not derived from either an Ian Fleming novel or a short story. However, it does contain characters and elements from Fleming's novel Live and Let Die and the short story The Hildebrand Rarity, as well as plot similarities to Fleming's novel The Man with the Golden Gun. The film revolves around Bond's dismissal from MI6 and his vendetta against a South American drug baron. The title refers to Bond's discretionary licence to kill which allows him to kill without prior approval to complete his mission. The film was originally due to be called Licence Revoked.
Due largely to a poor showing in the United States, Licence to Kill was one of the least commercially successful Bond films, fetching only $256,701,197 (inflation adjusted) worldwide. Due to the death of screenwriter Richard Maibaum and subsequent legal battles over the ownership of the James Bond series, Licence to Kill was the last Bond film for over six years, the longest interval in the history of the series. It was also the final film to be produced by Albert R. Broccoli, whose declining health led to a diminished role in bringing 1995's GoldenEye to the screen.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
The story opens with Bond and his old friend, CIA agent Felix Leiter, on their way to Leiter's wedding to Della Churchill. Meanwhile, DEA agents spot drug lord Franz Sanchez flying into Cray Key, The Bahamas, and the DEA dispatches a Coast Guard helicopter to collect Leiter (and Bond) in an attempt to capture the fugitive Sanchez. The pair capture Sanchez by pulling his plane out of the air with the helicopter – and then parachute down to arrive at the wedding on time.
Later that same day, DEA agent Ed Killifer assists Sanchez in escaping federal custody, lured by a promise of two million dollars. On their honeymoon night, Leiter and his new wife, Della, are captured by Sanchez's lieutenant Dario and several henchmen. Leiter is bound and lowered into a shark tank; the shark bites off the lower half of one of his legs. After hearing the news of Sanchez's escape, Bond returns to Leiter's house to find Della in her wedding dress, dead. In the study, Bond finds Felix, maimed but still alive, bearing a note from Sanchez: "He disagreed with something that ate him."
Bond begins his revenge by killing Killifer, causing him to fall into the same tank with the shark that maimed Felix. M meets Bond in Key West's Hemingway House and orders him to an assignment in Istanbul, Turkey. Bond refuses the assignment and subsequently resigns. M accepts his resignation and immediately revokes his licence to kill. Bond then escapes MI6 custody and becomes a rogue agent, bereft of official backing (but later surreptitiously helped by MI6 armourer Q). Bond next boards a ship run by Milton Krest, one of Sanchez's key lieutenants, where he ruins Sanchez's latest drug shipment and steals five million dollars from Sanchez to finance his exploits. In Leiter's records, Bond finds details of a rendezvous in Bimini with Pam Bouvier, an ex-CIA agent-pilot, who he recruits to his mission.
Bond journeys to the Latin American country of "The Republic of Isthmus", where he finds his way into Sanchez's employ by posing as an assassin looking for work. With the aid of Bouvier and Q, he frames Krest, making him appear disloyal to Sanchez. Sanchez punishes this perceived disloyalty by trapping Krest in a hyperbaric chamber and then suddenly depressurising the chamber, causing Krest's head to explode bloodily; meanwhile, for Bond's perceived loyalty, Sanchez permits him into his inner circle of friends.
After an overnight stay at his luxurious villa, Sanchez takes him to his base disguised as a meditation retreat, where Bond learns that Sanchez's scientists can dissolve cocaine in gasoline, and then sell it — disguised as fuel — to Asian drug dealers. The buying and selling are conducted via the fake American televangelist Professor Joe Butcher, working under orders from Sanchez's business manager Truman-Lodge. The re-integration process will be available to those underworld clients who can pay Sanchez's price. In addition, Sanchez has brokered a deal to buy Stinger missiles from the Contras, and has threatened to shoot down an American airliner if the DEA doesn't let him be. Unfortunately for Bond, he is recognized by Dario as an informer; though Bond does manage to set Sanchez's base aflame, his henchmen capture Bond. Sanchez orders Bond be placed on the conveyor belt that drops the brick-cocaine into a giant shredder and leaves with his men. Pam Bouvier arrives (posing as a follower of Professor Butcher) and helps Bond escape; during his escape, Bond kills Dario by knocking him on to the conveyor belt and Dario falls, screaming, into the shredder. Pam and Bond quickly escape the base before it explodes. Sanchez escapes with four tanker trucks and his Stinger missiles, and Bond pursues them by plane (with Bouvier at the controls).
Through Bond's actions, he cleverly manages to destroy three of the four trucks, including one truck that is destroyed by one of Sanchez's own Stinger missiles. An irate Sanchez kills Truman-Lodge when he mocks Sanchez about the money he's just lost. Bond and Sanchez fight aboard the final remaining tanker, which ends up out of control and then rolls down a hillside.Sanchez, soaked in gasoline, prepares to kill the prone Bond with a machete, but Bond distracts him by producing the cigarette lighter that was the Leiters' gift for being the best man at their wedding, so showing Sanchez his true motive in destroying his drugs empire — and then setting the villain afire. Sanchez, burning alive, stumbles into the wrecked tanker truck's cistern, causing its cocaine-gasoline to ignite. Bond flees before the massive explosion. Avenged at last, he is exhausted – but Pam arrives driving one of the two remaining trucks and drives them back to Isthmus City.
Later, Bond and Q attend a party at Sanchez's residence. Bond is on the telephone promising soon to visit the recovering Felix, who informs him that M is offering Bond his job back. Lupe thanks Bond for everything and kisses him. Pam notices Bond kissing Lupe and goes downstairs, upset. Bond, seeing Pam alone, tells Lupe that he thinks her and El Presidente (of Isthmus) will make a perfect couple. With that, he flings himself over the balcony and lands in the pool, surprising Pam. He pulls her in and Lupe, El Presidente and Q leave them in peace. Pam asks Bond "Why don't you wait until you're asked?" which is what Bond asked her earlier in the film. Bond responds in kind with what she said: "So why don't you ask me?" They kiss and the credits roll over a beautiful view of the city (in reality Acapulco).
[edit] Cast
- See also: List of James Bond henchmen in Licence to Kill and List of James Bond allies in Licence to Kill
- Timothy Dalton as James Bond: An Mi6 agent, has his Double-O status revoked.
- Carey Lowell as Pam Bouvier: An ex-Army pilot and CIA informant.
- Robert Davi as Franz Sanchez: Drug smuggler and money launderer.
- Talisa Soto as Lupe Lamora: Sanchez's girlfriend.
- Anthony Zerbe as Milton Krest: Sanchez's henchman who operates Wavekrest Marine Research.
- Frank McRae as Sharkey: Friend of Felix Leiter and owns a boat charter business.
- Everett McGill as Ed Killifer: A corrupt DEA official, working for Sanchez.
- Wayne Newton as Professor Joe Butcher: Sanchez's middleman and TV evangelist for Olimpatec Meditation Institute.
- Benicio del Toro as Dario: One of Sanchez's henchmen.
- Anthony Starke as Truman-Lodge: Sanchez's financial advisor.
- Desmond Llewelyn as Q: Supplies Bond with various gadgets and helps him on the field.
- David Hedison as Felix Leiter: Former CIA agent, now with DEA.
- Priscilla Barnes as Della Churchill: Felix Leiter's bride.
- Robert Brown as M: Head of MI6, revokes Bond of his Double-O licence.
- Caroline Bliss as Miss Moneypenny: M's personal secretary.
- Don Stroud as Colonel Heller: Sanchez's head of security.
[edit] Production
[edit] Filming
Much of the film was shot in Mexico in Mexico City and the Florida Keys. In the film the Republic of Isthmus was a fictional South American country, based on Panama. Mexico was used to double for this location. Shooting occurred from July 18th, 1988 to November 1988.[1]
In Mexico City locations included the Biblioteca del Banco de Mexico for exterior of El Presidente Hotel and the Casino Español for the interior of Casino de Isthmus whilst the Teatro de la Ciudad was used for its exterior. Churubusco Studios was used as a sound stage and production base. Villa Arabesque was used for Sanchez' lavish villa which was filmed in Acapulco, and the La Rumorosa Mountain Pass in Mexicali was used for the filming site of the tanker chase. Sanchez's Olympiatec Meditation Institute was shot at the Otomi Ceremonial Center in Toluca. Other underwater sequences were shot at the Isla Mujeres near Cancún.[citation needed]
In the United States filming was done primarily in the Florida Keys, notably Key West. Seven Mile Bridge towards Pigeon Key was used for the armoured truck driving off the edge. Other locations there included Ernest Hemingway House, Key West International Airport, Mallory Square, St. Mary's Star of the Sea Church for Leiter's wedding and Stephano's House 707 South Street for his house and patio. The US Coast Guard Pier was used to film Isthmus City harbour.[1]
Licence to Kill is the only James Bond film to date not to have used a film studio in the United Kingdom during production, though post-production and sound re-recording was carried out at Pinewood Studios. This is also the first Bond film to be rated PG-13 in the US and 15 in the UK; all previous films were PG. Violent scenes had to be trimmed in both the UK and US (albeit somewhat less so) to avoid a higher classification.[1] The uncut version is available in the James Bond Ultimate Edition DVD range.
[edit] Reception
Taking inflation into account, Licence to Kill is among the least financially successful James Bond films in the U.S., although its worldwide performance was significantly better.[2] Many authors, fans and critics have debated the reasons for this. One of the first causes cited is the increase in violence, which led to a 15 rating in Britain and a PG-13 rating in the U.S. This was the first Bond film to receive such a rating, though all Bond films released after would be rated similarly; 12/12A (UK) and PG-13 (US). However, on the ultimate edition re-releases of GoldenEye and Tomorrow Never Dies, they were shown in their uncut 15 rated format.
Licence to Kill also had a somewhat troubled production history (as related by long time producer Michael G. Wilson on the DVD's commentary track), including budgetary constraints imposed ever since the excesses of Moonraker that failed to allow for inflation, the location shift to Mexico from the originally planned China and a five month WGA strike that prevented veteran Richard Maibaum from completing the script, a task producer Wilson had to take on.[3]
Albert R. 'Cubby' Broccoli openly stated that he disliked the handling of the marketing and promotion for Licence to Kill,[citation needed] which was significantly affected by a late title change. Promotional material already produced by artist Robert Peak was built around the original title Licence Revoked and was inspired by Dalton's more dramatic and hard-edged portrayal of Bond. The delay in producing corrected materials (created by Steven Chorney in a more traditional style) limited its pre-release exposure to audiences. The reason behind the name change was rumored to have been as a result of test screenings shown in the United States, where members of the audience did not understand the meaning of "revoked." Though often repeated, this has never been substantiated and it seems unlikely the word would be unknown in the U.S. since it had been ubiquitous for decades prior to the films release due to its usage in relation to driving privileges.
Another factor cited for Licence to Kill's comparatively tepid box office performance is that it was released towards the end of one of the most competitive summers, in terms of box office grossings, in recent history. Contemporary blockbusters it opened against included films such as Batman,[4] Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,[5] Lethal Weapon 2,[6] The Abyss,[7] Star Trek V: The Final Frontier,[8] Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, and Ghostbusters II.[9] No Bond film has been given a summer release since, opting instead for the fall or winter release.
Licence to Kill did, however, perform well with test audiences,[citation needed] and numerous critics responded very favorably to its more realistic approach; Variety, Roger Ebert, and Leonard Maltin among them.[citation needed] Director John Glen also deemed the film to be the best of his five Bond films.[1]
[edit] Soundtrack
Initially Eric Clapton and Vic Flick were asked to write and perform the theme song to Licence to Kill. The theme was said to have been a new version based on the James Bond Theme. The guitar riff heard in the original recording of the theme was played by Flick. The prospect, however, fell apart and Gladys Knight's song and performance was chosen. The song (one of the longest to ever be used in a Bond film) was based on the "horn line" from Goldfinger, which required royalty payments to the original writers.[10] The music video of "Licence to Kill" was directed by Daniel Kleinman, who later took over the reins of title designer from Maurice Binder for the 1995 Bond film, GoldenEye.
Notably, the end credits of the film feature "If You Asked Me To", sung by Patti LaBelle. In 1992, the song was covered and became a hit for singer Céline Dion.
Because John Barry was not available at the time due to the fact he was undergoing throat surgery, the soundtrack's score was composed and conducted by Michael Kamen, who also composed the soundtrack for the first three Die Hard films and all four Lethal Weapon films.
[edit] Adaptations
Licence to Kill was the first James Bond film since Moonraker to have a novelisation commissioned[citation needed]. The then-current Bond novelist John Gardner was commissioned to write the novel based upon the screenplay by Michael G. Wilson and Richard Maibaum. Gardner was faced with a challenge because his books maintain the continuity of Ian Fleming's original novels (albeit updated), and, in Fleming's and Gardner's continuity, Felix Leiter had lost a leg and an arm in a shark attack in the novel Live and Let Die, an event adapted by the screenplay of Licence to Kill. As a result, Gardner's book requires readers to suspend disbelief as James Bond comes to terms with his friend being maimed twice using the same method in a chapter aptly titled "Lightning Sometimes Strikes Twice". Gardner, however, does not attempt to reconcile the return of Milton Krest, who was murdered in Fleming's short story "The Hildebrand Rarity" yet appears alive and well in the film.
The novelisation stays faithful to the script; however, one key difference is that Bond does not use his famed Walther PPK as he does in the film. Instead, Gardner gives Bond a Walther P38K. Gardner also notes that the PPK is Bond's favourite weapon but it was taken out of service with the SIS several years ago (a fact also noted in other Gardner Bond novels). Additionally, Q has an extra scene, which takes place during the time when Bond is at Sanchez's Olimpatec Meditation Institute. In the scene Q teams up with a police captain and is involved in a raid on Sanchez's palace. Although John Gardner had written, at this point, eight James Bond novels, this was actually his first to include Q. Prior to Licence to Kill, Q had only been mentioned a couple of times and had been largely replaced by his assistant Ann Reilly, better known as Q'ute.
The novelisation takes place outside the timeline of Gardner's other Bond novels, as his next book, Brokenclaw, disregards the events of Licence to Kill. It also appears that the novelisation takes place sometime prior to Gardner's novel Win, Lose or Die in which Bond is promoted to Captain (in the novelisation, as in the film, Bond is still a Commander).
Licence to Kill was adapted as a graphic novel by writer-artist Mike Grell, who would go on to write several original James Bond comic books. The adaptation was published in both hardcover and paperback editions by Eclipse Comics and ACME Press in 1989. The comic book follows the film closely though the ending is trimmed down. The image of Bond, however doesn't have the likeness of Timothy Dalton. The comic book is 44 pages long and in colour.[11]
[edit] References
- ↑ a b c d (1999). Inside Licence to Kill Documentary — Licence to Kill Ultimate Edition [DVD]. MGM.
- ^ Box Office Franchises - James Bond. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2007-05-2.
- ^ Highlights of the WGA's contributions to the arts. Variety.com. Retrieved on 2007-05-2.
- ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=batman.htm oct 10 07
- ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=indianajonesandthelastcrusade.htm
- ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=lethalweapon2.htm
- ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=abyss.htm
- ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=startrek5.htm
- ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=ghostbusters2.htm
- ^ Walden, Narada Michael. (2006). James Bond's Greatest Hits [Television]. UK: North One Television.
- ^ Just Johnny's James Bond Comics Website. Retrieved on 2007-09-30.
- Glen, John For My Eyes Only. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd, 2001. ISBN 0-713-48671-6
- Hibbin, Sally The Making of Licence to Kill. London: Hamlyn Publishing Group Ltd, 1989. ISBN 0-600-56352-9
[edit] External links
- Licence to Kill at the Internet Movie Database
- Licence to Kill at Rotten Tomatoes
- Template:Mojo title
- MGM's official Licence to Kill website
| The James Bond Films |
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