10 Best James Bond Movies Of All Time
5. Licence To Kill
Originally considered to be an unfortunate blip, Licence To Kill grossed low, alienated fans and forced producers to bunker down and re-evaluate what Bond was all about. But the film's status as an outcast is part of what makes it so fascinating, and part of why it's such a great movie: this is less a 007 movie than a revenge thriller drawing on more uncompromising pictures.
It's a harsh movie, easily Bond's most violent hour, and it feels all the more so because John Glen - a five-time Bond director also responsible for Octopussy and A View To A Kill - is still approaching the material as entertainment. It's uncertain why: Bond allies are tortured, the plot sees Bond go on a rampage against a drug cartel and goons are disposed of via fire, cocaine shredder and head exploding pressure chamber.
This darkness is at times off-putting, but the lead is admirably game. Timothy Dalton never made much sense playing a traditional James Bond, but here - in the one and only Bond film tailored to him as an actor - Dalton brings a callous ferocity to 007 that nobody, Daniel Craig included, has managed (or dared?) to tap into since.