12 Things You Learn Rewatching Licence To Kill

4. The Action Is An Incredibly Mixed Bag

Perhaps in an attempt to further evoke a gritty and less-outlandish tone, Licence to Kill is punctuated by smaller yet more violent action beats rather than the wildly over-the-top set-pieces that the series - and especially the Moore years - are best remembered for.

It's honestly a bit of a shame that John Glen opted to tone things down here, because The Living Daylights managed to deliver heightened carnage while never getting eye-rollingly daft.

Most of the action here is just pretty serviceable: the water sequences are plodding and dull as they usually are in the series, though it's undeniably neat to see Bond hanging from the side of a plane, and the barmy ending has its moments.

While The Living Daylights had a ton of memorable, heart-stopping action, especially during its climax, Licence to Kill's mayhem feels decidedly less imaginative. Glen brings his usual sharp eye to the table, but too much of what we see here is just utterly ordinary.