The line "Make a sound, and you're dead!" could never have been delivered with such p*ss and vinegar as Timothy Dalton did in Licence to Kill. That line represented the antithesis of how his iteration of 007 was as compared to that of his predecessor Roger Moore, or for that matter the man who succeeded him, Pierce Brosnan. And for all the blame he's taken over the years for sinking the franchise, the irony is he was what helped make Licence to Kill a Bond film that's stood the test of time. Additionally, Dalton did as many of his own stunts as possible for this movie. So much so that it was revealed in a recent interview to Empire magazine that Dalton had suffered an "injury" while filming one of the scenes towards the end of the film, as he's dangling for dear life to avoid being chopped up by a meat-grinder type device. He admitted that Benicio Del Toro had inadvertently cut off his finger due to the sharp knife they had been using. This just underlines the sheer amount of blood, sweat, and tears that was put into making this film the most realistic adaption of Ian Fleming's British spy to date for the big screen. Needless to say, Dalton brought the role of James Bond a needed jolt of grit, and toughness that had previously only been found in the Ian Fleming novelisations of the character. Bond could now be seen as a broken, angry, dangerous and tormented soul that ultimately helped elevate Licence to Kill into the fantastic art form that it is. In the end, when a character is taken to new places mentally and physically in a series of films like the James Bond franchise, it's a testament to everyone from the actor playing 007, to that of the supporting actors, and production team involved. And that my friends represents why Licence to Kill was not just a great Bond film in 1989, but couldn't be more true and relevant in 2014. As always, thanks for reading, and feel free to comment below with your thoughts on this entry into the Bond series.
