Editing Licence to Kill (section)

{{short description|1989 James Bond film directed by John Glen}}
{{About|the 1989 James Bond film}}
{{good article}}
{{EngvarB|date=March 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Licence to Kill
| image          = Licence to Kill - UK cinema poster.jpg
| alt            = In the left of the picture stands a man dressed in black pointing a pistol upwards. An inset picture shows two women looking out of the poster above another man and a few images depicting vehicles and explosions. The name '007' appears in the top right whilst in the centre at the bottom are the words "LICENCE TO KILL"
| caption        = Theatrical release poster by Robin Behling
| director       = [[John Glen (director)|John Glen]]
| writer         = {{Plainlist|
* [[Michael G. Wilson]]
* [[Richard Maibaum]]
}}
| based_on       = {{Based on|[[James Bond (literary character)|James Bond]]|[[Ian Fleming]]}}
| producer       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Albert R. Broccoli]]
* Michael G. Wilson
}}
| starring       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Timothy Dalton]]
* [[Carey Lowell]]
* [[Robert Davi]]
* [[Talisa Soto]]
* [[Anthony Zerbe]]
}}
| cinematography = [[Alec Mills (cinematographer)|Alec Mills]]
| editing        = John Grover
| music          = [[Michael Kamen]]
| studio         = [[Eon Productions]]<br />[[United Artists]]
| distributor    = [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer|MGM/UA Communications Co.]] (United States)<br />[[United International Pictures]] (International)
| released       = {{Film date|df=yes|1989|6|13|London|1989|7|10|United Kingdom|1989|7|14|United States}}
| runtime        = 133 minutes
| country        = United Kingdom<ref>{{cite web |title=Licence to Kill |website=[[Lumiere (database)|Lumiere]] |publisher=[[European Audiovisual Observatory]] |url=http://lumiere.obs.coe.int/web/film_info/?id=13617 |access-date=9 October 2020 |archive-date=12 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201012145320/http://lumiere.obs.coe.int/web/film_info/?id=13617 |url-status=live }}</ref><br>United States<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/58171|title=AFI&#124;Catalog|access-date=23 May 2021|archive-date=23 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210523182935/http://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/58171|url-status=live}}</ref>
| language       = English
| budget         = $32&nbsp;million
| gross          = $156.1&nbsp;million
}}

'''''Licence to Kill''''' is a 1989 [[spy film]], the sixteenth in the [[List of James Bond films|''James Bond'' series]] produced by [[Eon Productions]], and the second and final film to star [[Timothy Dalton]] as the [[MI6]] agent [[James Bond (literary character)|James Bond]]. In the film, Bond resigns from MI6 in order to take [[revenge]] against the [[drug lord]] Franz Sanchez who ordered an attack against Bond's friend and [[CIA]] agent [[Felix Leiter]] and the murder of Felix's wife after their [[wedding]].

''Licence to Kill'' was the fifth and final Bond film directed by [[John Glen (director)|John Glen]] and the last to feature [[Robert Brown (British actor)|Robert Brown]] as [[M (James Bond)|M]] and [[Caroline Bliss]] as [[Miss Moneypenny]]. It was also the last to feature the work of screenwriter [[Richard Maibaum]], title designer [[Maurice Binder]] and producer [[Albert R. Broccoli]], who all died in the following years.

''Licence to Kill'' was the first Bond film to ''not'' use the title of an [[Ian Fleming]] story. Originally titled ''Licence Revoked'', the name was changed during post-production due to American [[test audience]]s associating the term with [[driver's licence|driving licence]]. Although the plot is largely original, it contains elements of the Fleming novel ''[[Live and Let Die (novel)|Live and Let Die]]'' and the short story "[[For Your Eyes Only (short story collection)#The Hildebrand Rarity|The Hildebrand Rarity]]", interwoven with a sabotage premise influenced by [[Akira Kurosawa]]'s film ''[[Yojimbo]]''.

For budget reasons, ''Licence to Kill'' became the first Bond film shot entirely outside the United Kingdom: [[principal photography]] took place on location in Mexico and the US, while interiors were filmed at [[Estudios Churubusco]] instead of [[Pinewood Studios]]. The film earned over $156&nbsp;million worldwide and received generally positive reviews but criticism for the darker tone. 

''Licence to Kill'' was followed by ''[[GoldenEye]]'' in 1995, with [[Pierce Brosnan]] replacing Dalton as Bond.