Editing Licence to Kill (section)

==Reception==

=== Box office ===
At the [[box office]], ''Licence to Kill'' grossed $156.2 million ($373.3 million in 2022 dollars) on its budget of $32 million ($78.9 million in 2022 dollars), grossing an inflation-adjusted profit of $287.2 million, making it the twelfth biggest box-office draw of the year.<ref>{{cite web|title=1989 Yearly Box office result|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?view2=worldwide&yr=1989&p=.htm|website=[[Box Office Mojo]]|access-date=29 August 2011|archive-date=2 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190902143040/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?view2=worldwide&yr=1989&p=.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Licence to Kill |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0097742/credits/ |access-date=2022-08-05 |website=Box Office Mojo |archive-date=5 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220805171837/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0097742/credits/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Inflation Calculator {{!}} Find US Dollar's Value from 1913-2022 |url=https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/ |access-date=2022-08-05 |website=www.usinflationcalculator.com |language=en-US |archive-date=23 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080723111922/https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The film grossed a total of £7.5&nbsp;million (£{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|7.5|1989}}}} million in {{CURRENTYEAR}} pounds{{inflation-fn|UK}}) in the United Kingdom,{{sfn|Wickham|Mettler|2005|p=25}} making it the seventh-most successful film of the year,<ref>{{cite web |title=1989 Rank |url=http://www.25thframe.co.uk/pagetemplate.php?source=charts%2Fyear_chart&chart=charts%2F1989&title=Top+grossing+UK+films+1989&x=78&y=56keyword= |work=British Film Institute |publisher=the25thframe |access-date=29 August 2011 |archive-date=31 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331095348/http://www.25thframe.co.uk/pagetemplate.php?source=charts%2Fyear_chart&chart=charts%2F1989&title=Top+grossing+UK+films+1989&x=78&y=56keyword= |url-status=live }}</ref> despite the [[15 (British Board of Film Classification)|15 certificate]] which cut down audience numbers.{{sfn|Smith|2002|p=238}} In the US and Canada, it grossed $34.6&nbsp;million,<ref name=numbers>{{cite web|title=Licence to Kill|url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/1989/0LTOK.php|work=The Numbers|publisher=Nash Information Services, LLC.|access-date=24 August 2011|archive-date=13 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313014413/http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/1989/0LTOK.php|url-status=live}}</ref> making ''Licence to Kill'' the least financially successful James Bond film in the US, when accounting for inflation.<ref>{{cite web|title=Franchises: James Bond|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/franchises/chart/?id=jamesbond.htm|work=[[Box Office Mojo]]|publisher=[[Internet Movie Database|IMDb.com, Inc]]|access-date=4 April 2012|archive-date=12 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160512231036/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/franchises/chart/?id=jamesbond.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> A factor suggested for the poor takings was fierce competition at the cinema, with ''Licence to Kill'' released alongside ''[[Lethal Weapon 2]]'', ''[[Ghostbusters II]]'', ''[[Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade]]'' (starring former Bond [[Sean Connery]]), and ''[[Batman (1989 film)|Batman]]''.{{sfn|Barnes|Hearn|2001|p=179}}
Other large international grosses include $14.2 million in Germany, $12.4 million in France, $8.8 million in Japan, $8.7 million in the Netherlands and $8.6 million in Sweden.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Estimated gross of the last five Bond films in 15 selected international territories|magazine=[[Screen International]]|date=5 December 1997|page=22}}</ref>

Despite grossing more than 4.3 times its budget, ''Licence to Kill'' has made the lowest inflation-adjusted box-office return—as well as having the lowest profit margin—out of all 25 of the official ''Bond'' films as of 2022. The only other ''Bond'' movie with "Kill" in the title—''[[A View to a Kill]]'', which was also directed by John Glen—has the ''second''-lowest inflation-adjusted return of any ''Bond'' movie. However, ''Licence to Kill''<nowiki/>'s return ratio of 4.3 ranks it 18th out of the 25 official film entries from the series.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}

=== Contemporary reviews ===
[[Derek Malcolm]] in ''[[The Guardian]]'' was broadly approving of ''Licence to Kill'', liking the "harder edge of the earlier Bonds" that the film emulated, but wishing that "it was written and directed with a bit more flair."<ref name="Malcolm (1989)" /> Malcolm praised the way the film attempted "to tell a story rather than use one for the decorative purposes of endless spectacular tropes."<ref name="Malcolm (1989)">{{cite news |last=Malcolm |first=Derek |authorlink=Derek Malcolm|title=James the Sixteenth: Bond is back. |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=15 June 1989}}</ref> Writing in ''The Guardian''{{'}}s sister paper, ''[[The Observer]]'', [[Philip French]] noted that "despite the playful sparkle in his eyes, Timothy Dalton's Bond is&nbsp;... serious here."<ref name="French (1989)">{{cite news |last=French |first=Philip |title=Bond number comes up: CINEMA |newspaper=[[The Observer]] |date=18 June 1989}}</ref> Overall French called ''Licence to Kill'' "an entertaining, untaxing film".<ref name="French (1989)" /> [[Ian Christie (film scholar)|Ian Christie]] in the ''[[Daily Express]]'' excoriated the film, saying that the plot was "absurd but fundamentally dull",<ref name="Christie (1981)">{{cite news |last=Christie |first=Ian |authorlink=Ian Christie (film scholar)|title=Grim Tim is just no joke as James |newspaper=[[Daily Express]] |date=14 June 1989}}</ref> a further problem being that as "there isn't a coherent storyline to link [the stunts], they eventually become tiresome."<ref name="Christie (1981)" />

[[Hilary Mantel]] in ''[[The Spectator]]'' dismissed the film:

{{cquote|It is a very noisy film. There is a weary and repetitive note to the frenzy. ... The sex is low key and off-screen but there is a smirking perverse undertow which makes the film more disagreeable than a [[slasher movie]].<ref name="Mantel (1989)">{{cite news |last=Mantel |first=Hilary |author-link=Hilary Mantel |title=Minimalist Bond |url=http://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/1st-july-1989/33/cinema |newspaper=[[The Spectator]] |date=1 July 1989 |access-date=6 November 2020 |archive-date=8 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508013330/http://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/1st-july-1989/33/cinema |url-status=live }}</ref>
}}

[[David Robinson (film critic)|David Robinson]], writing in ''[[The Times]]'', observed that ''Licence to Kill'' "will probably neither disappoint nor surprise the great, faithful audience",<ref name="Robinson (1989)">{{cite news |last=Robinson |first=David |authorlink=David Robinson (film critic)|title=Business as usual; Cinema |newspaper=[[The Times]] |date=15 June 1989}}</ref> but bemoaned the fact that "over the years the plots have become less ambitious".<ref name="Robinson (1989)"/> Robinson thought that Dalton's Bond "has more class"<ref name="Robinson (1989)"/> than the previous Bonds and was "a warmer personality".<ref name="Robinson (1989)"/> Iain Johnstone of ''[[The Sunday Times]]'' pointed out that "any vestiges of the gentleman spy&nbsp;... by [[Ian Fleming]]" have now gone,<ref name="Johnstone (1989)">{{cite news|last=Johnstone|first=Iain|title=Bond flies in like a bat out of hell; Arts|newspaper=[[The Sunday Times]]|date=18 June 1989}}</ref> and in its place is a Bond that is "remarkably close both in deed and action to the [[Batman|eponymous hero]] of [[Batman (1989 film)|the ''Batman'' film]]"<ref name="Johnstone (1989)"/> that was released at the same time as ''Licence to Kill''.

[[Adam Mars-Jones]] of ''[[The Independent]]'' gave the film a mixed review, pointing out that it took out some of the more dated ideas from the Fleming novels, such as [[imperialism]]; he wrote that the writers were "trying in effect to reproduce the recipe while leaving out ingredients that would now seem distasteful".<ref name="Mars-Jones (1989)">{{cite news |last=Mars-Jones |first=Adam |authorlink=Adam Mars-Jones|title=Low-tar espionage: Licence to Kill |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |date=15 June 1989}}</ref> Overall Mars-Jones thought that:

{{cquote|James Bond is more like a low-tar cigarette than anything else{{emdash}}less stimulating than the throat-curdling gaspers of yesteryear, but still naggingly implicated in unhealthiness, a feeble bad habit without the kick of a vice.<ref name="Mars-Jones (1989)"/>
}}

For the Canadian newspaper ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'', Rick Groen wrote that in ''Licence to Kill'' "they've excised Bond from the Bond flicks; they've turned James into Jimmy, strong and silent and (roll over, Britannia) downright American",<ref name="Groen (1989)">{{cite news|last=Groen|first=Rick|title=Licence to Kill|newspaper=[[The Globe and Mail]]|date=14 July 1989}}</ref> resulting in a Bond film that is "essentially Bond-less".<ref name="Groen (1989)"/> Summing up, Groen thought "Actually, that dialogue&nbsp;... ain't bad. The silence looks good on Timothy Dalton".<ref name="Groen (1989)"/>

Gary Arnold of ''[[The Washington Times]]'' wrote that a number of factors "fail to prevent the finished product from jamming and misfiring with disillusioning frequency".<ref name="Arnold (1989)">{{cite news |last=Arnold |first=Gary |title=Let Dalton play Bond as debonair but dangerous! |newspaper=[[The Washington Times]] |date=14 July 1989}}</ref> Arnold opined that "demanding that he [Dalton] play Bond's wrathfulness in a transparently seething and hotheaded manner"<ref name="Arnold (1989)"/> means that Dalton "seems to waste away on this second outing as Bond."<ref name="Arnold (1989)"/> Overall Arnold sees that there is a "failure to recognize that Bond productions are simply too extravagant to permit an uncompromised return to first principles."<ref name="Arnold (1989)"/> The critic for ''[[The New York Times]]'', Caryn James, thought Dalton was "the first James Bond with angst, a moody spy for the fin de siecle",<ref name="James (1989)">{{cite news |last=James |first=Caryn |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/07/14/movies/review-film-dalton-as-a-brooding-bond-in-license-to-kill.html |title=Dalton as a Brooding Bond In 'License to Kill' |access-date=26 September 2011 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=14 July 1989 |archive-date=30 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130530024539/http://www.nytimes.com/1989/07/14/movies/review-film-dalton-as-a-brooding-bond-in-license-to-kill.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and that ''Licence to Kill'' "retains its familiar, effective mix of despicably powerful villains, suspiciously tantalizing women and ever-wilder special effects",<ref name="James (1989)"/> but was impressed that "Dalton's glowering presence adds a darker tone".<ref name="James (1989)"/> James concluded that "for all its clever updatings, stylish action and witty escapism, ''Licence to Kill''&nbsp;... is still a little too much by the book."<ref name="James (1989)"/>

[[Roger Ebert]] for the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' gave the film 3{{frac|1|2}} stars out of 4, saying "the stunts all look convincing, and the effect of the closing sequence is exhilarating&nbsp;... ''Licence to Kill'' is one of the best of the recent Bonds."<ref>{{cite news |last=Ebert |first=Roger |authorlink=Roger Ebert| title=Licence To Kill |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/licence-to-kill-1989 |access-date=24 August 2011 |newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |date=14 July 1989 |archive-date=6 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606075323/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F19890714%2FREVIEWS%2F907140301%2F1023 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Jack Kroll]], writing in ''[[Newsweek]]'', described ''Licence to Kill'' as "a pure, rousingly entertaining action movie".<ref name="Kroll (1989)">{{cite news |last=Kroll |first=Jack |title=Ka-boom, Ka-bam, Ka-Bond |newspaper=[[Newsweek]] |date=17 July 1989}}</ref> Kroll was mixed in his appraisal of Dalton, calling him "a fine actor who hasn't yet stamped Bond with his own personality",<ref name="Kroll (1989)"/> observing "Director John Glen is the [[Busby Berkeley]] of action flicks, and his chorus line is the legendary team of Bond stunt-persons who are at their death-defying best here".<ref name="Kroll (1989)"/> For ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine, [[Richard Corliss]] bemoaned that although the truck stunts were good, it was "a pity nobody – not writers Michael G. Wilson, and Richard Maibaum nor director John Glen – thought to give the humans anything very clever to do."<ref name="Corliss (1989)">{{cite magazine |last=Corliss |first=Richard |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,958214,00.html |title=Cinema: We Don't Need Another Heroid |access-date=23 August 2011 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=24 July 1989 |archive-date=22 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111222014118/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,958214,00.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Corliss found Dalton "misused" in the film, adding that "for every plausible reason, he looks as bored in his second Bond film as Sean Connery did in [[Diamonds Are Forever (film)|his sixth]]."<ref name="Corliss (1989)"/>

===Retrospective reviews===
Opinion on ''Licence to Kill'' has changed with the passing of time: some reviews are still mixed, though film review aggregator [[Rotten Tomatoes]] lists the film with a positive 80% rating from 62 reviews with the consensus stating that "''Licence to Kill'' is darker than many of the other Bond entries, with Timothy Dalton playing the character with intensity, but it still has some solid chases and fight scenes."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/licence_to_kill/ |title=''Licence to Kill'' |work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date=30 October 2012 |archive-date=23 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023113139/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/licence_to_kill/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Tom Hibbert]] of ''[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]]'' gives the film only two of a possible five stars, observing that "Dalton&nbsp;... is really quite hopeless".<ref name="Hibbert">{{cite web |url=https://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?FID=132179 |title=Licence to Kill |work=[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]] |first=Tom |last=Hibbert |access-date=23 August 2011 |archive-date=20 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020211212/http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?FID=132179 |url-status=live }}</ref> Hibbert concluded that "he may look the part, but Timothy Dalton fails the boots, the scuba gear, or the automobiles left him by [[Roger Moore|Moore]] and Connery."<ref name="Hibbert"/> In 2006, [[IGN]] ranked ''Licence to Kill'' fifteenth out of the then 21 Bond films, claiming it is "too grim and had strayed too far from the Bond formula."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://uk.movies.ign.com/articles/746/746573p1.html |title=James Bond's Top 20 |website=IGN |date=17 November 2006 |access-date=23 August 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090305105945/http://uk.movies.ign.com/articles/746/746573p1.html |archive-date=5 March 2009}}</ref> Desmond Llewelyn himself said in his last interview in 1999, the movie "lost all its fantasy...[it]  was a very good film, it wasn't a Bond film."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.follyfoot-tv.co.uk/jott/des_inter/des_interveiw.htm |title=Llewelyn's last interview (with reference to ''Follyfoot'' and ''Live and Let Die'') |publisher=Follyfoot-tv.co.uk |date=19 December 1999 |access-date=19 November 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120217053521/http://www.follyfoot-tv.co.uk/jott/des_inter/des_interveiw.htm |archive-date=17 February 2012 }}</ref>

Norman Wilner of [[MSN]] considered ''Licence to Kill'' the second worst Bond film, above only ''[[A View to a Kill]]'', but defended Dalton, saying he "got a raw deal. The actor who could have been the definitive 007&nbsp;... had the bad luck to inherit the role just as the series was at its weakest, struggling to cope with its general creative decline and the end of the [[Cold War]]".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://movies.sympatico.msn.ca/features/ArticleNormanWilner.aspx?cp-documentid=436189 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080119210839/http://movies.sympatico.msn.ca/features/ArticleNormanWilner.aspx?cp-documentid=436189 |archive-date=19 January 2008 |title=Rating the Spy Game |publisher=[[MSN]] |author=Norman Wilner |access-date=23 August 2011}}</ref> In October 2008, ''[[Time Out (company)|Time Out]]'' re-issued a review of ''Licence to Kill'' and also thought that Dalton was unfortunate, saying: "one has to feel for Dalton, who was never given a fair shake by either of the films in which he appeared".<ref>{{cite web |last=Lee Davies |first=Adam |title=''Licence to Kill'' revisited |url=https://www.timeout.com/film/features/show-feature/5997/licence-to-kill-revisited.html |work=[[Time Out (company)|Time Out]] |access-date=23 August 2011 |archive-date=1 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110801101458/http://www.timeout.com/film/features/show-feature/5997/licence-to-kill-revisited.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Celebrating the 25th anniversary of the film, ''Esquire''{{'}}s Bob Sassone urged readers to give it a second look.<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Bob|last=Sassone|title=The Most Underrated Bond Movie|url=https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a29387/license-to-kill-most-underrated-bond-movie/|magazine=[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]|date=July 14, 2014|access-date=18 January 2023|archive-date=18 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230118012210/https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a29387/license-to-kill-most-underrated-bond-movie/|url-status=live}}</ref> ''High-Def Digest'' awarded it four out of five stars when re-released on [[Blu-ray]].<ref>{{cite web|first=Joshua|last=Zyber|url=https://bluray.highdefdigest.com/8289/bond50_licencetokill.html|title=Bond 50: Licence To Kill|website=High-Def Digest|date=December 10, 2012|access-date=3 November 2021|archive-date=3 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211103223505/https://bluray.highdefdigest.com/8289/bond50_licencetokill.html|url-status=live}}</ref> British ''[[GQ]]'' considered it the most underrated in the series, thinking the change in tone caused upset among fans.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=David |date=2015-09-11 |title=The GQ Guide to James Bond: Licence to Kill |url=https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/licence-to-kill-james-bond-guide |access-date=2022-09-22 |website=British [[GQ]] |language=en-GB |archive-date=22 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922143025/https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/licence-to-kill-james-bond-guide |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Digital Spy]] called Dalton the best Bond of the six actors, praising his depth,<ref>Hugh Armitage and Morgan Jeffery, "James Bond actors ranked: Who wore the tux best?" [[Digital Spy]], 2017</ref> terming ''Licence to Kill'' a "violently enjoyable 007 detour".<ref>{{cite web |last=Reynolds |first=Simon |title=Which Bond movie is best? The definitive 007 film ranking – from awful to awesome |publisher=Digital Spy |url=https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/g24653/bond-movies-films-007-ranked-worst-best/?slide=13 |date=27 October 2018 |access-date=22 August 2020 |archive-date=8 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508013331/https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/g24653/bond-movies-films-007-ranked-worst-best/?slide=13 |url-status=live }}</ref> Den of Geek writer Max Williams described the finished work as "..about as good as the series can get..", praising Dalton for delivering "his vision of Bond, perfectly.""<ref>{{cite news |last1=Williams |first1=Max |title=License to Kill: The Darkest James Bond Movie |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/license-to-kill-the-darkest-james-bond-movie/ |work=[[Den of Geek]] |access-date=13 January 2025}}</ref>

Some critics, such as [[James Berardinelli]], saw a fundamental weakness in the film: the "overemphasis on story may be a mistake, because there are times when ''Licence to Kill''{{'}}s narrative bogs down."<ref name="Berardinelli">{{cite web |url=http://preview.reelviews.net/movies/l/licence.html |first=James |last=Berardinelli |author-link=James Berardinelli |title=''Licence to Kill'' |publisher=[[ReelViews]] |year=1996 |access-date=23 August 2011 |archive-date=8 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508013335/https://preview.reelviews.net/movies/l/licence.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Berardinelli gave the film three out of a possible four stars, adding "''Licence to Kill'' may be taut and gripping, but it's not traditional Bond, and that, as much as any other reason, may explain the public's rejection of this reasonably well-constructed picture."<ref name="Berardinelli"/> [[Raymond Benson]], the author of nine Bond novels, said of the film: "It boggles my mind that ''Licence to Kill'' is so controversial. There's really more of a true Ian Fleming story in that script than in most of the post-60s Bond movies."<ref>{{cite web |last=Cox |first=John |title=The Raymond Benson CBn Interview (Part I) |url=http://commanderbond.net/2312/the-raymond-benson-cbn-interview-part-i.html |work=The Raymond Benson CBn Interview |date=31 March 2004 |publisher=CommanderBond.net |access-date=23 August 2011 |archive-date=12 July 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120712073446/http://commanderbond.net/2312/the-raymond-benson-cbn-interview-part-i.html |url-status=live }}</ref> John Glen has said ''Licence to Kill'' "is among my best Bond films, if not the best".<ref name="documentary"/> "I call Timothy Dalton the father of Daniel Craig", Davi admitted years later. "The years of Roger Moore were delicious...But to take Bond into the era when action films were hard and real… Timothy brought that intensity and darkness as an actor...Like Fleming said, Bond’s not necessarily a good guy. Timothy gave Bond that edge.”<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/bond-broke-bad-drug-crazed-cold-blooded-licence-kill-pushed/|title = When Bond broke bad: how the drug-crazed, cold-blooded Licence To Kill pushed 007 too far|newspaper = [[The Daily Telegraph]]|date = 10 June 2019|last1 = Fordy|first1 = Tom}}</ref>