Licence To Kill (1989)

After being captured, a notorious drug lord (Robert Davi) bribes a DEA agent (Everett McGill) to help him escape. But not before exacting revenge on the CIA operative (David Hedison) who captured him and murdering his new bride (Priscilla Barnes). His friend British agent James Bond (Timothy Dalton) vows to avenge his friend and bring Davi down. The 16th entry in the 007 franchise may well be the nadir of the series. Despite the millions of dollars lavished on the production, it's a pretty shoddy piece of film making, borrowing generously from LIVE AND LET DIE. It plays out more like a Charles Bronson vengeance movie than a Bond film. Surely a Bond villain should be more than just a drug thug. The film hits a low all the way down the line. The worst Bond (Dalton), the worst Bond girls (Carey Lowell, Talisa Soto), the worst villain (Davi), the worst stunt casting (Wayne Newton as an evangelist front for Davi's drug trafficking). John Glen directed and Michael Kamen wrote the noisy score. The title song (sung by Gladys Knight) and the end credit song (sung by Patti LaBelle) are very good though. The last Bond film that had titles by the great Maurice Binder. Filmed in Mexico. With a young Benicio Del Toro as one of Davi's henchman, Anthony Zerbe, Frank McRae, Desmond Llewelyn and Don Stroud.