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James McMahon --
An odd title for a film in which Bond loses his licence to kill. Bond going rogue should have been an exciting turn, but the scene in which Bond breaks with the service lacks emotional impact. And the film doesn t feel any different than when Bond is within the fold. Though Bond is now a rogue agent, Q still supplies him with the requisite gadgets, so there s no edgy feel that Bond is on the outside. The film seems long, and though it s great to see Bond getting bloodied and torn, the film has a somewhat low-budget look and feel (perhaps due to filming in Mexican studios, unfamiliar territory to EON). 18-wheeler big rigs running tilted up on one set of wheels seem more appropriate to Burt Reynolds CannonBall Run, or the Smokey and the Bandit films.
Bill Koenig --
The film gets an "A" for effort for trying to vary the Bond formula, with some edgy choices (by Eon standards, anyway). Robert Davi is arguably the best Bond villain of the '80s and I like Carey Lowell. The script, though, is a drawback. While credited to Michael G. Wilson and Richard Maibaum, it's really a Wilson solo effort (Maibaum helped plot the story but didn't participate in the writing because of a Writer's Guild strike). The script seems to lack the polish of the previous film.
Michael Reed --
Tight and gripping rewrite of the Live And Let Die novel is gritty and a serious story. Unfortunately it gets knocked for production values and for being more grounded then any other Bond film but the acting is superb and the plot is achingly real. Still feels modern and has aged very well. Dalton and Davi are brilliant.
Robert Cotton --
Dalton is perfectly hard edged, the plot almost holds up, but production values are dismal. One of those films that plays far better than it looks. A director with a sense of mood and this would have been definitive.
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Ed Werner --
No one movie tends to polarize Bond fans as much as this one. After over a decade of
the Roger Moore eras slapstick comedy, the producers did a 180 and came out with probably
the most serious entry of the entire series. In theory, this sounds great. In actuality it doesn't
quite work. After viewing this movie, you will realize how important humour is to this series.
My first impression after seeing this film was that it was the cinematic version of "Miami Vice",
but not as good. The elements for a really great movie are all in place, but it just doesn't feel
right to me. I mean Bond resigns from the secret service, because he's pissed and on a personal
vendetta! How totally cool is that? But the whole movie just seemed dusty and dirty to me, as
opposed to the highly polished world that we are used to seeing Bond in. Majority of the movie
was filmed in Mexico and it looks like it.
The acting for the most part is top notch for a Bond film. Dalton does "pissed off" better than
anybody, he just smolders in this film. However, he also looks like a "Grease" casting reject
through a good part of the film. His slicked back hair just needed a D.A. and it would have
been perfect. Carey Lowell fleshes out Bond girl Pam Bouvier admirably. Robert Davi is one
of the best actors to portray a Bond villain in years and his henchman played by Benicio Del
Toro really adds some menace to the story. I've liked Anthony Zerbe since the 60's where he
showed up as the baddy on many different TV shows, including The Man From Uncle.
However, they really dropped the ball when casting Sanchez's girl friend Lupe Lamora, Talisa
Soto can't act and is not in the least bit attractive.
This is a movie you must see as it is an important entry in the series, but it's far down the list of
my favorites. It's a pity because as I said, almost all the elements are in place for a real Bond
epic. Dalton played the part well and it's a shame that we will only have two movies to judge
him by.
Tom Zielinski --
The noble experiment that just failed. Dalton does his best (and that´s very good), but several glaring problems damn this film to mediocrity. The casting of second (and third) rate American television actors abounds. Wayne Newton is superfluous. David Hedison is aged. The actor who made Jimmy from the Seinfeld series memorable is an annoying mealy-mouthed accountant - I cheered when Sanchez gunned him down. The Chinese subplot goes nowhere. The direction is uninspired if not lazy. The production, shot in Mexico, looks cheap and flimsy which is the ultimate blasphemy for a Bond picture. On the plus side, it does contain more than a few Fleming elements, the theme song is a wonderful throwback to the Barry classics of the 1960´s, a couple stunts are memorable, the women are gorgeous, Davi and Del Toro are very good, and Dalton delivers that fine performance. But there´s something about James Bond driving a Ford sedan that encapsulates this film as a whole.
Paul Baack --
An interesting detour in the life and career of secret agent James Bond, the only film with him off-mission and unlicensed to kill. Dalton's second, and, sadly, final outing has his 007 very, very far from where Roger Moore had him only four years previous. It may have been a little too far, too fast for audiences at the time, coming from a decade-old perception of James Bond films as comedies. This is a much darker, dirtier, grittier world than the sparkling cafe society inhabited by Dalton's predecessor, a fact reflected in the dusty look of the film and the melancholy tonalities of its music score. It had been a long time since we'd seen Bond so bloodied and beaten up -- it was kind of fun for some of us darker minded fans! High marks to Dalton, as before, for his rugged yet human portrayal of 007, and to Robert Davi for an equally human, though properly monstrous villain.
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