This 16th entry in the Bond franchise is notable for multiple reasons. It marks many firsts and several lasts, but it's also the darkest and nastiest the series has ever got, and this really appeals to me. I severely doubt that Bond will ever go as wicked and hardcore as Timothy Dalton's second venture.

Second and last for Dalton. Fifth and last for director John Glen. Last for Robert Brown as M. Last for Caroline Bliss as Moneypenny. First and last for composer Michael Kamen. First Bond movie to be given an adult rating (barely escaping an R in the US and cut to get a 15 in the UK). And, most importantly, the very last Bond movie to be released during the summer season. A fact that endures to this day as the studio now favors a late autumn/early winter slot. It also marked the last entry for over six years, the longest gap in the franchise, before Brosnan rebooted the character with Goldeneye.

Summer 1989 was very busy for moviegoers. Tim Burton's Batman, Indiana Jones, Ghostbusters 2, and Lethal Weapon 2 were all pulling in huge business. For the kiddies there was lighter fare such as Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. Franchise fatigue had set in with James Bond. The public had endured one movie every two years since 1962 and were looking elsewhere for thrills and adventure. No one cared for a mean and nasty Bond movie. The few who took a chance were turned off by the violence and sadism. Licence to Kill became the dark, very dark, horse of the franchise. If there is one kind of movie I adore above all else, it's the dark horse. This time around Bond goes Bad (with a capital B, you should notice).

The formula of a supervillain surrounded by scantily-clad women out for world domination being thwarted by gadgets and expensive cars is thrown out. Licence to Kill subverts viewer expectations on many levels and gives us an altogether different story for Bond (though perhaps a bit too familiar in regards to other 80s action movies).

After successfully capturing South American drug lord Franz Sanchez (a cool, smoldering performance by Robert Davi) in Miami series spook Felix Leiter (David Hedison, reprising his role from Live and Let Die) ties the knot with lovely wife Della. Sanchez does not plan to stay incarcerated for long and has soon corrupted the man bringing him in for trial. Immediately after being sprung from captivity he murders Della and mutilates Leiter by feeding him to a shark. The sight of a dead woman in her wedding dress opens old wounds for Bond and he relentlessly hunts down Sanchez.

M is having none of this and orders Bond to abandon his quest for vengeance or face the consequences. Bond promptly quits MI6 and goes rouge. In many ways it is Bond who is the villain of this film. As I said, Franz Sanchez is not a cartoon. He's simply a businessman looking to expand his empire. A man who believes in loyalty above all else. Look out for him and he'll look out for you. Bond identifies this crack in the armor and abuses it, squeezing himself into Sanchez's operation and destroying it from within. Sanchez does not have any ridiculous backstory or motivation, he develops as a character as Bond manipulates and exploits him. His confusion and naive sense of friendship the cause of many sad ironies. It's easy to forget that we are supposed to enjoy his downfall as Bond sets about wrecking his dreams and future.

Timothy Dalton absolutely kills it as Bond in LTK. His sharp, focused eyes and his cold, angry performance give us an insight into a whole new side of the character. Here Bond is stripped down, without back- up, with little to no weapons or gadgets, while winging his revenge plot on the fly. This is not the soft, dull-witted Bond of the Moore-era. Dalton is furious. Sanchez finally gives him a much-needed outlet for his pent-up rage over Tracy's death. You could go straight from OHMSS to LTK and completely skip over the silly Moore years altogether.

John Glen is not much of a visual director, he was really just there to make sure that the cameras were switched on during these years. LTK is shot in lovely anamorphic Panavision with very high key photography. I do feel that the film could have benefited from more atmospheric intriguing camera-work and it sometimes comes close but for the most part this is same-old when it comes to aesthetics, and is the only noticeable similarity it has to the previous movies.

Michael Kamen's score might also sound familiar. It might remind you of Nakatomi Plaza specifically. Kamen's late 80s/early 90s signature is all over this one, which is appropriate since it IS the Die Hard Bond, sharing cast and crew members with the 1988 classic. The sign of a good Bond composer is one who knows when to just go totally crazy with the famous Bond chorus (something no Daniel Craig entry has done yet). The chorus marks the moment when 007 does something "Totally Bond". Here it's during the moment he wheelies through a fire in a big rig, the look on his face as he smacks down on top of another car proving that being Bad is so damn Good.

Do not listen to the killjoys who say that this movie killed the franchise. LTK is a tough, nose-to-the-grinding block Bond movie that could have been taken a few steps further had Glen had the talent and flair to do so, but as it is this is still a very important entry in an innovating and enduring series.

As much as I do love the James Bond movies in general, I didn't like Licence to Kill. Desmond Llwelyn is given a great role and does well with it, there is a spectacular chase with an oil tanker and the "then it's a farewell to arms" scene(in Hemingway's Garden in Key West) is a moment of real style. And I did like some of the scenery. However, Timothy Dalton while looking like Bond phones in his performance, and the editing is rather flat. While I liked the theme song, the score itself could have been much more memorable. The violence is rather relentless, making this entry one of the if not the most violent of the Bond films, while the script is literally non-existent. The plot is also very predictable and slapdash, while the direction and other acting are nothing great. Overall, very disappointing. 3.5/10 Bethany Cox

Timothy Dalton's second Bond appearance after THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS is a surprising, at times rip-roaring thriller with a mean, cold and dark heart that will make it of instant appeal to older and wiser fans. Dalton was always uncomfortable with the lesser, more kiddie-oriented side of the Bond films, and that edginess is apparent here, yet strangely it adds to his charisma. Dalton was the actor who went back to the Fleming books to offer a darker, more ruthless hero who was far closer to the original source material than either Connery or Moore. As a result his Bond is the most interesting, character-driven of the entire film series, and Dalton constantly shines when on screen.

The first half an hour of this movie goes into some very dark territory, with violent mutilation, ruthless killing, and an excellent jailbreak sequence. Throughout the film there is plenty of action, from classic opening fight sequences (love the electric eel tank) to a climatic truck chase which is fantastic, effects filled entertainment in the days before CGI went along and ruined things (although you have to allow for a little cheesy blue screen work, after all it was the '80s). Some of the stunts and images at the film's climax clearly inspired the following year's DIE HARD 2 – you'll know them when you see them.

The film's biggest fault is a slightly stodgy middle, in which an undercover Bond is dragged down in failed assassination attempts and a general lethargy only heightened by some inspired torture/violence. Anthony Zerbe is on the sidelines as a superbly slimy villain and his death sequence the most graphically gruesome of the films. Robert Davi is the hulking bad guy and his performance here is unforgettable, the best '80s villain that the Bond films were given. As for the female interest, Carey Lowell is both attractive and intelligent, and sassy with it, making her one of the better additions, whilst Talisa Soto lends some sultry exotic charm. The film is particularly good for supporting roles, with a young Benicio del Toro scoring points as an absolutely loathsome henchman and David Hedison as Leiter. Also we get Everett McGill as another memorable bad guy. Desmond Llewelyn has plenty of screen time, and some great laughs in this one. LICENCE TO KILL is one of my favourite Bond films of all time.