Between the years of nineteen-eighty to nineteen-ninety, some of the manliest movies of all time were released to the public. Manly men showed manly emotions and manly feats of manliness to carve out their legend into the hall of manliness for all mankind. Look at this article and be amazed by the manliness herein.
It’s 1989, and one of the biggest things that defined the decade was the war on drugs. And no manly movie was immune, not even the James Bond franchise.
License To Kill, gave us Timothy Dalton as James Bond, and taking a departure from the Bond movies, especially those starring Roger Moore, we see a very dark and determined Bond take revenge, as only he can, against the drug lord who brought serious harm to his friend Felix Leiter, played by David Hedison.
Bond is the best man for Felix’s wedding, and along the way to the wedding, he assists Felix Leiter’s colleagues in the DEA, with a bust and arrest of Franz Sanchez, played by Robert Davi. Sanchez is the most powerful, ruthless, drug lord in Latin America. At least in the context of the film. After helping out, the duo of course arrives at Felix’s wedding in an extremely manly way, and after the festivities end, the fear begins.
In this film we also get early looks at Talisa Soto as Lupe Lamora, Sanchez’s floozy girlfriend, and Benicio Del Toro as Dario, Sanchez’s personal and extremely creepy henchman.
During the movie Bond is pulled off of assignment to keep him from getting involved with the drug enforcement agency, And, in fact, resigns for the British special services to avenge Felix and his wife, after US law enforcement follows the law or something. (Hey, this is a movie. Guys?)
Although in a few movies up to this one we’ve seen Bond interpret the rules as he saw fit, this is probably the first time we’ve seen a Bond go rogue from his agency in such a manly fashion.
This movie was very unique and the fact it took into account Bond’s decisions to resign all of the ways until the end of the movie, as well as showing him angry enough to make mistakes and take risks he normally wouldn’t.
Manly movie action sequence- Bond tries to single-handedly mess up the operations of the Sanchez Cartel’s US franchise. And of course, he uses a spear gun to waterski behind a plane. Then grabs onto and steals the plane. Because he’s Bond. James Bond.
Manly stare and glare action-While attempting to infiltrate the Sanchez organization as part of his plan, Bond not only disses the help, he side glares both of them.
Manly love moment for a manly hero- Pam Bouvier, an ex-Army pilot, and DEA informant, played by Carey Lowell, both antagonizes and assists Bond. She’s also brave, capable, and isn’t afraid to put 007 in check.
Manly moment of sensitivity-After his friend’s wedding, Felix’s new wife offers James her garter along with the wish for him to get married. Although it brings him sadness, he accepts it after she tosses it to him, accepting it with a manly, painful smile.
Manly moment of manliness-After returning from a meeting with Sanchez, to try to get into the cartel, Bond is told at the desk his uncle was there. His gun was taken by Sanchez, and knowing that the lovely Ms. Bouvier had her gun in a garter(yes, that’s a real thing), he takes the tiny gun, in a manly fashion, and jumps into the room. Fortunately, it was ‘Q’, played by Desmond Llewelyn, bearing gadgets and help for 007.
Manly epic moment of conclusion-Towards the end of the film, James Bond drives a semi on only its left tires to avoid a Stinger missile. Yes, it’s insane, but where would a BOnd movie be without a really manly movie stunt towards the end of the film.
Manliness on a scale of Jean Claude VanDamme (Kickboxer) to Sho Kosugi (Revenge Of The Ninja)-Well, since it’s Bond, who is nicer to women in this film than a few others that have come before, five Sho Kosugi’s out of six.
Despite all the manliness occurring on-screen, this movie is possibly the one taken most seriously by critics, we presented in this series. However, due to some shifts in studios, as well as production timing, there are issues. Don’t pay too much attention to some of the shark scenes. And prep your cringe filters for some forced quips from Bond and the bad guys throughout the film. Also, in case you hadn’t had enough glitz, we get Wayne Newton in a glorified cameo as a New Age televangelist that somehow helps big baddie Sanchez.
Dalton’s bond is unique and was acclaimed by many as being the bond closest to the idea originally presented by Ian Fleming in his novels. So, extremely manly with manly depth. Also, before you obsessive grammar types come after, Licence is of course the BRITISH spelling of the word. Americans.
