Without question the most underrated film of the series. Licence to Kill has acquired a bad reputation in certain parts for having the temerity to try and do something different. So the mission here is personal:
Bond seeking revenge for his mutilated and widowed friend Felix Leiter. The villain is a figure of fear, not ridicule. And the violence is pretty shocking for those raised on Roger Moore.
Forklift impalements, shark mutilations, raped and murdered wives, harpooning, inflagration, shredding and, most memorably, a head explosion are the order of the day. It isn't Tarantino, but you wouldn't watch it with the kids.
But the open-minded are in for a treat, a tightly plotted thriller free of the silliness and lazy writing that often plagued the Moore years. Even more refreshingly, a real sense of danger abounds: for once Bond actually feels in peril, and the odds are stacked against him. Stunts such as fishing one plane out of the sky and waterskiing behind another offer the obligatory high-concept action. Look out for a young Benicio Del Toro as the evil Dario; few smiles have ever been as sinister.
The Girl: Pam Bouvier (Carey Lowell)
A real shot in the arm for the love interest. Former army pilot Pam Bouvier is hard-as-nails and takes zero shit from anybody. You wouldn't catch her mooning after Bond or screaming if he leaves the room for more than two seconds. We first meet Pam properly in a bar brawl with Dario and his thugs: she knocks out Dario and saves Bond's life to boot.
Getting shot in the back proves a minor inconvenience as she has the sense to wear Kevlar. Her annoyance at posing as Bond's private secretary - "why can't you be my private secretary?" is a real joy.