I wasn’t a fan of The Living Daylights (1987) and was ready to call Timothy Dalton’s time as 007 a thing of the past. But there was something about Licence to Kill that drew me in and wouldn’t let go. It was a very different kind of adventure for James Bond, one that showed a side of the character that fans had rarely seen before. But guts, intensity, and a change of pace don’t always equate to success.

Licence to Kill is James' brutal, drug-fueled revenge tale from 1989. He's supposed to be on vacation, but even when he's not on a mission, the dutiful agent arrests an elusive and violent drug lord. After fleeing the authorities with a bribe, Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi) takes revenge on Felix Leiter (David Hedison) by murdering his new wife, Della Churchill (Priscilla Barnes), and having a shark bite the DEA agent's leg on his wedding night. Calling it back to On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), we're reminded that Bond's wife also died on their wedding night, so James takes this attack on his girlfriend – and probably more so on Della, since the two seem to have had a strangely close relationship – very personally.

This film is one of those 007 movies where the cold open is directly tied into the main story, and after a not-so-memorable opening theme, the rest is a ride. Bond had one job: not to go rogue, but that's exactly what he does — a common occurrence back in the day. The film was originally called "Licence Revoked," but the producers thought American viewers wouldn't understand its meaning, and test audiences associated it more with a driver's license. Maybe we're that stupid, but I'd like to think not.

This being a revenge action, Bond doesn’t hold back in the brutal and creative killings that seem straight out of a slasher. Sharks, maggots and electric eels are just the start, while we have forklifts, grinders (processing machines) and decompression chambers, all before our explosive end. There’s plenty of underwater action, aircraft manoeuvres, tanks and the grand finale uses 16 large trucks, some of which are rigged for specialist stunts.