Licence To Kill (1989)

Loyalty to a friend can drive even the most disciplined agent to throw away the rulebook. John Glen's "Licence to Kill" gives Timothy Dalton, in his second and final outing as James Bond, one of the series' most daring stories. It opens with Bond and his old CIA friend Felix Leiter (David Hedison) capturing ruthless drug lord Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi) in a daring midair raid, then parachuting into Felix's wedding just in time. But Sanchez escapes with help from a corrupt official, and he takes brutal revenge on Felix and his new bride. Defying M's orders, 007 loses his license to kill and goes rogue to track Sanchez down in the fictional Central American nation where he rules. Posing as a hired gun, Bond cleverly worms his way into Sanchez's inner circle and turns the paranoid kingpin against his own men, uncovering a scheme to smuggle cocaine dissolved in gasoline, run through a phony televangelist (Wayne Newton). Aided by a tough CIA pilot (Carey Lowell), Sanchez's unhappy girlfriend (Talisa Soto) and a hands-on Q (Desmond Llewelyn), Bond becomes judge, jury and executioner, a radical departure for the series and one of its darkest entries. Benicio Del Toro plays a vicious henchman. The spectacular oil-tanker chase finale is a terrific set piece, and while Dalton may not have been the best Bond, he was ideal for this one. Gladys Knight sings the title song.