The film opens with Bond in Key West acting as the best man for his old friend Felix Leiter, who has now transferred to the DEA. En route to the wedding, the pair make an unexpected stop to apprehend the notorious drug baron Franz Sanchez, played by Robert Davi. Unfortunately, Sanchez escapes and has Felix maimed by a shark and his wife murdered. Bond promptly embarks on a vendetta, losing his licence to kill and becoming a rogue agent in the process. His crusade takes him from Florida to the Bahamas to the Republic of Isthmus, a small Latin-American nation which Sanchez has made his kingdom. Fortunately, he receives assistance from Q along with two girls of the week: CIA informant Pam Bouvier, played by Carey Lowell, and Sanchez's mistress Lupe Lamora, played by Talisa Soto.
This film is much darker and edgier than any of the previous films, probably a little too much for some people. Personally, I'm fine with it. After all, that's why it stands out. There's also the issue with having Bond go through a revenge story. Previous films have already established that Bond and other 00 agents are trained to treat assignments coldly and objectively, so a revenge plot could feel out of place. Personally, I think they could have done it a little differently. Perhaps Bond could have been sent to Isthmus for an official mission rather than a personal one, which could present an opportunity to explore a personal conflict.
Issues with the premise aside, they still turned out a great film. Dalton is much more cynical, and is regarded as being closer to the Bond of the Fleming books. I'd have to read some more of them to share that sentiment. Meanwhile, Sanchez is a very menacing villain, with a wide assortment of henchmen. Pam Bouvier is pretty active as well, saving Bond on more than one occasion. And of course, there are some great action sequences, such as the opening with Bond 'going fishing' to apprehend Sanchez.
It's a shame that the franchise went into a weird limbo state for six years after this one, as it is still a noteworthy film. Then again, this was 1989; the same year we had Batman, Back to the Future Part II, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and an array of other high-grossing films to dominate the box office.
So yeah, a good film, but could have been better.
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