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License to Kill has exactly the same problem through the eyes of an ordinary viewer as Quantum of Solace has in the new millennium. It is a purely genre film that is confident, fierce, with raw action, aware of "itself" and its qualities. It is not independently functional, the viewer needs to have a little insight into Bond and be able to read between the lines and make connections in order to realise they are watching the most self-aware episode, one that pushes the bar higher in terms of hard action. The same applies to the Bond girls, where for the first time we can see what will be par for the course in the coming years - confident young women, refined, elegant, "image-oriented", representing the latest fashion trends. Until then, they were, with a few exceptions (Barbara Bach in The Spy Who Loved Me), merely accessories with almost no brain activity. Here, the trademarks change a little – or perhaps adapt – and the hero himself undergoes a change, paradoxically becoming much tougher and more straightforward than ever before, and yet still being much more human than it might seem at first glance. One of the building blocks of James Bond. The truck finale is textbook quality. (21.05.2014)

It's a shame Dalton only made two Bond films. With what he was criticized for (Bond is not Bond, but rather Rambo with a British accent), Daniel Craig is now celebrating success, and Dalton's films are still seen as the weakest of the entire franchise. Licence to Kill is definitely worth seeing - it's action, action and more action from start to finish, but with humor, suspense, pretty women, the inventions of Q and his department... Well, hell, is he Bond or is he not Bond? Answer: Indeed he is. And he’s certainly not inferior! Just the kind of guy Fleming was writing about! (08.02.2010)

Dalton is the biggest failure in the history of the Bond series. Let me explain. After the fading era of "Moore" films, an actor came who had great charm, physical potential and the willingness to advance the character, but the production was based on a traditional directing team and screenwriting. In The Living Daylights, the conflict of views is not yet as pronounced, and the ambitions and traditions clashed most markedly here. The effort to bring emotions and the private sphere into play was fulfilled only on the part of the main character, who perfectly combines "iconic" poses (casino) and private characteristics (Bond is a closed loner who, when he does not play the role of an invincible agent with irony in his eye, looks tired, timid, and even frightened in frightening situations). The screenplay attempts to create a story shift, incorporating an overlap (to samurai films and the revenge movie genre), a change in the well-established style, where the story does not serve as an awkward transition "from stunt to stunt", but when the narrative is the alpha and omega. But the key storyline with revenge is unfinished and incomplete, and in the end it captures the superficial props again, and so Dalton and his desire to "understand Bond as a human being" is a soldier in the field. Even John Glen, however much he has moved more towards a realistic style (depicting violence, but also action scenes), still relies on proven trademarks - the problem is that he has never shone explicitly during his five-film Bond career, and he did not take the chance to seize the series in his own way in this film either. Despite all the criticism, it is an excellent feat, referring in many ways to In Her Majesty Secret Service and, thanks to Dalton, shifting the potential of this rejected work. It is a terrible pity that Timothy did not have time to meet Martin Campbell and his contribution to the Bond universe was so fully utilized by Daniel Craig. But it still occurs to me that Licence to Kill was actually ahead of its time - by trying to transplant the myth into a more realistic world and give it "roots" and feelings. It is understandable that at the time when the movie theatres were showing Indiana Jones, Back to the Future 2 or Lethal Weapon 2, it might have seemed quite foolish... perhaps James was only surprisingly close to Burton's Batman. (24.09.2012)

No, it's not that I have any problems with Timothy Dalton, on the contrary, he suits me quite well as Bond, but not the movies. Even the last installment with Roger Moore was quite a decline, which continued throughout the time when Dalton and then Brosnan were Bond. In Dalton's case, the stories are not interesting from a screenplay perspective, although "Licence to Kill" tries to bring back some past events, with Brosnan it's a complete decline, although the first two movies were still passable. I have to say I'm glad for Craig. (17.03.2014)

Dalton's second Bond film is better in terms of quality than The Living Daylights. Timothy Dalton's Bond remains cool and sharp, the action scenes aren’t blown out of proportion, and the whole film somehow feels more real. I really enjoyed it. (04.08.2016)