Review Detail
9.5 7 10
Overall rating
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
10.0
Enjoyment
10.0
Licence To Kill is a pretty good and somewhat underrated Bond film. It has moments of bad acting and misguided jokes, but the basic structure is sound, Dalton is good throughout and it has a convincing villain: in other words it's a good candidate for a fanedit. And LastSurvivor has done a terrific job of removing those moments that don't work, resulting in a really entertaining and memorable last adventure for Dalton as 007.
For me the opening scene and closing scenes are the worst parts of the film, and this is where the heaviest editing has taken place. I'm happy to report that the work done here is seamless in both video and audio. All the bad acting (and there's a lot in the first 15 minutes of the movie) has been taken out. If I was to do a list of the worst pre-credits scenes in Bond history, LTK would probably be rock bottom, it's just embarrassing. But there isn't any of that left in Licence Revoked, so when the film gets good right around when Bond is reminded this isn't a "country club" we're fully on board.
The other major change is the ending. I have no idea why some of that stuff was included, whether the producers felt some levity was needed after the seriousness of the preceding 2 hours... I mean, who doesn't love a winking fish joke? But it's a terrible ending and utterly unmissed. What's between that beginning and ending is an underrated Bond film we can now enjoy throughout.
My other problem with LTK is more difficult to deal with, as it would involve removing Q from the entire film. For reasons that are never explained, Q finds it quite reasonable to equip a former British agent with deadly weapons, while in Thunderball he found the idea of equipping 007 in the field "highly irregular". I love Desmond Llewelyn as much as the next Bond fan, but his character in this film doesn't fit with the Q we've grown up with. It's unfortunate, but it would have been a near-impossible task to cut him entirely. Still, I won't lie, it bothers me while watching the film.
Overall, this is highly recommended. The editing is flawless, the choices made are uniformly excellent and it significantly improves upon the film beginning to end. An essential edit for Bond fans. Thanks to LastSurvivor for all his efforts.
For me the opening scene and closing scenes are the worst parts of the film, and this is where the heaviest editing has taken place. I'm happy to report that the work done here is seamless in both video and audio. All the bad acting (and there's a lot in the first 15 minutes of the movie) has been taken out. If I was to do a list of the worst pre-credits scenes in Bond history, LTK would probably be rock bottom, it's just embarrassing. But there isn't any of that left in Licence Revoked, so when the film gets good right around when Bond is reminded this isn't a "country club" we're fully on board.
The other major change is the ending. I have no idea why some of that stuff was included, whether the producers felt some levity was needed after the seriousness of the preceding 2 hours... I mean, who doesn't love a winking fish joke? But it's a terrible ending and utterly unmissed. What's between that beginning and ending is an underrated Bond film we can now enjoy throughout.
My other problem with LTK is more difficult to deal with, as it would involve removing Q from the entire film. For reasons that are never explained, Q finds it quite reasonable to equip a former British agent with deadly weapons, while in Thunderball he found the idea of equipping 007 in the field "highly irregular". I love Desmond Llewelyn as much as the next Bond fan, but his character in this film doesn't fit with the Q we've grown up with. It's unfortunate, but it would have been a near-impossible task to cut him entirely. Still, I won't lie, it bothers me while watching the film.
Overall, this is highly recommended. The editing is flawless, the choices made are uniformly excellent and it significantly improves upon the film beginning to end. An essential edit for Bond fans. Thanks to LastSurvivor for all his efforts.
Y