Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that Licence to Kill is the 16th James Bond movie and the second -- and last -- with actor Timothy Dalton in the lead role. The producers were trying for a "darker" look and feel here, going for a PG-13 rating with stronger language and violence. More blood is shown, and there are more deaths. Language includes "s--t," "bastard," "ass," and "hell." Bond kisses and sleeps with two women, though no nudity is shown; those opening titles still feature alluring silhouettes in which the women look naked. The bad guy this time is a drug dealer, and there are many references to cocaine as well as many characters drinking and some smoking. The movie is not one of the best, but at the time it was seen as a drastic improvement over the Roger Moore movies, and it's still considered a fan favorite. It will be one of the movies that teen Bond fans will go to first.
Sexual
Content
Bond kisses and sleeps with two women. Nothing sensitive is shown. The usual opening title sequence features women in silhouette that look like they could be naked. Dancing girls are shown in a sleazy bar, though they are somewhat clothed (nothing sensitive is shown). A female spy flirts with a bad guy, goes into his bedroom, and lies down on his bed with him. "Girlie" pictures are briefly seen in the cab of a big rig.
Violence
This Bond movie has more violence and more blood than any of the movies before it. Characters are shot and killed. A woman is whipped on her back after being caught in bed with another man (it leaves a scar). Men are killed in a shark tank, with blood billowing through the water. Supporting characters die. There are spectacular stunts, such as men falling from an airplane in flight. A man dies by biting on a cyanide capsule. A man dies in an airlock (his face inflates and explodes). A bad guy gets killed in the gears of a factory, with spraying blood. There's a car chase, with villains on fire, and explosions. Ninjas attack.
Language
Language is much stronger in this Bond movie than in earlier entries. "S--t," "bulls--t," "bastard," "hell," "Goddamn," "scumbag," "ass," "cojones," and "piss," are used.
Social
Behavior
James Bond may be a good guy and may have saved the world, but he seduces women, drinks alcohol, doesn't seem to care much about destroying property, and never really learns any lessons. The plot of this movie is based on personal revenge, rather than saving the world. Normally, he has a license to kill and can leave dead bodies in his wake with no consequences, but in this film, his license is revoked, and he kills anyway. Women are generally treated as objects, helpless and powerless.
Consumerism
Not applicable
Drugs / Tobacco /
Alcohol
The plot involves an international drug dealer who devises a way to dissolve cocaine in gasoline. Packages of cocaine are opened underwater, with white clouds billowing through the water. Bond orders a martini, but his girlfriend drinks it. The bad guy drinks a shot. A woman accuses an aggressive man of being drunk. Characters smoke. Q takes a shot of alcohol.
