Felix Leiter (David Hedison) warns James Bond in Licence To Kill (1987)
Robert Davi as Franz Sanchez with his diamond-chained iguana in Licence To Kill (1989)
Dentonite toothpaste with the Lark Mild cigarettes detonator from Licence To Kill (1989)
Wayne Newton cameos as Joe Butcher in Licence To Kill (1989)
Pam Bouvier has that effect on a secret agent – from Licence To Kill (1989)
I remember watching Licence To Kill on TV when I lost my first tooth. The above GIF was the first scene I remember watching from a James Bond movie!
Kananga/Mr. Big (Yaphet Kotto) from Live And Let Die (1973) or Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi) from Licence To Kill (1989)?
There isn’t a more brutal James Bond villain than Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi) from Licence To Kill (1989). In this scene alone, Sanchez shows his true self: a murderer, torturer and abuser.
Unlike other Bond villains, Sanchez is intimately involved in the cruel ways he shows his power. He doesn’t sit on a throne and stroking a white cat or avoid conflict by pushing a button in an escape pod. No – without hesitation, Sanchez orders a murder and tortures a defenseless woman.
Lupe’s somber “por favor, Franz” and the unsettlingly compliant way she bows to him for punishment is just awful and an obviously regular occurrence. And it’s telling that Sanchez comes with the small whip on his person – he knew Lupe’s fate before listening to any explanation.
Although disturbing, it’s scenes like this that define a Bond villain. It distinguishes Sanchez’s darker persona from other villains that take a more hands-off approach to evil.
Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi) in Licence To Kill (1989)
