Robert Davi as Franz Sanchez with his diamond-chained iguana in Licence To Kill (1989)
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)
Lupe Lamora (Talisa Soto) in Licence To Kill (1989)
Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi) in Licence To Kill (1989)
Lupe Lamora (Talisa Soto) is whipped by Franz Sanchez in Licence To Kill (1989)
Sanchez might be the most brutal James Bond villain ever – scenes like the above are why!
Robert Davi as Franz Sanchez in Licence To Kill (1989)
Inspirational, but not while a shark chews off your leg!
