Original artwork, not a still
Effective immediately, your licence to kill is revoked.
— Licence to Kill • 1989
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
The line draws a hard border around Dalton's Bond: no gadgets, no Q, no state behind him, just a man who walked away from the service over a friend. It is the franchise's sharpest moment of M pulling rank, and the phrase was the film's planned title, Licence Revoked. It is the line fans cite when they argue that Dalton's Bond is the grittiest of them all.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for Licence to KillShow the scene
Licence to Kill (1989), Timothy Dalton's second and last film as Bond. After drug lord Franz Sanchez's cartel ambushes Felix Leiter on his wedding night and kills his bride, Bond sets out on a private revenge mission. In Key West, M (Robert Brown) confronts him at the Ernest Hemingway House and orders him to Istanbul instead. When Bond refuses to drop the vendetta and offers his resignation, M says this line and demands his gun. Bond answers with "farewell to arms" and slips away from MI6.
Sources (2)
- Wikiquote: Licence to KillDialogue section, M and Bond in Key WestReference checked
- James Bond Wiki: Licence to Kill (film)Plot summary and triviaReference checked
Context reviewed
