History Headscratchers / LicenceToKill

** It must be remembered that Bond is a professional killer, and Melina isn't. Bond is comfortable, or at least resigned, to his life of violence, is hardened enough to allow his violent impulses and desires for revenge to be given free reign, and is competent enough to do so with a degree of efficiency and remove. But he is ''also'' self-aware enough to realise what a toll this can take on a person, and is compassionate enough to other human beings -- especially "civilians" outside the life of a spy-assassin -- to try and steer them away from the life he has found himself in if it is within his power to do so. That Bond is capable enough of realising he's going too far and steering his desire for revenge into a more constructive goal doesn't mean that Melina would be. He's already been 'destroyed' by that point, he doesn't want her to destroy herself.
* As for "no consequences", not only does he clearly realise that his single-minded quest for revenge is having harmful repercussions and experiences a MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment, but the reason he "suffers no consequences" is because it ends with him almost single-handedly dismantling the operation and killing the target that was the whole purpose of the sting operation to begin with. He gets off relatively easy because he realises he fucked up and made efforts to correct his mistakes that had particularly impressive results.

** Because Sanchez isn't interested in Bond at that point; he presumably just assumes that he was one of the team led by Leiter (which he technically was). Furthermore, Killifer -- being that kind of sleazeball -- is presumably not going to just offer that kind of information out of nowhere when there's a possibility it might be valuable later. Presumably if-and-when Bond started fucking around with Sanchez's operation he might have turned to Killifer again for information on who it could be, but unfortunately for him Killifer didn't live long enough to find out.

* It's interesting that this movie was written and directed by the same people who made ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'', in which Bond talked Melina out of seeking revenge for her parents' murders. The man who said "Before setting off on revenge, you first dig two graves" not only has a very short memory, but he also notably suffers no consequences whatsoever for ignoring his own advice. MI6 doesn't even seem to care that he accidentally exposed a long-running UK/Hong Kong sting operation and got that entire team killed.

* Killifer helps Sanchez escape AND gives him a lot of information about Felix Leiter, but doesn't even mention Bond (who later shows up at Sanchez's door without bothering to use an alias). You'd think that for $2 million, Ed would have shared some information with Sanchez about the guy who literally caught him, even if all he could tell him was "it was some British agent named James Bond who actually dangled himself from a helicopter to snag your plane."

* Killifer helps Sanchez escape AND gives him a lot of information about Felix Leiter, but doesn't even mention Bond (who later shows up at Sanchez's door without bothering to use an alias). You'd think that for $2 million, Ed would have shared some information with Sanchez about the guy who actually caught him.

* Sharkey. There was nothing particularly bad about him. He just seem to be thrown in there, like someone Bond & Felix had known for years. Since they had already brought back the same actor who had played Leiter in ''Film/LiveAndLetDie'', why not just make the character Quarrel, Jr. instead?
** I think killing off two Quarrels in the series might have been a bit much....
*** Who says Sharkey isn't Quarrel Jr.? He could could have gotten the nickname some time ago.

* The ending. [[spoiler: Felix should've died, instead of chatting with Bond as if he was as good as new]].
** Exactly. [[spoiler:He lost a leg and his wife had just been ''raped and'' '''''murdered''''', yet he was as cheerful as ever.]]

*** Pretty much. Everyone responsible for his wife's rape and murder is dead. Most of them in an inventively gruesome way (eaten alive, exploded, shredded, burned alive etc.) That would have to cheer him up a little bit.

* Why didn't Killifer shoot Bond when he had the chance. I realize there would be no longer a movie, but Bond would never voluntarily lower himself into a shark tank and would clearly try to do a little misdirection and overtake his subduer. Even if Bond didn't plan on trying to overtake Bond, he would likely rather escape and die by a bullet that being mauled by a shark. Better to shoot him in the leg a couple times, and then kick him over into the shark pit.

*** That was confirmed [[WordOfGod by the director.]] Killfer wasn't on his payroll - the interrogation is an example of OneDialogueTwoConversations when Killifer says that one of Sanchez's famous million dollar bribes won't get him out of this. Leiter thinks Killifer is taunting Sanchez. Sanchez understands that Killifer is saying he's open to a bribe but one million isn't enough - so Sanchez offers two million (and it's accepted).

* I don't really see a SpottingTheThread trope in Krest's Ocean Exotica facility with a man not knowing the latin name for a great white shark. Bond is talking to a guard. And from what I know, guards are not obliged to be experts in fields of facilities they are working in. Their work is to make sure nobody breaks in and steals or damages anything, to patrol around the place and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking occasionally fall into electric eel aquariums when the situation necessitates]] . Like a janitor in a museum would also possibly not know what Van Gogh painted. They might be interested in the respected fields, but nobody will fire them if they don't know the answer, as their job requires completely different tasks.
** Its not that he was suspicious of the guy its that he saw I think it was a petal or part of one of the flowers from either Della or Felix's clothes. They had been trying all the aquariums in the area.
** It wasn't that specific thing, it was first the guard, and then Krest's entire attitude. In a word, Krest and the guard are acting highly suspicious (and honestly Bond was ready to grasp at straws at that point). Bond didn't just start shooting people, he came back at night to investigate, and then found the cocaine to confirm his suspicions.
** This isn't wholly unreasonable; low-level employees of specialised institutes might not be expected to be experts in the field, but they usually aren't stupid or completely ignorant either. They often can't be -- such institutes aren't just giant warehouses where you can walk around with a torch or a broom and that's all that's needed, they frequently have very specialised practices and processes that they would need to be at least aware of to do their jobs. Therefore, unless they were literally braindead idiots they would be expected to pick up some stray knowledge through osmosis if nothing else. Sure, our hypothetical janitor might not necessarily gain enough knowledge about art to become an expert art critic, but if they were responsible for cleaning in the rooms where the art was displayed they'd be exposed to it so often that at least some stray facts would eventually sink in whether they had an interest in the subject or not, so it would be kind of suspicious if they didn't know anything. The janitor might not become an expert on Van Gogh's biography, but they would almost certainly know of the existence of a painter called Van Gogh and at least some of his paintings, and so if you mentioned Van Gogh to such a janitor and they went "Who?", you'd likely make a note of that as unusual if not suspicious. Similarly, the latin name for a great white shark is the kind of term that would be frequently used at a business supposedly focused on studying and dealing with exotic ocean life and sharks specifically; it's a common enough animal that the guard would almost certainly would have encountered at some point, the guard would hear it discussed by the actual experts, would see it written down on labels and on the tanks and on paperwork, he would probably need to know it in case any shipments came in under the latin name and not the everyday name, and so forth. The guard might not become an expert on, say, the shark's eating or mating habits or anything, but its ''name'' is a fact that he would be likely if not expected to have learned at some point. So the fact that the guard shows no understanding of it at all heavily suggests that the actual main business being conducted there does not revolve around sharks or any other marine life (if he doesn't know the shark, there's almost certainly no more obscure animals involved there), and any sharks there are simply for cover. It's maybe not enough to get a search warrant or anything, but it is enough to plausibly make Bond suspicious about the true activities of Ocean Exotica.
* How did the scuba divers know that Bond was a bad guy when he shot that one guy who was after Sharkey and escaped by diving underwater. There wasn't any distinguishing features on his suit to show he was different than anyone else and I don't remember radio technology existing in those days for Krest to communicate to his men to kill Bond.
* When Bond was on the conveyer belt, his hands were tied behind his back. Wouldn't it be impossible to have any mobility at all from which to free himself? Joints don't work that way.
* What is the purpose of the camera gun? Supposedly, it is a gun disguised as a camera to get past security, but first you'd have to assemble it into a functioning weapon using obvious gun parts, like the barrel and a sniper scope. If you could get those past the security, why not the rest of the gun too, and if you couldn't then of what use is the camera part?

* What is the purpose of the camera gun? Supposedly, it is a gun disguised as a camera to get past security, but first you'd have to assemble it into a functioning weapon using obvious gun parts, like the barrel and a sniper scope. If you could get those past the security, why not the rest of the gun too, and if you couldn't then of what use is the camera part?

* When Bond was on the conveyer belt, his hands were tied behind his back. Wouldn't it be impossible to have any mobility at all from which to free himself? Joints don't work that way.

** This isn't wholly unreasonable; low-level employees of specialised institutes might not be expected to be experts in the field, but they usually aren't stupid or completely ignorant either. They often can't be -- such institutes aren't just giant warehouses where you can walk around with a torch or a broom and that's all that's needed, they frequently have very specialised practices and processes that they would need to be at least aware of to do their jobs. Therefore, unless they were literally braindead idiots they would be expected to pick up some stray knowledge through osmosis if nothing else. Sure, our hypothetical janitor might not necessarily gain enough knowledge about art to become an expert art critic, but if they were responsible for cleaning in the rooms where the art was displayed they'd be exposed to it so often that at least some stray facts would eventually sink in whether they had an interest in the subject or not, so it would be kind of suspicious if they didn't know anything. The janitor might not become an expert on Van Gogh's biography, but they would almost certainly know of the existence of a painter called Van Gogh and at least some of his paintings, and so if you mentioned Van Gogh to such a janitor and they went "Who?", you'd likely make a note of that as unusual if not suspicious. Similarly, the latin name for a great white shark is the kind of term that would be frequently used at a business supposedly focused on studying and dealing with exotic ocean life and sharks specifically; it's a common enough animal that the guard would almost certainly would have encountered at some point, the guard would hear it discussed by the actual experts, would see it written down on labels and on the tanks and on paperwork, he would probably need to know it in case any shipments came in under the latin name and not the everyday name, and so forth. The guard might not become an expert on, say, the shark's eating or mating habits or anything, but its ''name'' is a fact that he would be likely if not expected to have learned at some point. So the fact that the guard shows no understanding of it at all heavily suggests that the actual main business being conducted there does not revolve around sharks or any other marine life (if he doesn't know the shark, there's almost certainly no more obscure animals involved there), and any sharks there are simply for cover. It's maybe not enough to get a search warrant or anything, but it is enough to plausibly make Bond suspicious about the true activities of Ocean Exotica.

** This isn't wholly unreasonable; low-level employees of specialised institutes might not be expected to be experts in the field, but they usually aren't stupid or wholly ignorant either. They often can't be -- such institutes aren't just giant warehouses where you can walk around with a torch or a broom and that's all that's needed, they frequently have very specialised practices and processes that they would need to be at least aware of to do their jobs. Therefore, unless they were literally braindead idiots they would be expected to pick up some stray knowledge through osmosis if nothing else. Sure, our hypothetical janitor might not necessarily gain enough knowledge about art to become an expert art critic, but if they were responsible for cleaning in the rooms where the art was displayed they'd be exposed to it so often that at least some stray facts would eventually sink in whether they had an interest in the subject or not, so it would be kind of suspicious if they didn't know anything. The janitor might not become an expert on Van Gogh's biography, but they would almost certainly know of the existence of a painter called Van Gogh and at least some of his paintings, and so if you mentioned Van Gogh to such a janitor and they went "Who?", you'd likely make a note of that as unusual if not suspicious. Similarly, the latin name for a great white shark is the kind of term that would be frequently used at a business supposedly focused on studying and dealing with exotic ocean life and sharks specifically; it's a common enough animal that the guard would almost certainly would have encountered at some point, the guard would hear it discussed by the actual experts, would see it written down on labels and on the tanks and on paperwork, he would probably need to know it in case any shipments came in under the latin name and not the everyday name, and so forth. The guard might not become an expert on, say, the shark's eating or mating habits or anything, but its ''name'' is a fact that he would be likely if not expected to have learned at some point. So the fact that the guard shows no understanding of it at all heavily suggests that the actual main business being conducted there does not revolve around sharks or any other marine life (if he doesn't know the shark, there's almost certainly no more obscure animals involved there), and any sharks there are simply for cover. It's maybe not enough to get a search warrant or anything, but it is enough to plausibly make Bond suspicious about the true activities of Ocean Exotica.

** This isn't wholly unreasonable; low-level employees of specialised institutes might not be expected to be experts in the field, but they usually aren't stupid either. They often can't be -- such institutes aren't just giant warehouses where you can walk around with a torch and that's all that's needed, they frequently have very specialised practices and processes that they would need to be aware of to do their jobs. Therefore, unless they were literally braindead idiots they would be expected to pick up some stray knowledge through osmosis if nothing else. Sure, our hypothetical janitor might not necessarily gain enough knowledge about art to become an expert art critic, but if they were responsible for cleaning in the rooms where the art was displayed they'd be exposed to it so often that at least some stray facts would eventually sink in whether they had an interest in the subject or not, so it would be kind of suspicious if they didn't know anything. The janitor might not become an expert on Van Gogh's biography, but they would almost certainly know of the existence of a painter called Van Gogh and at least some of his paintings, and so if you mentioned Van Gogh to such a janitor and they went "Who?", you'd likely make a note of that as unusual if not suspicious. Similarly, the latin name for a great white shark is the kind of term that would be frequently used at a business supposedly focused on studying and dealing with exotic ocean life and sharks specifically; it's a common enough animal that the guard would almost certainly would have encountered at some point, the guard would hear it discussed by the actual experts, would see it written down on labels and on the tanks and on paperwork, he would probably need to know it in case any shipments came in under the latin name and not the everyday name, and so forth. The guard might not become an expert on, say, the shark's eating or mating habits or anything, but its ''name'' is a fact that he would be likely if not expected to have learned at some point. So the fact that the guard shows no understanding of it at all heavily suggests that the actual main business being conducted there does not revolve around sharks or any other marine life (if he doesn't know the shark, there's almost certainly no more obscure animals involved there), and any sharks there are simply for cover. It's maybe not enough to get a search warrant or anything, but it is enough to plausibly make Bond suspicious about the true activities of Ocean Exotica.

** This isn't wholly unreasonable; low-level employees of specialised institutes might not be expected to be experts in the field, but they usually aren't stupid either. They often can't be -- such institutes aren't just giant warehouses where you can walk around with a torch and that's all that's needed, they frequently have very specialised practices and processes that they would need to be aware of to do their jobs. Therefore, unless they were literally braindead idiots they would be expected to pick up some stray knowledge through osmosis if nothing else. Sure, our hypothetical janitor might not necessarily gain enough knowledge about art to become an expert art critic, but if they were responsible for cleaning in the rooms where the art was displayed they'd be exposed to it so often that at least some stray facts would eventually sink in whether they had an interest in the subject or not, so it would be kind of suspicious if they didn't know anything. The janitor might not become an expert on Van Gogh's biography, but they would almost certainly know of the existence of a painter called Van Gogh and at least some of his paintings, and so if you mentioned Van Gogh to such a janitor and they went "Who?", you'd likely make a note of that as unusual if not suspicious. Similarly, the latin name for a great white shark is the kind of term that would be frequently used at a business supposedly focused on studying and dealing with exotic ocean life and sharks specifically; it's a common enough animal that the guard would almost certainly would have encountered at some point, the guard would hear it discussed by the actual experts, would see it written down on labels and on the tanks and on paperwork, he would probably need to know it in case any shipments came in under the latin name and not the everyday name, and so forth. The guard might not become an expert on, say, the shark's eating or mating habits or anything, but its ''actual name'' is a fact that he would be likely if not expected to have learned at some point. So the fact that the guard shows no understanding of it at all heavily suggests that the actual main business being conducted there does not revolve around sharks, and any sharks there are simply for cover. It's maybe not enough to get a search warrant or anything, but it is enough to plausibly make Bond suspicious about the true activities of Ocean Exotica.

** This isn't that unreasonable; low-level employees of specialised institutes might not be expected to be experts in the field, but they usually aren't stupid either. They often can't be -- such institutes aren't just giant warehouses where you can walk around with a torch and that's all that's needed, they frequently have very specialised practices and processes that they would need to be aware of to do their jobs. Therefore, unless they were literally braindead idiots they would be expected to pick up some stray knowledge through osmosis if nothing else. Sure, our hypothetical janitor might not necessarily gain enough knowledge about art to become an expert art critic, but if they were responsible for cleaning in the rooms where the art was displayed they'd be exposed to it so often that at least some stray facts would eventually sink in whether they had an interest in the subject or not, so it would be kind of suspicious if they didn't know anything. The janitor might not become an expert on Van Gogh's biography, but they would almost certainly know of the existence of a painter called Van Gogh and at least some of his paintings, and so if you mentioned Van Gogh to such a janitor and they went "Who?", you'd likely make a note of that as unusual if not suspicious. Similarly, the latin name for a great white shark is the kind of term that would be frequently used at a business supposedly focused on studying and dealing with exotic ocean life and sharks specifically; it's a common enough animal that the guard would almost certainly would have encountered at some point, the guard would hear it discussed by the actual experts, would see it written down on labels and on the tanks and on paperwork, and so forth. The guard might not become an expert on its eating or mating habits or anything, but its ''actual name'' is a fact that he would be likely if not expected to have learned at some point. So the fact that the guard shows no understanding of it at all heavily suggests that the actual main business being conducted there does not revolve around sharks, and any sharks there are simply for cover. It's maybe not enough to get a search warrant or anything, but it is enough to plausibly make Bond suspicious about the true activities of Ocean Exotica.

** This isn't that unreasonable; low-level employees of specialised institutes might not be expected to be experts in the field, but they usually aren't stupid either. They often can't be -- such institutes frequently have very specialised practices and processes that they would need to be aware of to do their jobs. Therefore, unless they were literally braindead idiots they would be expected to pick up some stray knowledge through osmosis if nothing else. Sure, our hypothetical janitor might not necessarily gain enough knowledge about art to become an expert art critic, but if they were responsible for cleaning in the rooms where the art was displayed they'd be exposed to it so often that at least some stray facts would eventually sink in whether they had an interest in the subject or not, so it would be kind of suspicious if they didn't know anything. The janitor might not become an expert on Van Gogh's biography, but they would almost certainly know of the existence of a painter called Van Gogh and at least some of his paintings, and so if you mentioned Van Gogh to such a janitor and they went "Who?", you'd likely make a note of that as unusual if not suspicious. Similarly, the latin name for a great white shark is the kind of term that would be frequently used at a business supposedly focused on studying and dealing with exotic ocean life and sharks specifically; it's a common enough animal that the guard would almost certainly would have encountered at some point, the guard would hear it discussed by the actual experts, would see it written down on labels and on the tanks and on paperwork, and so forth. The guard might not become an expert on its eating or mating habits or anything, but its ''actual name'' is a fact that he would be likely if not expected to have learned at some point. So the fact that the guard shows no understanding of it at all heavily suggests that the actual main business being conducted there does not revolve around sharks, and any sharks there are simply for cover. It's maybe not enough to get a search warrant or anything, but it is enough to plausibly make Bond suspicious about the true activities of Ocean Exotica.

** This isn't that unreasonable; low-level employees of specialised institutes might not be expected to be experts in the field, but they usually aren't stupid either. They often can't be -- such institutes frequently have very specialised practices and processes that they would need to be aware of to do their jobs. Therefore, unless they were literally braindead idiots they would be expected to pick up some stray knowledge through osmosis if nothing else. Sure, our hypothetical janitor might not necessarily gain enough knowledge about art to become an expert art critic, but if they were responsible for cleaning in the rooms where the Van Goghs were supposedly being displayed, then it actually ''would'' be kind of suspicious if they subsequently displayed absolutely no knowledge of Van Gogh whatsoever; unless they were literally incapable of learning new information, they'd be exposed to it so often that at least some stray facts would eventually sink in whether they had an interest in the subject or not. Similarly, the latin name for a great white shark is the kind of term that would be frequently used at a business supposedly focused on studying and dealing with exotic ocean life and sharks specifically; the guard would hear it used by the actual experts, would see it on labels and on the tanks and on paperwork, and so forth. The guard might not become an expert on its eating or mating habits or anything, but its ''actual name'' is a fact that he would be likely if not expected to have learned at some point. So the fact that the guard shows no understanding of it at all heavily suggests that the actual main business being conducted there does not revolve around sharks, and any sharks there are simply for cover. It's maybe not enough to get a search warrant or anything, but it is enough to plausibly make Bond suspicious about the true activities of Ocean Exotica.

** It wasn't that specific thing, it was first the guard, and then Krest's entire attitude. In a word, Krest and the guard are acting highly suspicious (and honestly Bond was ready to grasp at straws at that point). Bond didn't just start shooting people, he came back at night to investigate, and then found the cocaine to confirm his suspicions.

** Its not that he was suspicious of the guy its that he saw I think it was a petal or part of one of the flowers from either Della or Felix's clothes. They had been trying all the aquariums in the area.

* I don't really see a SpottingTheThread trope in Krest's Ocean Exotica facility with a man not knowing the latin name for a great white shark. Bond is talking to a guard. And from what I know, guards are not obliged to be experts in fields of facilities they are working in. Their work is to make sure nobody breaks in and steals or damages anything, to patrol around the place and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking occasionally fall into electric eel aquariums when the situation necessitates]] . Like a janitor in a museum would also possibly not know what Van Gogh painted. They might be interested in the respected fields, but nobody will fire them if they don't know the answer, as their job requires completely different tasks.

* I don't really see a SpottingTheThread trope in Krest's Ocean Exotica facility with a man not knowing the latin name for a great white shark. Bond is talking to a guard. And from what I know, guards are not obliged to be experts in fields of facilities they are working in. Their work is to make sure nobody breaks in and steals or damages anything, to patrol around the place and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking occasionally fall into electric eel aquariums when the situation necessitates]] . Like a receptionist in a museum would also possibly not know what Van Gogh painted. They might be interested in the respected fields, but nobody will fire them if they don't know the answer, as their job requires completely different tasks.

** I think he made the decision during the interrogation.

** In addition to the above points, from what we see he's not exactly singing-and-dancing-with-cartoon-bluebirds happy or anything. We see a couple of seconds of him pleasantly talking to an old friend who's presumably been making an effort to keep things light (and, as mentioned above, has presumably learned by that point that everyone involved in the death of his wife has now died horribly), it's not like he's the life and soul of the party or anything.