MovieChat Forums > Licence to Kill (1989) Discussion > Why go after Leiter?

Why go after Leiter?

posted 5 years ago by MovieChatUser497 (18943)
8 replies | jump to latest

First of all Sanchez was in the United States and on the run, it seems like having Leiter whacked was a huge risk, secondly why just him? Why not anyone else who assisted in his arrest? I get that he wanted to intimidate anyone else who might try to bring him to justice but it just seemed like a huge risk and not a very big pay off.

Also am I correct that Killifer told Sanchez that Leiter was the one who busted him? Why didn't he tell Sanchez about Bond as well?

Also why didn't they make sure that Leiter was dead? I mean sure he couldn't ID the warehouse but he could ID Krest and the two aquarium guards, that could get Krest busted which would hurt Sanchez's business. Plus he almost certainly told the cops that Killifer was crooked which means he can now no longer set foot in the United States ever again (well Bond fed him to the shark so I guess that's nothing he has to worry about, but this was before that).

[–] kwestmo (4385) 4 years ago

"Also why didn't they make sure that Leiter was dead?" I don't that was the intention. Sanchez wanted Leiter to suffer something worse that death, IIRC. (Shark attack, dismemberment, rape of Della, etc.)

Your questions are valid.

[–] Ace_Spade (9574) 4 years ago

That's it, for sure. Sanchez's goal was never to kill Leiter but to make him wish he was dead. It would send a clear message to anybody else going after Sanchez. I remember being a bit horrified by that villainy the first time I watched the film. I think Sanchez was an underrated Bond villain. He was sadistic and brutal, but kinda "functional" in a way that a lot of other Bond villains aren't. Don't get me wrong, Goldfinger is the better character (and movie), but he's a bit loopy. He's the classic Bond villain with the schemes involving gold that don't make practical sense. He threatens you with laser traps. But Sanchez is a drug-runner who feeds you to sharks (or worse: Benicio Del Toro!)

[–] kwestmo (4385) 4 years ago

" "functional" in a way that a lot of other Bond villains aren't." Never thought of that; I agree

[–] Ace_Spade (9574) 4 years ago

I think that's one of the strengths of this entry into the Bond canon. I appreciate a good space laser as much as the next person, but it's neat seeing him go up against a grounded villain. It's also one of the rare Bonds where he uses actual spycraft, like an assumed identity, to infiltrate and destroy-from-within using subterfuge. Maybe there's a connection...

It's not my favourite Bond, but it's top-ten partially for these reasons. Dalton's also just a great 007.

[–] Ace_Spade (9574) 4 years ago

Killifer probably knew Sanchez wanted the name of the guy in charge of the op, so he gave him Leiter. Maybe that's why he didn't mention Bond specifically? I can't remember: does Killifer have direct contact with Bond? I just re-watched the opening sequence and I didn't notice him. Dialogue suggests Bond wasn't meant to be involved. So maybe that's why.

We don't see Sanchez go after anybody else, either. Could be because it happens off-screen, of course, but I think it's equally likely that he only cared about the man in charge: Felix.

[–] MovieChatUser497 (18943) 3 years ago

Yeah Killifer knew who Bond was, Felix introduced them at the wedding. "You must be Bond, the guy who came along for the ride"

[–] millsey72 (10366) 3 years ago

Sounds like a plot hole to me

[–] TMC-4 (20179) 2 years ago

TV Tropes even said (under "Hoist by His Own Petard") that Sanchez would've been better off and safer had he just returned to Isthmus after paying off Killifer instead of retaliating against Felix. But instead, he now had a target on his back once James Bond made it his life's mission to destroy him.

https://www.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/LicenceToKill