Licence to Kill treatment: MI6 or MI5?

Licence to Kill’s poster

Resuming (after a break) describing the Licence to Kill treatment by Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson from 1988. It was provided by Gary J. Firuta.

As in the film, Q drives a Rolls Royce. Bond exits, tells the casino manager he’ll play later. This gives Bond a chance to slip in by the service entrance. There’s a big party upstairs.

Bond pretends to be a waiter, giving him a chance to infiltrate the facility.

The treatment includes a description of the party, with Sanchez hosting various Asian people.

“We control whole government departments, in some cases, whole countries,” Sanchez tells his guests. “For example, the security of our shipping operations here is headed by Colonel Rios, the commandant of the President’s personal bodyguard.”

Rios is present at the gathering. “Rios stands as the others applaud him,” according to the treatment.

As in the film, the treatment now has Bond ready to try to kill Sanchez. Back at the meeting, Sanchez makes his pitch to extend his “invisible empire” to the Pacific Rim. “It will become our puddle,” Sanchez says.

Sanchez asks the Asians for $100 million each. But Kwang wants to see more of Sanchez’s operations before committing himself. The others go along. Sanchez will take them the next day to see the operations.

The treatment resembles the final film as Bond’s assassination attempt of Sanchez falls short. “A fight on the rooftop follows as Bond defends himself with a variety of martial arts all of which are countered by his adversaries.”

Bond is captured by the ninjas (as described in the treatment).

“Ninjas emerge with Bond still groggy between them,” the treatment says. “A car draws up and stops besides them. Ninjas open boot, fling Bond into it, close boot, lock it, then gets into the car which speeds away.”

The car “stops outside a bungalow somewhat removed from others on the city’s outskirts,” the treatment reads. The ninjas open the trunk and drag Bond into the house.

Bond is taken to the house’s basement and is strapped into a chair.

“Outside a car pulls up and a figure slips out hurrying into the house,” the treatment says. “A second figure rustles in the underbrush near the house. Is it being watched? Basement door opens. The figure from the car enters. It is Kwang.”

The first figure is Fallon “an Englishman from Hong Kong.” He and Kwang confer. Bond “must be MI5 (!),” Fallon says.

Kwang and Fallon “are irate that MI5 would attempt to kill Sanchez without informing them,” the treatment says.

Kwang says “when Bond made a display of himself at the blackjack table” he placed Bond under surveillance. That enabled Bond’s attempt to kill Sanchez to be foiled.

But things are about to go bad.

TO BE CONTINUED