Licence to Kill tilt onto its side, it was not necessary as Julienne was able to pull off the stunt without the aid of camera trickery. Initially Vic Flick, who had played lead guitar on Monty Norman's original 007 theme, and Eric Clapton were asked to write and perform the theme song to "Licence to Kill" and they produced a theme to match Dalton's gritty performance, but the producers turned it down and instead Gladys Knight's song and performance was chosen. The song (one of the longest to ever be used in a Bond film) was based on the "horn line" from "Goldfinger",
Licence to Kill impressed that "Dalton's glowering presence adds a darker tone". James concluded that "for all its clever updatings, stylish action and witty escapism, "Licence to Kill" ... is still a little too much by the book." Roger Ebert for the "Chicago Sun-Times" gave the film 3½ stars out of 4, saying "the stunts all look convincing, and the effect of the closing sequence is exhilarating ... "Licence to Kill" is one of the best of the recent Bonds." Jack Kroll, writing in "Newsweek" described "Licence to Kill" as "a pure, rousingly entertaining action movie". Kroll was mixed in his appraisal of