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Milton Krest is the owner of Wavekrest Marine Research, an ally to drug lord Franz Sanchez and the secondary antagonist in the 1989 James Bond film Licence to Kill.
He was portrayed by Anthony Zerbe, who also played Jonathan Matthias in The Omega Man, Justin Sepheran in Return of the Man From U.N.C.L.E., Helmut Kellerman in Mission: Impossible, Arnie Grunwald in Tales From The Crypt, and Admiral Matthew Dougherty in Star Trek: Insurrection.
Biography[]
Krest is the owner of Wavekrest Marine Research, an organization ostensibly conducting experiments to produce greater volumes of seafood for feeding poor nations. However, the organization is actually a front for Franz Sanchez's drug cartel, who use it to conduct drops at sea. Krest faithfully serves Sanchez, although he is an alcoholic and occasionally peeps on Sanchez's mistress, Lupe Lamora, when she is aboard his ship Wavekrest.
When Sanchez is arrested by the DEA for drug dealing and murder, Krest puts his organization at risk to rescue his boss after corrupt officer Ed Killifer drives the van transporting Sanchez off a bridge and into the sea. Later, at Krest's Ocean Exotica warehouse, he advocates having Killifer killed to tie up loose ends, but Sanchez refuses, intending to honor his deal to pay Killifer $2 million. Sanchez's henchmen then bring in Felix Leiter, who was responsible for Sanchez's arrest, and Sanchez maims him by dropping him into Krest's shark tank.
The next day, Leiter's friend James Bond visits the Ocean Exotica facility, feigning interest in Krest's legitimate activities as a way to gain information on his suspected ties to Sanchez. Krest offers Bond a short tour but quickly encourages him to leave. Later that night, Bond returns and, with aid from Leiter's colleague Sharkey, discovers a stock of drugs hidden in the warehouse. The duo are confronted by Krest's security staff, but manage to kill them; Bond also kills Killifer by dropping him into the same shark tank used to maim Leiter.
Now with a lead on Sanchez's cartel, Bond seeks to exact revenge and targets Krest as the first step in doing so. He infiltrates Wavekrest as it prepares to carry out a drug exchange at sea; Bond disrupts the deal and steals $5 million of Sanchez's money, without being identified. Bond then meets with Pam Bouvier, a DEA agent on Sanchez's case, and travels to his headquarters of Isthmus City with her. He deposits the $5 million in a bank controlled by Sanchez, intending to use it to fund his actions, and joins Sanchez's organization by posing as an assassin for hire.
Krest's body about to burst due to explosive decompression
Bond attempts to assassinate Sanchez but fails due to the interference of MI6 and Chinese authorities carrying out a deep-cover operation against the drug lord. However, due to Bond's earlier activities, he is able to trick Sanchez into believing someone else orchestrated the attempted hit. Bond implies that Krest is the traitor, prompting Sanchez to visit him when Wavekrest arrives in Isthmus City. While Krest attempts to explain the disrupted drop, Sanchez's men inspect the ship and discover the money Bond and Bouvier planted in a submersible craft. Infuriated by this apparent betrayal, Sanchez throws Krest in the craft and kills him by raising its internal pressure and then destroying the vent, triggering explosive decompression that bursts Krest's body.
Legacy[]
After killing Krest, Sanchez rewards Bond for the information by admitting him to the inner circle of the cartel. However, his cover is soon blown by Dario, who had encountered Bond earlier. In an attempt to escape Sanchez's death trap, Bond tries to implicate Truman-Lodge and Colonel Heller as Krest's co-conspirators, but Sanchez does not believe him.
Quotes[]
| “ | Hey! Ha ha. Ready tah go? We got batteries recharged on the sub. It'll take to the twelve mile limit, fast boat to Cuba. You'll be there for breakfast. | „ |
| ~ Milton Krest's first words in the film after helping Franz Sanchez to escape. |
| “ | Sanchez: Relax. We wait for Dario. Krest: Are you crazy? You got everybody looking for you. What about Killifer? The cop here is nuts. I wanna deep six 'em. Sanchez: I made a deal with this guy and I'm gonna keep my word. Krest: I don't like it, he can finger me. I spent a fortune on this company. Sanchez: Something you'd better understand, amigo; loyalty is more important to me. |
„ |
| ~ Milton Krest when Sanchez insisted on staying instead of fleeing into exile. |
| “ | Krest: That's not my money, I swear! Sanchez: That's right, amigo. It's mine! [grabs Krest] You think I'm stupid! HUH! You rip me off then use my own money to PAY someone to KILL ME? You want it so bad? Then TAKE IT! [throws Krest into the pressure chamber] |
„ |
| ~ Milton Krest getting thrown into the pressure chamber by Sanchez. |
| “ | What are you doing? Wait, let me talk. It's not my money, no! What the...Aagh! That hurts, please! What are you doing? Please, Franz! No! AAAH! | „ |
| ~ Milton Krest's last words to Sanchez before he splatters in the pressure chamber. |
Trivia[]
- Milton Krest is loosely based on the antagonist of the same name from Ian Fleming's short story The Hildebrand Rarity, featured in the collection For Your Eyes Only. While they share the name and ownership of the Wavekrest, the literary version of Krest is instead a boorish American millionaire who owns the Krest Hotels group and operates the Krest Foundation. He recruits Bond to help him search for the titular Hildebrand Rarity, an extremely rare species of fish, only to end up killing it upon finding it. He is then murdered under mysterious circumstances by having the fish shoved down his throat; Bond covers up the truth by disposing of his body and stages the scene to look like he died in an accident, even though he is unsure of who Krest's killer actually is.
- A number of the literary Krest's traits were transferred to Franz Sanchez in Licence to Kill. Notably, a scene early in the film where Sanchez beats Lupe with a stingray tail is directly based on a habit the literary version of Krest practices on his wife.
- Krest's death is widely considered one of the most gruesome in the Bond film franchise.
