Live and Let Die (1973)

Director: Guy Hamilton

Starring: Roger Moore, Yaphet Kotto

Run Time: 119 mins

Certificate: PG

 

Plot Outline: James Bond is called in to investigate the deaths of three British agents who were on the trail of a drug smuggling ring. Bond uncovers a sinister plot to give away billions of dollars worth heroin for free in order to get people addicted and therefore continue to purchase the drugs.

The Review: Out of all of the Bond films, this one has dated the worst and look at it - there is a reason. This was the 70s and the day of the blaxploitation film. Hence we get a lot of black actors talking jive, acting tough and who would be more at home on the set of Shaft than this one. It does provide for an amusing moment when Bond goes into Harlem and sticks out like a sore thumb. But it wasn't really necessary to focus the film on this so much. A lot of people don't like this because of the acting as well and in particular the debut of Roger Moore. Granted, Moore wasn't brilliant but he doesn't write the script and can only work with what he has. I think the problem with this is that Moore tried to be too serious (ala Connery) and it didn't pay off. So he turned to his more comedic role, which worked better for him as a character (and arguably worse for the series as a whole). Moore seems to be trying to copy Connery far too much, instead of finding his own niche. Yaphet Kotto is one of the best villains in the entire series. You don't need to be a super-villain to be evil as this guy shows and he's quite charismatic too. The two female leads are forgettable and the whole character of Rosie should have been deleted from the entire film (she's one of the most annoying Bond girls of all time). Maybe Bond had to bed his quota of black women during the series to appease the politically correct brigade. Jane Seymour fairs little better and looks cute in her film debut but it's not a stunning performance by any stretch of the imagination. Tee Hee is one of the best henchman in a Bond film. His hook-hand is a riot, his laugh is great and there's a great fight scene between him and Bond inside a train. There is also a plentiful array of snakes, crocodiles and sharks throughout the film in attempting to destroy 007. It also has the most memorable (and long) boat chase that I can remember seeing on a film, although it does actually run a little too long. The voodoo element to the film adds some mystery and colour to the proceedings including the appearance of the devilishly great Baron Samedi (played by Geoffrey Holder). And of course Paul McCartney sings one of the most memorable and exciting of all of the Bond soundtracks.

Final Verdict: Live and Let Die was a great way for Moore to kick off his Bond days. Too bad he didn't follow it up with his next one, the dreary The Man with the Golden Gun.

Rating: