Live and Let Die (1973)
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Live and Let Die (1973)
BOND#8: Long Live a new Sir James Bond
ROGER MOORE as James Bond 007 in LIVE AND LET DIE
co-starring YAPHET KOTTO * JANE SEYMOUR * CLIFTON JAMES as Sheriff J.W.Pepper
JULIUS HARRIS as Tee Hee * GEOFFREY HOLDER as Samedi * DAVID HEDISON as Leiter
GLORIA HENDRY as Rosie * BERNARD LEE as M * LOIS MAXWELL as Moneypenny
Directed by GUY HAMILTON
This was actor Roger Moore's first Bonder and he would return in a half-dozen more. He was a more proper British gentleman than Sean Connery; Connery's version seemed to be a rough bad-ass who became sophisticated after reaching adulthood; Moore seemed to be born into the upper class and had to learn to be a bad-ass later - or act like one. Moore, therefore, lacked the real undertone of threat Connery posed to villains, henchmen and even femme fatales: Moore seemed more apt to arrest the bad guys than to actually kill them. He was certainly more urbane and sophisticated than Connery's version, perhaps even more debonair - and perhaps too smooth, wherein lies the dilemma with his interpretation. As we begin to see here, everything's too easy for Moore's version of Bond; he gets through all the life-threatening instances without breaking a sweat and this lack of tension would get worse in the forthcoming films (especially with Moonraker and on).
M sends Bond to NYC first, where the urban squalor and Harlem gangsters offer a sharp contrast to Moore's polished presence. Yet, even as he strolls amid these dangerous elements, very out of place, we sense he is in no danger; he'll either joke his way out or place a well-timed kick at just the right moment. Moore's line delivery is much better than Lazenby's (from On Her Majesty's Secret Service), of course, due to a lot more experience, usually emphasizing an amused tone (his remark after a henchman breaks his gun, for example, is a gem). Moore was actually older than Connery and it's just as well he didn't get the role earlier, a problem associated with the Lazenby version, who was a bit too young.
Bond also uses his usual charms more blatantly and crudely than before, deflowering the Solitaire character as a specific strategy in his mission. There's a darkly satiric tone here, including the scenes involving killings, but it doesn't always work as expected. There are two which stand out, involving a funeral procession in New Orleans (Bond's 3rd destination) and the murders of a couple of agents. It's well done, with a gallows humor, but it's also uncomfortably chilling, especially when I first saw this, because it looks as if everyone in the procession, including grandmothers and kids, are in on these assassinations.
The boat chase is different but continues for several more minutes after we think it's about over. The main villain, as played by actor Yaphet Kotto, can be intense, yet he also doesn't make an easy fit into a Bond thriller. Instead of some intricate plot involving high-end technology, he's involved in drug trafficking. While this was a conscious attempt to stay away from huge sets and outlandish gadgets, it's almost too sharp a turn after several films with Blofeld and megalomaniacs like Goldfinger. Bond exists, after all, to tackle certain types of villains, certainly not the kind suited for a local police force and with names like 'Mr. Big.' Kananga is ambitious, however, with his own sense of theater, and even his own version of a master villain's lair.
Bond would return in The Man With the Golden Gun.
Bond:8 Villain:7 Femme Fatales:7 Henchmen:8 Leiter:8 Fights:7 Stunts/Chases:7 Gadgets:5 Auto:6 Locations:7 Pace:7 overall:6.5
Base of Galactic Science Fiction :: SCIENCE FICTION CINEMA :: Semi-Science Fiction Films :: Super Agents - James Bond and his ilk
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