Live and Let Die (Special Edition)
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Movie Reviews of Live and Let Die (Special Edition)
Movie Review: An action-packed, yet thought-provoking Bond flick
Summary: 4 Stars
Roger Moore's debut as Bond, in terms of quality, is a so-so outing, as was expected. Moore brings about an aura distinct with that of Connery's. The Bond that Connery portrayed was more of the consummate professional type, serious, rather impatient, edgy, relying more on toughness and innate resourcefulness to see him through. On the other hand, Roger Moore concentrates on the finesse side of Bond. He is debonaire, more intuitive, more blueblooded in the sense he is articulated and sophisticated, and a definite poster child on what it is to be a British gentleman secret agent. Moore reflects the 70's, where poise and style rules and therefore more adequate than Connery to play Bond in this point of time. Live and Let Die lays the foundation of this revolutionized Bond attitude the next six films, with Moore at the helm.Although Live and Let Die wasn't quite anything truly special in terms of overall story quality, besides Paul McCartney & the Wings' eerie, but memorable theme song, this film has to be one of, or if not Moore's most provocative and intriguing under his tenure as 007. First off, the mood and the pace of this particular episode has changed. Aside from the fact that the 70's feel prevails throughout, there is a supernatural, superstitious sense, a very foreign concept to the Bond series, even to this very day. There is a sense of mystery and unsettled emotion in Live and Let Die right from the get-go. Bond must investigate the enigmatic murders of three of his fellow agents: Dawes on the floor of the United Nations, Hamilton on a New Orleans street right in front of a funeral procession, and Baines who became part of a bizarre voodoo ritual on the island of San Monique. Getting a lead, 007 is on the trail for a Dr. Kananga, a UN representative of San Monique who "witnessed" Dawes' murder, while a Harlem kingpin Mr. Big (Kananga's other personality) gets in Bond's way. Bond also encounters an intriguing tarot reader, Solitaire (a very young Jane Seymour) who aids Kananga in foretelling the future. Bond is calm, cool and collected, amidst intimidation, inspired by the spiritual and supernatural circulating the movie and obviously, by Mr. Big's African-American organized crime machine. Successful in dispatching Solitaire's fears of the superunknown, Bond embarks on a mission to foil Kananga's plot to smuggle and distribute free heroin in an attempt to control the heroin market.
The most controversial aspect of Live and Let Die is obviously its stereotypical subject. Filmed during touchy times, naturally African-Americans are portrayed as the big, bad, baneful dirty criminals, selling or in this case, giving away heroin for gain. At the same time, blacks obtain somewhat of an irrational label, portraying voodoo as just that, an irrational, outdated religion. The relative uneasiness of race relations is focused on as well (i.e. Bond/Rosie's love scene, the "Billy Bob" segment) Whites aren't exactly exempt from exploitation either. J.W. Pepper, played by Clifton James, is the stubborn, tobacco-spitting, indifferent redneck Louisiana sheriff, in essence, mocking southern culture. And of course, Bond, the seemingly omniscient, refined white man conquers all.
Other than the relevant shortcomings, Live and Let Die is an action-packed extravaganza, meant to be taken with a good sense of humor. Moore elicits more of an over-the-top, lighthearted element to the film. Seymour's peformance as Solitaire is a definite bright-spot, as she plays out the innocent, vulnerable side of her character well. Yaphet Kotto's Kananga/Mr. Big is a competent villain who is seen off, Monty Python style and arguably is given the unenviable association with the worst death of a head villain in the Bond series. The supporting cast, in particular, Rosie Carver, Baron Samedi, and J.W. Pepper add a smart, eerie, and hilarious touch, respectively. And of course, the action scenes make up for its blatant flaws. A stellar speedboat chase, highlighted by Bond's crocodile-crossing stunt getaway before the chase even starts the chase, takes the cake, as the best sequence of the movie. All in all, a high-octane Bond adventure caper with an odd, but enticing supernatural kick.
Movie Review: A pretty low-key entry, but a big shift in the series - still has the best boat chase of them all!
Summary: 4 Stars
As with my reviews for MOONRAKER and GOLDFINGER, I am a little biased toward giving this movie a higher review simply for the nostalgia that it was one of the ones the local TV stations ALWAYS seemed to be airing when I was growing up.
Well, if you are going in order, this is of course the film that introduces us to Roger Moore as James Bond. Though he is not the first to replace Connery (George Lazenby did it first in the excellent ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE), he is the one to whom the torch truly passed, and he would occupy the role over the next 12 years, producing seven Bond pictures. I'm not going to get into the battle of who is the best Bond - I'm simply going to say that, of all the actors, Moore is the least like Bond. I like Moore and I like his movies - I just don't think they are really "Bond" movies the way Connery's and Dalton's were. Moore brought much more humor to the role - and of course, he seemed much older, even in this debut film, which always brought a slightly "dirty old man" feel to his movies, especially the last two or three.
However, Moore didn't really bring his full character to the franchise until SPY WHO LOVED ME - in this outing, he seems to be keeping rather aloof from the role, as though he's putting his toe in the water (much the way Brosnan die with GOLDENEYE). That's not to say it is a poor performance, just a little held back.
For Moore's debut, the producers picked Ian Fleming's second novel, and kept a very loose interpretation of it. The major change is that Mr. Big has no ties to the Soviet Union nor to SMERSH as he did in the novel. Here, he's just a drug runner. This would be Bond's first time out after an individual enemy, rather than against a spy syndicate as was the case with the Connery films. In fact, once the Connery era ended, so did the Spy vs. Spy plot of the films, only to return a handful of times down the road. So there are two big changes ushered in with this, the 8th film in the series.
But let's move along - Bond is absent from the opening scene for the first time since FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE - instead, we get a few murders of agents to set up the tension, reminescent of DR. NO. As the film progresses, Bond moves between New York and New Orleans (I think) trying to track down Mr. Big. Along the way, he becomes infatuated with Ms. Solitaire, Big's mistress. Jane Seymour fills the role as a young and attractive Bond girl who can actually act.
Other characters include the annoying Rosie Carver, a henchman who may in fact be an immortal Shaman, and another henchman with a metal claw for a hand.
The action is fairly sparse, but it leads to a lengthy and very well executed boat chase down a back-water Louisiana bayou. For all the gadgetry and explosions of some of the later boat chases, this one is still one of my favorites because of simple pace, editing, and those great shots of Bond jumping the roads from one pond do the next! LOVE THIS SEQUENCE!
Other action includes a fairly exciting chase on a Double Decker bus, a less-than-impressive car chase on a small airbase, and the usual shoot-out ending, this time in some VooDoo cult encampment.
Like I said, the film moves pretty slow overall, and it isn't always clear why Bond is involved with some simple drug-smuggling case, especially since they removed the SMERSH connection that made the book much more sensible - but it's still a cool movie if only for just giving Moore a chance to explore the character.
Like I said, I give it three stars for what it is, and a fourth star for simple child-hood nostalgia!
(Finally, in response to the previous review charging this movie with being racist - I just think it is interesting that in twenty other movies, Bond has toppled 20 other white villains and their white syndicates. Now there is this ONE black villain with his black syndicate (1 out of 20, mind you) and suddenly it is racism?! Well . . . anyway . . . I'll let you draw your own conclusions from there.)
Movie Review: Positively surreal Blaxploitation Bond
Summary: 4 Stars
And none the worse for it, since every Bond film needs a fresh spin on the same old formula. Roger Moore's first outing as JB is, in equal measures, comical and action-packed. You'll never get bored. But it's definitely the weirdest Bond ever with loads of utterly bizarre moments.
It begins with M turning up at JB's house in the early hours while he's pumping some Italian agent for information (don't you just love his initialed dressing gown). Before sending him to America to investigate a Harlem pimp known as Mister Big he delivers some gadgets from Q-Branch, including a very useful watch. Q himself, or Major Boothroyd if you want to call him by his proper name, doesn't make any appearance in this one.
Standing out like a Muslim in an airport, almost every single black person JB encounters in Harlem is on Mister Big's payroll. And they've got a seemingly endless bag of tricks to play on him. The funny thing about Moore is that he's very proper and British and doesn't think anything of walking into a tough Harlem bar while dressed up like the Duke of Edinburgh. His stunned reactions when they mess with his head are seriously funny.
The action then moves to Louisiana and a savage Caribbean island as JB uncovers a massive heroin plot. There's a particularly long speedboat chase across a bayou where JB encounters Sheriff J.W. Pepper, the most stereotypical southern redneck ever. Think of Texas Businessman from The Simpsons and you get the idea. JB also gets to dodge a hundred hungry Gators and do, many times over, Solitaire, Mister Big's Tarot card reader.
I'm not sure what kind of formidable villain uses a Tarot card reader to help him do business but when you also surround yourself with a hook-handed maniac called Tee-Hee, a quiet fat guy called Whisper and a seemingly unkillable voodoo high priest called Baron Samedi then you really do become a serious baddie. Right? He even goes on a big speech about how his master plan works before attempting to kill JB slowly. Obviously this makes much more sense than just shooting him right away. When will they learn?
Despite being the oldest actor to debut as Bond (at 46), Moore does look younger than Connery. And while Sean was gruff and Scottish, Moore is perpetually calm and refined, even in the face of danger (fingers being chopped-off, snake in the bath, being eaten by gators/sharks). Everything that the British once thought they were. He has a certain sarcastic edge that the other Bond actors lacked. While some of his films may have been the sillier of the franchise, Moore has always been my favorite. And the massive revolver and holster he uses at the end is so much more masculine than the usual, wimpy as hell, Walther PPK.
And, as much as I am no fan of Paul McCartney, you gotta love that theme song! Exciting and iconic at the same time. And also yet another juxtaposition in the weirdest Bond movie ever.
MI6, Harlem, Pimps, Paul McCartney, Gators, Heroin, Voodoo, Snakes, Sharks, Clairvoyance, Rednecks, Afros, Fake Afros, Fillet of Soul, Human Sacrifice, Scarecrows and a small-headed man in a Top-Hat who lost a fight with chickens. Is this a Bond film or did the whole world just go insane?
The DVD is in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen (this AR doesn't suit a Bond movie) with Dolby Mono sound and a fair whack of extras.
Movie Review: A Movie of Firsts for Bond
Summary: 4 Stars
This James Bond movie was a movie of multiple firsts. The first James Bond movie with a real rock song as the theme ("Live and Let Die" by Paul McCartney and Wings); it was the first major role for beautiful Jane Seymour; it was the first Bond movie where he was after someone other than someone out to take over the world; and of course it was the first Bond movie with Roger Moore in the title role.Some of the firsts worked really well. Jane Seymour is always lovely, and in this movie she was in her early 20s, looking absolutely stunning in a variety of costumes. The song by Wings is one of their most memorable and well-known. The other firsts had varying levels of success.
Roger Moore rolled James Bond back from the continuous one-liners doled out by Sean Connery in "Diamonds Are Forever", which was welcomed and at least temporarily prevented James Bond movies from becoming spy comedies. This Bond movie also temporarily abandoned the science fiction theme of the last couple of Bond movies under Sean Connery. However, as good a bad guy as Yaphet Kotto played, ultimately he was still a drug dealer and seemed barely a worthy adversary for Bond.
The other semi-welcomed change is the increased action of this movie. While the movie is advertised as being non-stop action, which it is, I wonder whether too much action is possible. Sean Connery's Bond generally had a well developed story to back him up, with ever-increasing plot complexity. It seems that much of the intellectual complexity was thrown out in this movie for the sake of continuous car and boat chases. Yet with all that, this movie is still a good Bond movie. Not the best, but not the worst either. The boat chase through Louisiana is exciting with at several novel crashes.
One thing I didn't mention earlier is that this movie turned out to be an excellent vehicle for a number of Black actors. In addition to Yaphet Kotto, Geoffrey Holder and Julius Harris played very memorable supporting roles. Gloria Hendry as Rosie Carver is also a very memorable Black actor, as she was the first Black Bond girl; Bond's kiss must have seemed somewhat shocking to audiences of 1973, not to mention when he made love to her. The one flaw in all this is that Blacks seemed to have gotten all the criminal roles, and very few of the law enforcement roles (only one that I can recall). While having equal opportunity as criminals, people of color should have been more dispersed on both side of the line.
With all its flaws, this movie still turns out to be a decent entry in Bond filmography. Roger Moore brings the styling of "The Saint" to James Bond, which was certainly a change for Bond. Furthermore, the opportunity was taken to bring Bond somewhat back to earth. Admittedly the elements of the supernatural, introduced for the first time in any Bond movie, were a bit unusual, but just as consistent as the science fiction in the previous Bond movies. Overall I would say this movie was an improvement over "Diamonds Are Forever", and certainly worth a bowl of popcorn.
Movie Review: A really good beginning from the Moore era, underrated--
Summary: 4 Stars
Live and Let Die is one of the most overlooked Bond films. Connery die-hards tend to abhor Mr. Moore, but his era, taken on its own merits, has quite a bit of fun to offer. Particularly for latter-day Generation X kids (born in the 70's), Roger Moore was the first Bond they got to know, and just as `legitimate' as Connery's portrayal.
The film takes various liberties with the original Fleming plot: Here, a multinational heroin operation is the scheme Bond has to foil, as opposed to smuggled gold coins; the scheme's country of origin is now the fictional caribbean isle of San Monique instead of Haiti; head villain Mr. Big is given the alter-ego of Dr. Kananga, prime minister of San Monique. The original novel, first published in 1954, arguably had dated/offensive depictions of black Americans and Caribbean culture, and was updated in screenplay by Tom Mankiewicz (who contributed to other Bond films, as well as the first two Superman features).
Aside from Bond, the main cast includes familiar faces Bernard Lee as M, and Lois Maxwell as Moneypenny. Jane Seymour makes her film debut here as Solitaire, the mysterious tarot-reader and advisor to Kananga. Paul McCartney's title song became a classic-rock staple, but viewers should take note of a scene where a lounge singer performs a Soul interpretation.
The towering henchman Baron Samedi is played by the stage-trained Trinidadian Geoffrey Holder, who went on to win two Tony awards in 1974 (for directing & choreography, respectively), and even `greater' acclaim as a 7-Up pitchman.
Another formidable foe, the metal-clawed Tee-Hee, is played by Julius Harris. He was a regular in several black-action genre films, with roles in Superfly, Black Caesar, Trouble Man, and more, eventually playing Idi Amin in a TV film by the end of the decade.
Clifton James is hilarious as the boisterous, chaw-spitting Sheriff J.W. Pepper. Broadly played, he would show up again in The Man with the Golden Gun.
The fight scenes and the chase scenes are very good, especially the boat race in the New Orleans bayou.
In this writer's estimate, there are some minor quibbles to be found:
1- Bond's gadget-master Q doesn't show up here; instead, M himself hands Bond a high-tech watch that will come in handy throughout the film.
2- Kananga/Mr. Big isn't as fleshed out as he could have been. It would have been interesting if more of his background had been revealed.
3- The final confrontation with Bond seems a little rushed (at least Scaramanga made time to chat with Bond over dinner before staging the `final' deathtrap). Dated special effects make the demise of the head villain unintentionally humorous.
Skeptics may decry Connery's absence, the bandwagon-jumping onto black-action (though several settings & characters legitimately come from the novel), and the vague camp sensibilities inserted into the series, but overall, this was a satisfying beginning to the Moore era of Bond.