Live and Let Die (1973)

Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Why so much hype?

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Movie Review: "Live And Let Die" (1973)Director Guy Hamilton (1922-2016) exceeds himself with the third James Bond movie under his direction by cutting back on the overloaded special effects spectacle from 1971 with "Diamonds Are Forever". Film producers Albert R. Broccoli (1909-1996) and Harry Saltzman (1915-1994) manage to keep the production budget steady at 7 Million U.S. Dollar, when introductions with 45-year-old actor Roger Moore (1927-2017) as the "New Bond" takes place at the main character's private London apartment. MI6 headmaster "M", performed with wit, humor and focus by actor Bernard Lee (1908-1981) arrives with secretary Moneypenny for a morning coffee, while "007" hides a short-lived love interest in the closet. The mission briefing by "M" sends "007" on a trail of a new menace after "Blofeld", out-going from the one and only "James Bond" appearance on the streets of New York City to this very day, finding narcotics-trading underworld boss Kananaga aka Mr. Big, given face by actor Yaphet Kotto in an highly motivated performance as Bond nemesis in the realm of shifting restaurant walls, gun-disabling metal claws by the antagonist's sidekick and an ambience of mystical themes surrounding the art of tarot and dark forest voodoo celebrations to finish with the 2nd interior moving train action scene that makes "Live And Let Die" already one of the best "Bond" pictures out of total seven appearances for an very British and elegant-looking actor Roger Moore as "007".The title song nominated by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Science (AMPAS) composed by Paul and Linda McCartney and performed with the band "Wings" brings high emotions with classic credit titles embedded in feminine faces, dance, skulls and fire, when the character of James Bond once again keeps his footing down to earth with a minimum usage of gadgets by "Q" branch."Live And Let Die" becomes the first James Bond movie to be released on U.S. domestic market in the Summer of 1973 on June 27th, a week before the official European premiere to count another increase of 8.5% in worldwide revenues for Eon productions and their successfully-transcended new face of "007" for the next 12 years to come. © 2017 Felix Alexander Dausend (Cinemajesty Entertainments LLC)

A combination of a 1930's serial mentality mixed in with deliciously silly comedy, this entry (the first of 7 with Roger Moore) goes back to the ideas first seen in "Dr. No". It has no limit to the outrageousness, having an opening where three agents are killed in nefarious ways, making Bond the next target. The world of black magic is explored, but there's much more to it than that. Bond faces some nefarious foes, including snakes, sharks and distantly related crocodiles and alligators, always in the most hysterical of ways.Joining Moore here is the beautiful Jane Seymour as a tarot card reader named Solitaire and Yaphet Kotto as a particularly sinister bad guy with some diabolical ways of dispatching his enemies. From the FDR Drive in Manhattan to the streets of New Orleans to the bayou (for a most delightful boat chase involving hick sheriff Clifton James), this will have you both laughing and on the edge of your seat. This is a crowd pleaser for sure, with the scene stealing Geoffrey Holder literally getting the last laugh.

This is the first Roger Moore Bond film of the seven, and guess what: it's pretty terrible.The plot is that Bond, after the killing of a few British Secret Service agents, is investigating the organization of a Dr. Kananga , who is planning to take over the market of heroin and become rich after giving away a whole boatload of it for free. No really, it's that simple. It's not even that big a threat. Goldfinger's scheme was way more threatening because it would have affected so many people. Here, only people who actually buy drugs will get affected, and not everyone buys drugs. On a side note, Bond causes the fortune-teller girl, Solitaire (the genuinely sweet Jane Seymour), to lose her virginity thanks to a ploy of his where he has a card deck where every one of those cards says that they'll be lovers. Later, when Bond asks for information about Kananga, Solitaire can't use her powers because she'll lose them if she has sex (Not a wise decision, Bond!) Now Bond also has to defend her from Kananga.Being the second actor to play Bond after Connery, there are some noticeable differences, not just in appearance, but HOW he plays the character. First off, he looks more British than George Lazenby, which is already an improvement, and plus, he doesn't try to mimic Connery. His Bond is more light-hearted and slightly warmer (only slightly). However, this approach also means that Moore's Bond gives off SO many puns and one-liners, they get tiresome very quickly. Moore's performance also seems too calculated, like he's trying to figure out what to say and when and how to say it. He doesn't look like the most confident guy in the room. All in all, in this film Moore is a competent, if not outstanding James Bond.But there's more to come in terms of the film's flaws. Let me start by saying: blaxploitation elements and racial stereotyping. All of the villains are African-American, and they seem to enjoy getting back at "the white man." Many times throughout the film, Bond is called a "honky" by the villains and a lot of the African-American culture portrayal in this film is terribly offensive. Bond becoming a Japanese man in You Only Live Twice is mild compared to this. There are "voodoo" rituals that look stereotypical and plus, there is a scene where Solitaire is set to be sacrificed by the people who perform these rituals, and this scene is probably the most offensive of all. It's right up there with the scene in The Birth of a Nation (1915) where a sex-crazed African-American man (portrayed with "blackface" by a Caucasian man), is chasing a teenage Caucasian girl in the woods and trying to force her into marriage. This stereotyping and offensive imagery makes the villains really annoying as well, especially the villain with the hook for a hand called Tee Hee (even more offensive name), who's always smiling and laughing like an a**hole. Plus, not only is this stereotyping offensive, but it makes most of the African-American characters (except maybe the ones who are working with Bond) seem fake, and it doesn't allow the film to have its own identity, and makes it seemed much more dated than other Bond films.In addition to the blaxploitation and offensive stereotypes, there is also a lot of unwanted comedy, thanks to Clifton James' Sheriff J.W. Pepper, who would also appear in the next Bond film. James would also play a similar character in Superman II, although not nearly as annoying. He comes off as a racist and seems to fit a poor Southerner stereotype; he's also too much of a goofy character and causes a very good action scene to go on too long. As previously mentioned, Moore's constant puns and one-liners don't help either.I will admit that this does have a good trap where Bond is stranded in the middle of a small island with crocodiles and alligators and even his watch gadget isn't able to help him. However, like with other traps and prisons, there happens to be a convenient way for Bond to escape, by stepping on top of crocodiles as stepping stones and somehow not falling in.All in all, this is easily one of the worst Bond films I've seen (and I'm only halfway through with the franchise; I sort of started watching these out of order). Goofy comedy, annoying villains, a plan that isn't dangerous enough to care about, and some of the most offensive portrayals of African-Americans and possibly people in the Southern states I have ever seen. Not recommended in any category. Besides the boat chase (before the introduction of Sheriff Pepper), the only other good thing to say is that Jane Seymour is so sweet as Solitaire, and she brings such a warm personality to the character, especially after she and Bond sleep together. It makes me wish she was in another, better Bond film, or even a better film, period.

The best movie I saw of Bond with Roger Moore at the helm.Bond has to stop a Black drug dealer, who works with voodoo and witchcraft. An interesting and far better proposal than to blow up the world with nuclear weapons. The action scenes are electrifying enough and well assembled. The element of humor is here, and it is placed almost perfectly.If you talk about Jane Seymour, what a beautiful woman, with a cleavage to make a woman very envy. The crocodile scene is one of the best in movie history.The villain is one of the best I've ever see in the bond franchise,a villain that had a great desire to kill innocent people. A villain who deals with drugs and disgraces the lives of many. And still working with voodoo and witchcraft, could not exist anything better. Excellent and cohesive proposal. I highly recommend it.