Bondathon: Live and Let Die

“Bond is a brute…he won’t last into the much more flashy and flowerchild based 70s.”

That’s a loose quote of what many people told George Lazenby back in 1969 after the shooting of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, and it was those words that eventually caused him to quit the role. No one can blame them for having that mindset. Peace and love was on everyone’s drug-fueled mind. How can you manage to keep up a gun-toting, destruction-yielding secret agent in those types of times?

You make him a lover, a fun and funny lover.

Roger Moore was an ideal choice for James Bond. He had starred before in a similar role on the highly popular television program, “The Saint,” back in the 1960s, and was even on the cards at possibly playing the role when Connery gave up after You Only Live Twice. Moore projected a new image into the role. Whilst Connery promoted good looks mixed with charm, which got him around the affairs, and Lazenby used wit, Moore was more suave. He was handsome, he was smooth with the girls, and he threw quips around left and right, but all not without still being a badass when he needed be. It was due to all of this that Bond still stayed afloat during the 1970s and the first half of the 1980s…a time I’ve taken to calling, “The dark era of Bond.” But I’ll explain that more as we go on. First, let’s deal with Moore’s first film in the foray, Live and Let Die.

Live and Let Die was made in 1973…the eighth film so far, and the first (of many) starring Mr. Roger Moore. From the moment that the gunbarrel drops and we see our first glimpse of the pre-credits scene, you can tell right away that there is a different tone going on. It’s grittier (can you use, “gritty,” to describe a film in the 1970s?), it’s more down to Earth (in a literal sense) than Diamonds Are Forever. Three British agents have been killed in a matter of days in three different locations: New York, New Orleans, and in a small Caribbean island known as San Monique. Bond, naturally, is sent to investigate, after an introductory scene that more or less describes Moore’s tenure as Bond: his first scene is him in bed with a girl.

When Bond arrives in New York, he meets up with what is by far my favorite Felix Leiter in the whole of the series, portrayed by David Hedison (who actually is the first to return to the role at a later date…but once more, when the time comes), who fills him in on the Prime Minister of San Monique, Dr. Kananga, as well as a friend of his, a gangster known as Mr. Big. Bond infiltrates Mr. Big’s hideout, and scrapes death, however, he makes it out alive. 

After a trip to San Monique, Bond finds his way to Kananga’s home, where he finds a girl he met back at Big’s club, Solitaire, played by the gorgeous Jane Seymour. Solitaire’s specialty is tarot card reading, which she does so to help tell the fortune of Kananga. Bond seduces her through the use of a deck of specially made cards that tells that him and Solitaire are lovers. However, this means that Bond has taken Solitaire’s virginity, which played a key role in her fortune telling. Bond escapes the island with Solitaire, and they make it back to New Orleans…only to fall into a trap. Bond makes it out by way of airplane (though not in the way you’d expect), and back to Mr. Big, who reveals himself to be Dr. Kananga in disguise. His plan is the release free samples of what is quite possibly the best heroin in the business for free, and end up putting many other dealers out of the business.

Bond eventually finds himself back with Solitaire, and they enter Kananga’s lair, after seemingly destroying the heroin stock. After being captured, Kananga ties the two to be eaten by sharks, however Bond breaks free by use of his buzzsaw watch, and kills Kananga with an inflatable shark bullet.

So, you’ve got a more standard Bond film with this one. The only absurdities that come with it are due to the large Voodoo plot around the whole thing. It’s a nice start for a new actor, however, as time goes on, you’ll find that Moore’s era will be the complete opposite of, “down-to-earth.” The plot in this installment, however, being not very outlandish, also isn’t really spectacular. Bond going up against drug lords doesn’t exactly excite as much as Bond going up against a super mind in a volcano lair.

I’ve already described Moore perfectly, but how about the rest of the cast? Jane Seymour is as pretty as she is talented. Her presence on screen is much appreciated, as you actually get the feeling that this girl is very much in danger after Bond has his way with her. Yaphet Kotto’s Kananga isn’t a very remarkable villain, but he’s still a good actor, and I’ll give him that. I’m absolutely in love with Hedison’s Leiter, as he portrays the man exactly how someone would imagine a CIA officer who’s helping Bond. The secondary cast, while not exactly full of breakout roles, still manages to keep the film afloat.

So yeah, pretty much a home-run on your first run for Moore, looking aside some plot difficulty here and there. It’s a good start for what is one of the longest tenures in the Bond film franchise. But, however, good looks don’t last long, as we’ll see next week. But as for now, I’ll be giving Live and Let Die a solid 4 out of 5 stars.