Director: Guy Hamilton
Screenplay: Tom Mankiewicz, based on the novel Live and Let Die by Ian Fleming
Starring: Roger Moore, Jane Seymour, Yaphet Kotto
Running Time: 121 minutes
Genre: Action, adventure, spy
British secret agent James Bond (Moore) is assigned to investigate the deaths of three agents, and finds himself embroiled in a world of gangsters and voodoo curses as he attempts to stop a powerful drug dealer's plot to flood America with free heroin.
This is the eighth film in the evergreen James Bond series, and the first of seven films to feature Roger Moore as Bond. Unlike his beloved predecessor in the role Sean Connery, and even George Lazenby, Roger Moore never really came across as a bruiser, but he did have charm, and a nice line in laconic humour, and it was in the Moore period where the James Bond films became increasingly bizarre, and seemed to be played more and more for laughs. Live and Let Die is one of those films which I enjoyed watching as a child on Saturday evenings or during the Christmas holidays, when for years it seemed a Bond film was as much part of the festive TV schedules as Carols from Kings or The Snowman. However, watching it as an adult, it is hard to ignore it's flaws. For one thing, it doesn't really feel much like a Bond movie, at times feeling like an odd parody of a "blaxploitation" film, particularly in the scenes set in Harlem. Yaphet Kotto was a good actor but, as drug lord Katanga aka Mr. Big, he comes across more as an irritated businessman, and his sidekick Tee Hee (Julius W. Harris) with a pincer-topped artificial arm, just isn't as impressive as some of the previous outlandish villains. However, Geoffrey Holder is striking as voodoo priest Baron Samedi, and is one of the most memorable aspects of the film, although he has too little screen time. Jane Seymour is very good as the psychic Solitaire, who reads the tarot cards for Katanga, and whose psychic powers seem to depend on her remaining a virgin. Needless to say, they don't last very long once Bond appears. Moore himself is suave enough, but never really seems to be bothered by anything that happens to him or anyone around him. His treatment of Solitaire, effectively tricking her into bed, is pretty cruel, even by Bond's standards. There are also strange apparently supernatural elements, Solitaire seems to be largely accepted as being genuinely psychic and Baron Samedi seems to come back from the dead. Looked at now, the film feels really dated, and probably wouldn't [ass muster with modern viewers. Also, lest we forget, the film's low point comes with the annoying comic relief Louisiana sheriff (Clifton James). The film does have it's moments though, the opening theme song by Paul McCartney and Wings is pretty good, and there are some great action scenes, particularly the speedboat chase which is still pretty exciting.
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