Live and Let Die

Release Date: July 6, 1973

Rated PG for violence and sexual innuendo

Directed by: Guy Hamilton

Starring: Roger Moore, Yaphet Kotto, Jane Seymour, Julius W. Harris, Geoffrey Holder, David Hedison, Clifton James, Gloria Hendry, Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell

Plot:
In his first turn as James Bond, Roger Moore infiltrates a gang of narcotics smugglers in voodoo-infested Jamaica. His daring exploits lead him on a number of incredible chases. James Bond returns in: "The Man With the Golden Gun." Academy Award Nominations: Best Song ("Live and Let Die").

Review:
One actor can't play Bond forever and the time came for Sean Connery to bow out. Even though Connery didn't leave the role with a bang, he is still the best James Bond. Why you ask? He is the best James Bond because Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger and Thunderball are not only among the best Bond films, but of spy thrillers ever made.

Those films were packed with every element that made a bond film succeed. Connery played Bond to perfection until he started lacking in performance by the time he made You Only Live Twice. The scripts weren't as powerful either until On Her Majesty's Secret Service came along which was a brilliant addition to the series. Then of course Diamonds Are Forever which ends up being one of the weakest in story.

Now comes to time for a new actor. Lazenby tried to be exactly like Connery and he ultimately failed in distributing a solid performance. With the new James Bond, Roger Moore, he brings a new sense of style to the series and makes the character his own. This film takes a different direction then the Connery films and doesn't follow the Spectre angle. Spectre has been somewhat deleted in Live and Let Die and new villains, new bond girls and more action is delivered.

One of the main things that the Moore films brought was more action, but still stuck with story and the great humor that everyone eagerly anticipates to hear. By the humor I solely mean the one liners and strange occurrences with 007 himself. Roger Moore does it so well that he in fact is the funniest bond from all. Besides humor Moore has this incredible suaveness and can talk his way out of many situations, not too add he is amazing with the ladies.

Completely smooth, funny, but at the same time rough when he had to be was Roger Moore. Good looking a well, at least up until Moonraker. In Live and Let Die Moore also seemed too suave for his own good that it ended up hurting his performance a bit, not by much, but you can definitely tell the difference between his performances in this film and the following films he made. With that said, he still made an impact and brought an acceptable change to Bond.

Now, if there's a film more different than any other bond film than that can definitely be Live and Let Die. This is because some of the films running time is set in Harlem and it brings a problem with racism so to speak. The African Americans look at Bond suspiciously because hardly any whites enter the area. To add to that fact, there are scenes that have to do with murdering whites and placing them in a casket. That's a scene that I won't get detailed with because it needs to be experienced with and there is no need to spoil it.

This brings up the main villain for Live and Let Die which is Dr. Kananga who is played by actor Yaphet Kotto. Many know him for his role in Ridley Scott's Alien in which he played the character Parker. Quite a menacing villain he is and there are drug links between himself and Mr. Big that are being dealt with undercover, but of course its not long before James Bond does something about it.

This brings up the bond girl in Live and Let Die who is actually Kananga's tarot reader. She reads tarot cards and can tell the future and that's exactly what Kananga uses her for. Solitaire is the woman's name and is played by actress Jane Seymour. To say Jane Seymour is beautiful in this film is an understatement. Not only is she entirely beautiful and innocent for that matter, but also believes whatever the tarot cards tell her. If you know Bond well, then you know he has something up his sleeve with that matter and he does just that.

Characters is mainly what makes Live and Let Die succeed as a whole. The story is completely solid, but manages to succeed. Other characters to add are Baron Samedi who is a very odd and strange, but fun character played by Geoffrey Holder. Rosie Carver is also an African American played by actress Gloria Hendry. And possibly the most annoying character to some, Sheriff J.W. Pepper who is played by Clifton James.

J.W. Pepper is a cop in Live and Let Die and he later appears in Moore's next bond film The Man With The Golden Gun. Some can find him as great comic relief and others can see him as plain annoying. Whichever way you see it he was involved in this film and provides a handful of laughs. If to sound completely out of context, he has a constant saying of "Boy!" Characters as such are what brought the film to life though and therefore having many memorable elements.

The music in Live and Let Die is excellent, and the main theme, Live and Let Die by Paul McCartney and Wings is arguably one of the best theme songs from the series. It is a great song and is played throughout the film in different versions as well. The great themes continued and the Moore era was the best time for bond theme songs.

As shown in the beginning of Live and Let Die, this marks the second time we see Bond's house. The first was in Dr. No of course. This time we find him with a woman who is almost caught by M when he entered the house talking to Bond about his next mission and authorities. Moneypenny why yes she saved the day on that scene.

Live and Let Die is a good start for actor Roger Moore. He is welcomed to continue playing Bond and does so for six more films after this one. This film combines many elements of the bond formula and is only missing the Q scene, but he is mentioned by Moore and Q provided Bond with a good amount of gadgets. If you are looking for a fun bond film and laughs, Live and Let Die is a good choice, but Moore gets better as he continues.