Live and Let Die (1973) | Moore and More Moore

Sean Connery may have finally hung up his coat and hat with Diamonds Are Forever, but in a few short years, Bond was back with Roger Moore as 007 in 1973. Moore fared the waters of major motion pictures better than Lazenby, and he was able to survive comparisons to Connery and the struggles of playing James Bond. In fact, he loved playing the character and is tied with Connery for playing Bond the most times on the big screen. Nevertheless, the Bond franchise is measured in eras and Roger Moore's era begins with Live and Let Die.

People perhaps remember the theme song for the movie, by Paul McCartney, better than the movie itself, but Live and Let Die is very immediate in how it lets you know that this is a different James Bond with a new look and style. Roger Moore was the oldest actor to play the character—Bond is supposed to be in his 20s. As you might expect, the physicality that was present in the action of the earlier films—including On Her Majesty's Secret Service, when Lazenby was only 29, is toned down a bit. Bond still throws some punches, but his methods of espionage or dispatching foes are not quite like it was, for better or worse.

When I was younger and lacked a sense of humor and apparently didn't enjoy fun things, I didn't like the Moore movies. I thought they were too goofy with all the one-liners, gadgets, and cartoonish villains. Since I've refined my tastes, however, I've come to appreciate them a great deal more. And much like how Goldfinger set the stage for the franchise in a lot of ways, Live and Let Die sets the stage for Roger Moore's era as James Bond.

Pros

Moore's Bond quips are clever and fun
Some good practical effects in specific spots
Fun chase sequences in buses, planes, and boats
Lots of gadgetry for both the villains and Bond
Catchy theme song

Cons

Dr. Kananga is a strange and inconsistent villain
The voodoo and supernatural stuff is all played up a bit much
Sheriff character is extremely annoying and just lame
Once again, the plot is not well-disclosed in the film making it seem more complicated than it actually is

Plot & Thoughts

Live and Let Die opens with a few people being murdered in peculiar ways. When M debriefs James Bond (Roger Moore) in his apartment, we learn that those were MI6 agents or informants, and it's up to Bond to find out why they were killed and by whom. His leads bring him to Harlem in New York. While he’s riding to his hotel in the back of a taxi, an assassin shoots Bond’s driver with a poisonous dart, killing him instantly and with the intention of letting the car crash kill Bond. Obviously, if you wanted to kill Bond, you probably should just shoot him with a gun or use the poisonous dart on him, rather than the driver. Even if he was trying to make his death look like an accident, an autopsy would still likely show poison in the driver’s body. I point these nitpicks out because I would get hung up on these details as a kid rather than just enjoying the fun of the scenes. Remember not to take these movies too seriously.

After avoiding the car crash and wandering into a bar in the middle of Harlem, Bond comes face to face with Mr. Big, a drug trafficker who very quickly dismisses him and has his men attempt to kill Bond. Bond escapes with the help of a CIA agent and connects with his friend Felix Leiter (David Hedison). After going over a few details, Bond learns that Mr. Big is somehow connected with Dr. Kanaga (Yaphet Kohto), the prime minister of a fictional nation in the Bahamas. So, it’s off to one of Bond’s favorite locations to see what Kananga is up to. He eventually connects with another agent to continue his investigation.

Throughout the movie, there are frequent cuts to either a voodoo doctor or a woman reading tarot cards. These scenes are meant to add some magic and mystery to the movie. This is the only instance in which the supernatural is brought into the Bond franchise if you don’t count all the instances in which things get overly ridiculous. It takes a while to get there, but after Bond chases down his leads to the point of disclosing the entire plot it just comes down to…heroin smuggling. I think the supernatural elements are there to make Live and Let Die more interesting than it really is. The movie certainly does its best to make it more complicated than it needs to be, to the point that when the "master plan" is revealed, all I have is an honest "That's it?" sort of reaction. I personally think a drug trafficking operation is a little beneath Bond when it comes to the importance of a mission. Obviously, the investigation starts with murders, but when you consider that every other Bond movie up to this point had a lot more to do with potential wars, world domination, or genocide it makes the reveal of Kananga’s operation much less impressive.

My biggest gripe with the film—besides the attempt at trying to make the plot more complicated than it is—is how the villain, Dr. Kananga, is just inconsistent in his behavior. His obsession with Solitaire's (Jane Seymour) psychic readings makes him seem paranoid and neurotic. When that's no longer an option, he's less of the fearful paranoid drug lord and more of just a rage-fueled drug lord. When he finally appears in his last scene, he's extremely jovial and charming for no real reason. His plan doesn't involve a master stroke or anything that has been achieved for him to be celebratory. This is only the fourth or fifth time he's captured Bond, but he's never been this happy before, so it shouldn't be for that either. It's weird. I like Yaphet Kohto and I get the impression he was trying to make the character more interesting than what was in the script, but it just doesn't work.

It’s a shame Kananga ends up being so underwhelming as a villain because Live and Let Die starts interesting enough and has some good moments. How the various MI6 agents are assassinated is also pretty memorable. In particular, I like how the funeral parade that covers up a murder is used in the opening and then later in the film without being as explicit, which lets the audience know something the characters in the movie do not. Things get more interesting when Bond becomes the target of assassination. His brief time in Harlem is exciting and tense when he has to maneuver the car with a dead driver and when the very British Roger Moore finds himself in an African-American bar in the heart of Harlem. When Bond arrives in the Caribbean, he meets up with Rosie (Gloria Hendry) who is not entirely trustworthy for a number of reasons, adding to the tension of the espionage. This movie has some really high points and some not-so-great points. Live and Let Die makes up for his lesser qualities with some great action sequences.

While the vehicle chases in the Bond films didn't start to get exciting until On Her Majesty's Secret Service, they really stepped up their game for this one. Bond uses all sorts of vehicles to escape his enemies, including buses, planes, and speedboats. The sequence with the bus is impressive and fun, though a little brief. The big highlight is the boat chase, which is a significant chunk of the movie's run-time. The sequence is fast-paced with some impressive stunts involving big jumps, big explosions, and large swaths of land that Bond manages to skirt the speedboat over. It's easily the best chase sequence of the franchise up to this point in the series. It's so good, it gets better every time I see it. The only factor that mars its quality is the annoying Sheriff Pepper (Clifton James). He's just a random character who is portrayed like a hyperbolic caricature of a mentally disabled Texan in a position of authority, and he is given far too many lines. Somehow, Clifton James manages to get higher billing than everyone else in the movie besides Moore, Kotto, and Seymour, despite being completely irrelevant to the plot.

TL;DR (Conclusion)

Live and Let Die, while far from perfect, is a great introduction for Roger Moore to take on the role of 007. It has fantastic chase sequences, cartoonish villains, nifty gadgets, and a ton of puns from Bond. The plot gets more complicated than it has any right being, and it gets bogged down by the gimmicky supernatural stuff, but it's nonetheless a fun ride.

Hair of the Dog Bonus Drinking Game

The big gimmick of this movie is the psychic powers of Solitaire and how she can read tarot cards. Before we are even introduced to her character, tarot cards are being shown and read. Throughout the rest of the film, tarot is mentioned in the background or is the center of the conversation. This makes it perfect as a drinking rule; this may have been one of the easiest rules to come up with.