JAMES BOND - LIVE AND LET DIE: DVD Review

By Mitch Emerson

In my review of Casino Royale I neglected to mention the fact that I am not a big Bond fan. I am ashamed to admit that I have yet to see Sean Connery as Bond. (Don't worry, I do have one coming soon). I planned on reviewing the first appearance of each actor as Bond in chronological order, but either I or Netflix goofed. So I'll review them in the order I get them.

When James Bond (Roger Moore) investigates the murders of three fellow agents, he soon finds himself a target, evading vicious assassins as he closes in on the powerful Kananga (Yaphet Kotto). Known on the streets as "Mr. Big," Kananga is coordinating a globally threatening scheme using tons of self-produced heroin. As Bond tries to unravel the master mind's plan, he meets Solitaire (Jane Seymour), the beautiful Tarot card reader whose magical gifts are crucial to the crime lord. Bond works his own magic on her, and embarks on a series of adventures, involving voodoo, hungry crocodiles and turbo-charged speedboats. (Taken from Yahoo Movies)

This was a horrible movie. Not bad, just plain horrible. With a slightly ludicrous plot and actors that over dramatize everything, to unexciting speed boat chases that go on for way too long, Live and Let Die takes Blaxploitation films, Bond films and even a healthy dose of Smokey and the Bandit and tosses them into a blender. What comes out is not easily palatable. Almost every black person in this film thinks they are pimp daddy, except for the ones who act whiter than I do, lol. The boat chase is a ridiculous uninspired sequence that uses the same trick over and over again. Interspersed is some extremely unfunny scenes with Clifton James as a Louisiana Sheriff that gets caught up in the chase. I swear, him and Buford T Justice could be brothers. Needless to say it didn't fit in the film. Actually, what didn't fit was Bond himself, lol.

The only good thing in Live and Let Die was Roger Moore, Yaphet Kotto and Jane Seymour. I can see why Moore lasted so long as Bond. In his first outing he has the suaveness and charisma it takes to be Bond. Too bad it is wasted on such drivel. Yaphet Kotto plays Mr. Big over the top so it's a good thing that it is revealed that he is really Kananga relatively early in the film,. And, if you are gonna complain about spoilers for a movie that is over 30 years old, just stop, I don't want to hear it. As Kananga he played the super villain almost perfectly, not manic or over zealous. He knows what he wants to do and doesn't need theatrics or insanity to do it. What was a surprise was seeing the credit “introducing Jane Seymour” at the beginning. In LALD she is beautiful and begins to show the acting chops that will make her one of the more successful actresses of the day. Ok, so I'm exaggerating a bit. It can't be that difficult to be a Bond girl right? Wrong. It must take something and whatever it is Gloria Hendry didn't have it. She plays whiny CIA agent Rosie Carver who can't do anything well but look good in a bikini and die.

Bottom line – I believe that this is a Bond film for hardcore fans only. Although I understand that the later Moore Bond films became campy and cheesy, Moore's performance in LALD has peaked my interest in seeing some more of him as Bond. Any recommendations? For the non fans, go see Casino Royale!

This was the Special edition and came with a few extras. Most interesting was a documentary on the making of the movie. They talked about the crocodile farm that inspired the croc scene as well as how the owners name, Kananga was given to the villain. Actually, the documentary was more interesting than the film. Aso included were a few commentaries, and the original trailer.

Note to filmmakers – If you are going to have a guy with a claw for a hand, put a brace on his wrist so it doesn't move around.

Keep reading,

Mitch E
Strangef8_633@yahoo.com


Best Lines:

Cab driver: You know where you're going?
James Bond: Uptown, I believe?
Cab driver: Uptown? You headed into Harlem, man!
James Bond: Well you just stay on the tail of that jukebox and there's an extra twenty in it for you.
Cab driver: Hey man, for twenty bucks I'd take you to a Ku Klux Klan cookout!


Felix Leiter: [on the phone] Yes, Mr. Bleeker... I KNOW you "can't just glue the wings back on." And now, Mr. Bleeker, I'm sure there's no need for name-calling.