Live and Let Die took the Bond Franchise into a new direction with confidence and certainty that it lacked with the release of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Coming off of the disappointing Diamonds Are Forever with it’s over the top silliness and camp, Live and Let Die has a much better mix of drama, action and comedy that helped turn some of the earlier films into classics. While Live and Let Die might not be in anyone’s top 5 Bond films, it was a very promising start for Roger Moore’s tenure in the franchise.
It’s never easy to follow the original, but Roger Moore took over the role of James Bond with gusto in Live and Let Die. He certainly seemed to come into the role with more confidence than did George Lazenby in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Right from the beginning, Moore took control of the role and made it his own. For the most part Moore’s portrayal of Bond isn’t as well liked as was Connery’s, but he should be given credit for being his own man and not trying to be Connery 2.0. Moore brought a different type of sophistication to the role. I’m not sure if it was the cigar, or the erect stature of his tall, lean body and well fitted suits, but Roger Moore carried himself more elegantly than did Connery who had more obvious sex appeal and magnetism.
As to the film itself, Live and Let Die is actually quite good, and it is much darker and grittier than any of its predecessors, and is quite unique in that it stayed away from the classic motifs of the Connery films and it used some themes that hadn’t been used before or since. The use of voodoo and the tarot give the film it’s darker edge and the New Orleans assassins and extended scenes in the alleys and streets of New York City give the film the type of grit that is unique to this Bond film. I think this is ironic because Moore seems to play the role with a lot more polish than did Connery, but this film lacks the polish of its predecessors.
Aside from the style of the film making, it’s got a very interesting story, interesting characters, and certainly better acting than Diamonds Are Forever. Yaphet Kotto is very effective as Kananga/Mr. Big, and his type of villainy (trying to corner the heroin market) is a refreshing change from the streak of Blofeld holding the world for ransom with a diamond laser or a sterility causing virus. This is a much simpler story that harkens back to Dr. No, but still has very high stakes, a ticking clock, and plenty of danger for 007.
This film also has a better than average Bond girl. Making her big screen debut, Jane Seymour played Solitaire, the tarot reading psychic who gains Bond’s affections. She isn’t as strong as Pussy Galore or as glamorous as Titiana Romanova or as spunky as Honey Ryder, but she plays in integral role in the advancement of the story and her character adds a level of depth to the film that few other Bond girls do. What she does have that other Bond girls lacked was a sense of innocence and vulnerability without seeming weak. All of that speaks to the depth of her character as well as to the depth of the film.
That’s really what I take away from this film is its depth. To me, this is the deepest Bond film to date. That doesn’t mean that it’s the best, because it isn’t. It is, however, the one Bond film that could stand alone due to the unique qualities of the story telling and its themes. Live and Let Die has a deep and multi layered story with characters that we care about and seem more realistic than those from earlier Bond films.
This film inhabits a different world than the other Bond films to date, and really the films that followed it. It’s a world that is gritty and serious, but doesn’t lack humor or action. Roger Moore makes a strong statement in this film as a worthy successor to Sean Connery, although many of his later films would belie that notion. Having seen all but one of the Roger Moore films, I would rate this film as number 2 behind The Spy Who Loved Me, which we’ll get to in a couple of entries. For now, based on this film alone, it would appear that the franchise was left in good hands with Roger Moore.
I would also be remiss if I did not mention the theme song. It was already established that popular singers would handle the theme songs for the films, but getting Paul McCartney to create what would become one of his best known songs was a major coup that sent the franchise in another direction yet again. Just 3 years after the break up of the Beatles, McCartney was one of the biggest stars in the world, and using him for the theme song on the reboot of the franchise gave it credibility. It also set the stage for major contemporary pop artists to lend their talents to the franchise for decades to come. Now there is good and bad to that, as not every artist is as timeless as Paul McCartney and some of the ensuing films will feel dated partly because of their theme songs. But it’s a new motif that will continue for decades and it started with Live and Let Die.