Live and Let Die (1973)
With Sean Connery once again retiring from the role of James Bond (this time his retirement would stay permanent though), Live and Let Die serves as a new beginning for the Bond franchise. Capitalizing on the popularity of the blaxploitation genre in the early 70's, Live and Let Die sends James Bond (Roger Moore) to New Orleans where a British agent has been mysteriously murdered. It is up to Bond to find out what is going on before he becomes a target himself. I do feel the need to preface the review by saying this is going to be looking at this film as a product of its time. Way past just the relationship this film and series has had with women this film, of course, could be part of a larger conversation surrounding the social impact of the blaxploitation era in film and where that is an important conversation to have it is not one I am going to get into here. I am going to do my best to focus on the film and look past the larger social conversation that one could have around it especially considering that once you get past the social issues one might have with the film it actually is a pretty good Bond movie.
One of the things that impressed me the most was Roger Moore as James Bond. Where George Lazenby did a good job with the role in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service when Sean Connery first stepped down from the role his performance did not quite stand the test of time and was overall forgettable. What Moore gives in this film is not quite as well rounded as Sean Connery it is a great start and knowing that he will have future films to really get the hang of this character is nice to know. The part he nails is the charisma of Bond, especially in this movie where it is really starting to lean on the side of camp it is important to have an actor who can work with that tone and not lose themselves in it. Where sometimes in the big badass scenes he can feel a bit off, overall Moore really worked with the tone this movie was trying for and I have full faith that he will only get better as time goes on.
Speaking of the tone that this film has, honestly, it is probably the best part of the movie simply because of how fresh it feels. The past few Bond films have started to feel quite dull, from the plot structure to the settings whatever charm was there from the early Bond films had definitely started to weaken but simply by changing the location and tone of this film to something new to the franchise it honestly breathes new life into it. Where the plot structure still is predictable most of the time it never felt boring or hard to sit through like it did in Diamonds Are Forever, for example. Where it didn't always feel super new plot-wise it always felt at the very least entertaining and fresh from a setting perspective. Some of the production elements really stood out in this movie, where the production design has its moments where it shines its the costumes from Julie Harris that really stood out in some scenes. The grandness and beauty that comes from some of the more extravagant pieces really blew me away and stood out as pieces of art at times.
Going into Live and Let Die I had very little hopes for these next few films after how dull the previous few have been but this really gave the franchise new life. Not only did it put Bond into a new setting that felt fresh but finally we are really starting to get into the era of camp that I am so excited to see the franchise go into. Where the actual quality of the plots might go down I am hopeful they will be fun enough to be enjoyable watches with creative and outlandish stories. After seeing these films try to be serious I am ready to see them get big and crazy.
Going into Live and Let Die I had very little hopes for these next few films after how dull the previous few have been but this really gave the franchise new life. Not only did it put Bond into a new setting that felt fresh but finally we are really starting to get into the era of camp that I am so excited to see the franchise go into. Where the actual quality of the plots might go down I am hopeful they will be fun enough to be enjoyable watches with creative and outlandish stories. After seeing these films try to be serious I am ready to see them get big and crazy.