Review of Live and Let Die (1973) by Chris G — 27 Nov 2008

Roger Moore takes over the role of James Bond in Live and Let Die, which has Bond spending most of his time in the Western Hemisphere as he investigates the connection between a Caribbean prime minister and an American drug lord.

What's interesting about Live and Let Die is that there are supernatural aspects in the film, mainly with red hot Jane Seymour's portrayal of the tarot card reading Solitaire. These aspects don't overpower the film that has really become a love it or leave it entry into the series, most of which comes from the public's obsession with Sean Connery as James Bond. Yaphet Kotto plays the lead baddie Kananga as almost a black Blofeld, cool instead of aristocratic.

Live and Let Die is as fast paced as they get. You have to remember that Roger Moore's Bond and Connery's Bond are different, yet the same. It's still Bond. The only real problem with the film is how racist it can be perceived to be. Imagine that instead of SPECTRE you are saying that the entire black populations of Harlem and New Orleans are involved in an international drug conspiracy. Yeah, this was before the P.C. world we live in now. But overall Live and Let Die is a great action flick with Moore taking the role smoothly.