If I plan this out correctly, I can still finish this Bond film commitment, though I may have to do some double features over the course of a few days. That aside, I am still cranking through these Bond films and enjoying them all over again as I watch the development of this wonderful franchise.
As I enter the Roger Moore era of Bond, I felt a sense of comfort as Moore was the Bond I grew up on and when I say that, I realize I wasn't born in the 70s, but it happened to be the era that my mom most enjoyed and as such she placed me on a serious diet of Moore/Bond adventures and these were the films that I remember so much as a kid.
Roger Moore's first scene as Bond happens to be in bed with a woman (surprise), an interesting way to introduce a new Bond. Perhaps producer and writer alike wanted to segue easily without pulling a technique they used with Lazenby in OHMSS. This is also the second time we get to see Bond in his home, a very different one from the penthouse we saw in Dr. No. Yet it is still an invitation to see a little glimpse of the personal side of a man whom we are used to seeing saving the world over and over again. Bond does have a place he calls home even though he is having to travel the world to exotic locations. He even has a coffee pot.
As soon as Bond lands in New York, action occurs right away. His driver is killed by a poisoned dart and Bond is forced to drive the car from the back seat. Bond hijacks a double-decker bus and cleverly disposes his pursuers. He also engages in the longest boat chase I can remember.
Live and Let Die also has one of the most beautiful women in the series: Jame Seymour's Solitaire. This was her first film role and being 22 at the time the film was released, you could tell she would be a bombshell as she got older. In fact, Jane is still one of the classiest women in Hollywood today. Rosie Carver, considered a Bond girl though she turns out to be a spy working for Kananga, does not come close to the sexual appeal of Seymour. In fact, Carver's character becomes so annoying, it's no surprising Kananga kills her less than an hour in.
Live and Let Die was practically a 180-degree from Diamonds Are Forever. Live dealt with voodoo, an already dangerous, taboo subject. It dealt with interracial relationships and pushed the envelope with how dark a film Bond could be. In fact, I know off-hand that this is the only Bond film to deal with the dark arts. The topic is able to write its own intensity because conjuring up demons and magic potions through interpretive dance is already creepy enough. B+
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