Grade: C-
Synopsis: British agent James Bond (Roger Moore) investigates a drug smuggler with an eerily accurate Tarot reader (Jane Seymour).
Live and Let Die is the eighth installment in the long-running James Bond franchise, and the first to feature star Roger Moore as James Bond. Unfortunately, the film is also the weakest entry in the series up to that point.
Moore himself is fine in the role, looking younger than previous star Sean Connery, despite being three years older. While he may not have Connery’s rugged edge, Moore does bring the suave, though the decision to dress him in a wife-beater and polyester pants was ill advised to say the least.
That aside, the film’s big problem is the script, which never really grabs you. Aside from a great speedboat chase, the film just isn’t that memorable, and the exorbitant amount of screen time it devotes to comic relief in the form of Clifton James’ character seems better suited to a comedy than a spy thriller.
Granted, Live and Let Die does mark the first use of profanity in the Bond series, when an old lady says “shit”, and David Hedison makes his first appearance as Felix Leiter, a role he’d repeat sixteen years later in License To Kill (1989), making him the first actor to play that particular role twice, but neither of these trivia bits is enough to make this a must-see. Sadly, Live and Let Die is the first forgettable entry in the series.
