TIL that Paul McCartney wrote a Bond theme song for
LIVE AND LET DIE, in which Bond must fight that voodoo juju as he battles with a tinpot island dictator with nefarious plans to monopolize the American heroin trade.
We enter a new era with a brand new vibe as we meet Roger Moore as the new James Bond. Smart filmmaking to upend the heretofore established precedent in the setup as well - for the first time we have M and Moneypenny coming to Bond's house for a mission briefing - everything feels new and this helps us get on board with Moore's bond without too many lingering traces of Connery. It helps that from the get-go Moore does his own thing. The more I think about it the Lazenby reminded me of a store-bought Connery, a very similar vibe in some ways in his one-off visit. Moore is totally different - I get no sense he's trying to carry anything on from Connery. Moore definitely reads younger - he starts as an older Bond, he's mid-40s here in his first appearance, but he looks younger at 45 than Connery did at 35. Good thing to since Moore will be sticking around til well in his 50s I believe. Moore feels like our first real "British" bond. I didn't realize how much of the Scots bluster Connery had (even in his suave way) - until we get someone a little more straitlaced, a little bit more a stiff upper lip - hard to describe, there's just a more quintessential British nature about Moore. He still carries an acceptable level of suave, but it's enough of a difference from what we've seen before that I'm able to get on board with it. He's a little vanilla in this movie, playing it pretty simple, but that's okay - it's a good place to start and grow into the role over the course of his run.
The plot of this one is on par with Diamonds are Forever. In places it was totally forgettable, stopping an island dictator with plans to take over the US heroin market is fine and good but lacks any world-shaking punch (but again - Bond can't be saving the world every time. I'm truly fine with these relatively more "normal" plots). This movie is helped along by the unique feel of New Orleans, the fictional San Monique Caribbean island, and the supernatural elements throughout - a lot of voodoo, tarot cards, downright spooky stuff. I can't pretend to know a lot about the blaxploitation aesthetic in filmmaking of this time period, but there is a lot of that in this one as well. I'm not qualified to judge how well it's handled - or how well it's aged - but it sure is interesting in its own way, giving the straitlaced British a more fish-out-of-water feeling that other films have done.
Observations
- Paul McCartney's theme song is totally forgettable, but it sounds like something Paul McCartney would write. It might be a song that would grow on me on it's own, but it doesn't crack the top echelon of Bond themes for me for sure
- The hillbilly LA sheriff character who shows up is just - ridiculously over the top. There's silliness, there's cheesiness, there are overt caricatures, and then there is whatever this guy is doing. I've never wanted any character in a Bond movie to die more than this guy.
- I'm picking up on a pattern, where the more music there is in any given sequence or even movie as a whole, the better it is. There are a few chase scenes in this one (including a long and pretty well done boat chase scene) - anytime the music kicks in the whole thing just clicks that much more. Any stretches sans music just feel like they are missing something. More music, all the time!
- I have TOTALLY forgotten to keep up with the Bond Bonk count. I've been tracking, just not including - a quick recap -
- ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE - Lazenby gets it 4 times with 3 different girls
- DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER - Connery is getting old, twice with the same girl
- LIVE AND LET DIE - Moore has a strong start with 4 Bonks with 3 different girls.
This brings us to 26 bonks with 20 different Bond girls. Let's see if Moore can keep this pace up!
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