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In my review
of Casino Royale I neglected to
mention the fact that I am not a big Bond fan. I am ashamed to admit
that I have yet to see Sean Connery
as Bond. (Don't worry, I do have one coming soon). I planned on
reviewing the first appearance of each actor as Bond in chronological
order, but either I or Netflix goofed. So I'll review them in the order
I get them
When James
Bond (Roger Moore) investigates the murders of three fellow agents, he
soon finds himself a target, evading vicious assassins as he closes in
on the powerful Kananga (Yaphet Kotto). Known on the streets as "Mr.
Big," Kananga is coordinating a globally threatening scheme using tons
of self-produced heroin. As Bond tries to unravel the master mind's
plan, he meets Solitaire (Jane Seymour), the beautiful Tarot card reader
whose magical gifts are crucial to the crime lord. Bond works his own
magic on her, and embarks on a series of adventures, involving voodoo,
hungry crocodiles and turbo-charged speedboats. (Taken from Yahoo
Movies)
This was a
horrible movie. Not bad, just plain horrible. With a slightly ludicrous
plot and actors that over dramatize everything, to unexciting speed boat
chases that go on for way too long, Live and Let Die takes
Blaxploitation films, Bond films and even a healthy dose of Smokey and
the Bandit and tosses them into a blender. What comes out is not easily
palatable. Almost every black person in this film thinks they are pimp
daddy, except for the ones who act whiter than I do, lol. The boat chase
is a ridiculous uninspired sequence that uses the same trick over and
over again. Interspersed is some extremely unfunny scenes with Clifton
James as a Louisiana Sheriff that gets caught up in the chase. I swear,
him and Buford T Justice could be brothers. Needless to say it didn't
fit in the film. Actually, what didn't fit was Bond himself, lol.
The only
good thing in Live and Let Die was Roger Moore, Yaphet Kotto and Jane
Seymour. I can see why Moore lasted so long as Bond. In his first outing
he has the suaveness and charisma it takes to be Bond. Too bad it is
wasted on such drivel. Yaphet Kotto plays Mr. Big over the top so it's a
good thing that it is revealed that he is really Kananga relatively
early in the film,. And, if you are gonna complain about spoilers for a
movie that is over 30 years old, just stop, I don't want to hear it. As
Kananga he played the super villain almost perfectly, not manic or over
zealous. He knows what he wants to do and doesn't need theatrics or
insanity to do it. What was a surprise was seeing the credit
“introducing Jane Seymour” at the beginning. In LALD she is beautiful
and begins to show the acting chops that will make her one of the more
successful actresses of the day. Ok, so I'm exaggerating a bit. It can't
be that difficult to be a Bond girl right? Wrong. It must take something
and whatever it is Gloria Hendry didn't have it. She plays whiny CIA
agent Rosie Carver who can't do anything well but look good in a bikini
and die.
Bottom line
– I believe that this is a Bond film for hardcore fans only. Although I
understand that the later Moore Bond films became campy and cheesy,
Moore's performance in LALD has peaked my interest in seeing some more
of him as Bond. Any recommendations? For the non fans, go see Casino
Royale!
This was the
Special edition and came with a few extras. Most interesting was a
documentary on the making of the movie. They talked about the crocodile
farm that inspired the croc scene as well as how the owners name,
Kananga was given to the villain. Actually, the documentary was more
interesting than the film. Aso included were a few commentaries, and the
original trailer.
Note to
filmmakers – If you are going to have a guy with a claw for a hand, put
a brace on his wrist so it doesn't move around.
Keep
reading,
Mitch E
Strangef8_633@yahoo.com
Best Lines:
Cab
driver: You know where you're going?
James
Bond: Uptown, I believe?
Cab
driver: Uptown? You headed into Harlem, man!
James
Bond: Well you just stay on the tail of that jukebox and there's an
extra twenty in it for you.
Cab
driver: Hey man, for twenty bucks I'd take you to a Ku Klux Klan
cookout!
Felix
Leiter: [on the phone] Yes, Mr. Bleeker... I KNOW you "can't just
glue the wings back on." And now, Mr. Bleeker, I'm sure there's no need
for name-calling.
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