MovieChat Forums > James Bond > What so great about Live and Let Die?

What so great about Live and Let Die?


I find it to be one of the most overrated Bond movies. I have watched it a few times, cause I do like the action scenes overall, but the rest of the movie is pretty forgettable I think.

The villains look good and I like how they all have distinct clothes and looks, where as in other Bonds, they all look so much the same. However, I find that the villains plan was not very interesting. In fact the villain hardly had any plot at all. He wants to give away a billion dollars worth of heroin, to get people hooked, and then start charging higher rates, to the addicts, to drive other mafias out of business... if I got that right.

But the movie never really does anything with this idea. All Bond has to do is go to the island and blow it all up. It's just all way too easy and simple. If they would have actually made a bigger plot out of the villain's idea, then we would have an interesting story.

LTK for example, made much better use out of the druglord plot, involving other mafias, as well.

But I feel that LALD die hardly has any good plotting in the script. Bond arrives in New York, only to have no pay off from it whatsoever and then he goes to San Monique. But might have just as well went to San Monique to begin with.

Then he goes to New Orleans after rescuing the girl, only to get caught at the airport, by the villains. But then escapes, and goes to the restaurant later. But then he is recaptured at the restaurant.

So they might have well just have written it so he is captured at the airport, instead of having him escape, only to be captured again a few minutes later. He keeps ending up right back where he started cause the writers were trying to turn a 30 minute idea, into a 2 hour one.

The Bond girls themselves were over all weak and banal as well, especially Rosey Carver, who is not only a double agent, but she actually carries a tarot card, saying that she shouldn't be trusted. What kind of a deceiver, does that? So therefore, why is this one so well liked?

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It's been awhile since we had a thread about Live and Let Die; the last one I remember was back during the spring. I don't recall reading heavy praise, but I assume some of us here like Live and Let Die because it's a lightweight, fun Bond film that doesn't take itself too seriously unlike some of the Daniel Craig films. Other reasons are perhaps because of nostalgia.

By no means is Live and Let Die a great Bond film, at least to me. Kananga was okay as the villain, but Baron Samedi and Tee Hee Johnson outshine him. Jane Seymour felt wasted as Soltaire, but she was beautiful in this film. It had some well-staged action set pieces especially the boat chase sequence, though it gets drawn out. Roger Moore makes a fine introduction as James Bond, and the title song is one of the series' best even thought its leitmotif is repeated way too many times.

It had the action, Roger Moore, probably some of the dialogue, and the theme song going for it.



What we do in life, echoes in eternity.

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It's the funniest Bond film, Solitaire is an underrated Bond Girl, and like you said the action sequences are good. All in all a perfectly fine Bond film.

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The action sequences are good, but not as good as the better Bond movies. As for being a turn your brain off Bond movie, the writing still feels very lazy. Even the dialogue is questionably cheesy. Like one bad line being when the cab driver says "I'll take you to a Ku Klux Klan cookout", or something along those lines.

As for a fun lightweight Bond movie, it's not up there with Tomorrow Never Dies, Moonraker, You Only Live Twice, or Diamonds are Forever. It is too lightweight possibly.

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I like most of the dialogue. Especially the cabbie including the cookout and, yes, Sheriff Pepper (though his presence didn't make sense in TMWTGG). All in all it's a fun movie.

What I don't like about LALD is the supernatural/voodoo angle that is not redeemed by some scientifical backdrop. Stuff like that shouldn't be in a Bond film. Yes, and Kananga's demise was questionable. Plus some minor gripes with, say, the 007-backed Tarot cards.

But altogether, totally enjoyable, better than at least three other Moore films (TMWTGG, OP, AVTAK) and way ahead of the dump end.

--
Ceterum censeo OCTOPUSSY esse delendam.

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I agree with you on a lot of points. But it is far better than DAF.

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Mankiewicz was great with dialog and, much like DAF, LALD is stuffed with incredibly witty and memorable quotes.

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Because it was a catchy, cool Bond debut in a cool era of cinema but your post is overwhelming me with millennialisms that could set off a radiation scanner.

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The only good thing about LALD was the title song. Otherwise it was HORRIBLE!!!!

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You think my complains are minimal? Maybe, but I feel their are a lot of them here and there, where they pile up.

I agree that it's better than TMWTGG and AVTA, but I don't think I would put it ahead of OP, since OP has an actual plot structure by comparison.

As for the voodoo elements, I didn't mind, since it was in the book, wasn't it? Plus the only voodoo magic is Baron Samedi disappearing and reappearing. Magicians do that in magic shows in real life, so the magic isn't far from reality at all really, or at least I figure.

As for Sheriff Pepper, I actually think he's funny and thought he was one of the better elements in some ways.

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