THE EXPLOSIVE REVIEW

Starring: Roger Moore, Yaphet Kotto, Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell, David Hedison, Jane Seymour, Clifton James, Julius Harris, Geoffrey Holder, Gloria Hendry, Roy Stewart, Madeline Smith, and Earl Jolly Brown.

Directed by: Guy Hamilton.

Story:
This chapter pits Bond against a Harlem drug lord, Mr. Big, who is in the process of distributing a large amount of heroin, big enough to put rivaling drug lords out of business. Big also assumes the alter ego of a corrupt Caribbean Dictator in the fictional island of San Monique known as Mr. Kananga. This is the island where he farms his own heroin. Meanwhile, 007 is conducting the investigation of three British agents who have been murdered, with evidence pointing to Kananga. Bond finds himself up against gangsters, voodoo, and drug barons as he sees to it the end of the drug scheme.

Characters:
*James Bond (Roger Moore): Agent 007 with yet another new actor in the role. This time, he’s investigating three slain fellow M16 agents.
*Dr. Kananga/Mr. Big (Yaphet Kotto): The main villain who is a corrupted Carribean Prime Minister with a double identity as a drug lord.
*Solitaire (Jane Seymour): Bond’s love interest and Kananga’s girlfriend with psychic knowledge.
*Sheriff J.W. Pepper (Clifton James): A Louisiana sheriff who’s used mostly as a comedy gag.
*Tee Hee Johnson (Julius Harris): Kananga’s right hand man who has metallic pincer for one of his hands.
*Baron Samedi (Geoffrey Holder): One of Kananga’s henchmen who specializes in voo-doo and has many cult relations.
*Rosie Carver (Gloria Hendry): A young CIA agent whom Bond meets in San Monique.
*Whisper (Earl Jolly Brown): Another one of Kananga’s henchman who only speaks in whispers.
*Felix Leiter (David Hedison): A colleague of Bond from the CIA who is also after Mr. Big.
*M (Bernard Lee): Head of M16 Secret Service.
*Miss Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell): M’s secretary.
*Q (Desmond Llewelyn): Bond’s master of gadgets.

Overall:
This is where the 007 franchise proved that there could be life after Sean Connery. “Live and Let Die” is the eighth James Bond film in the series and marks the first casting as Roger Moore in the title role as well as the last Bond film from Director Guy Hamilton (who previously worked on three classic Bond hits, including the blockbuster “Goldfinger”).

“Live and Let Die” is James Bond’s response to “Shaft” as it was released during the height of what is referred to as the ‘Blaxploitation Era’ (referring to archetypes such as afro hairstyles, derogatory racial slurs i.e. ‘honky’, black gangsters, and pimpmobiles). Despite some of its racial tones, the film does mark the appearance of the first black Bond girl (Gloria Hendry) and interracial kiss which is a very positive aspect. The story also departs from your typical run-of-the-mill Bond super-villains, putting the focus on drug-trafficking.

While the racial elements may have added to the film’s poor reaction when it was released, that didn’t stop it from receiving highly positive reviews. It was definitely not a boring Bond flick and it certainly ranks up there in the top ten of Bond films.

Rating: ***