Bond Secret File #8 - Live And Let Die

Introduction: 5/10 The pre-title sequence sets up the main plot as three British agents are systematically killed; this will later become Bond's mission to discover if there is any connection between the three murders and if so who is behind them. It's not a great opening to the film in comparison to some of the very classic Bond openings of the past, but it does manage to setup the story. As for the title sequence, it was way too flashy for me and the theme song didn't help.

Title Song: 2/10 Live And Let Die has the worst theme song so far, I'd rather have the On Her Majesty's Secret Service score over this, as it's an ugly duckling compared to previous Bond themes. Performed by Paul McCartney & Wings, the song sounds more like a modernized Beatles pop/rock song. This pop/rock genre doesn't mesh with the current state of the Bond franchise but only adds to the corniness of a film weighed down by very heavy disco vibes.

When you were young and your heart was an open book, you used to say live and let live, (You know you did, you know you did, you know you did) but if this ever changing world in which we live in, makes you give in and cry,

Say live and let die! Live and let die, live and let die, live and let die. What does it matter to ya, when you've got a job to do, you gotta do it well, you gotta give the other fellow hell!

You used to say live and let live, (You know you did, you know you did, you know you did) but if this ever changing world in which we live in makes you give in and cry,

Say live and let die! Live and let die, live and let die, live and let die.

Bond: 6/10 Roger Moore takes over the drivers seat after the second and final official departure of Sean Connery "the one and only Bond", as you can see I have a little bit of a bias opinion on who the best Bond is. For some strange reason there are a lot of people who actually consider Roger Moore to be a better Bond, I will never understand that. My main problem with Moore is he's more the Hugh Grant of James Bond, while Sean Connery was the Russell Crowe. There is no comparison between Connery and Moore, Moore is too "prissy" and not as dynamic an actor, while Sean Connery was suave and gritty. Roger Moore seems to act more like a more like a stuck up British guy who performs Shakespeare. While I'm not a Roger Moore fan he doesn't do a horrible job I just wasn't overly impressed with his first performance as Bond.

Main Bond Girl:

Solitaire: 6/10 Played by a very young Jane Seymour in one of her first major roles, Solitaire is a fortune teller who works for Kananga, who loses her abilities to foresee the future after sleeping with Bond. Solitaire is the best aspect of the film as she's stunningly beautiful, yet on the opposite end of the spectrum her character isn't useful, always getting kidnapped and becoming dead weight when it comes to helping Bond out. Solitaire is definitely the most useless Bond girl so far, but at least she is hot!

The Villains:

Dr Kananga/Mr. Big: 4/10 Another fairly weak villain, Kananga is seen mostly handing out orders and trying to appear angry, his other identity as Mr. Big isn't any better. The best thing about Kananga is what happens to him at the end of the film, which was tremendously corny yet at the same time extremely hilarious.

Tee Hee: 7/10 Much better than the main villain, Tee Hee is quite the menacing character with his prosthetic hook. The character is also decent comic relief (look at his name) and is by far the most menacing villain of the film.

Total Rating : 5/10

Overall (Including Film Rating) : 4.5/10
4/10