Com 007 Viva e Deixe Morrer

When Roger Moore debuted as James Bond in this film,he wisely decided not to imitate Connery {as Lazenby had done} but to approach the role differently. Moore's approach was far lighter,and,because the films also became lighter,this worked very well. It's easy to criticise Moore and the Moore films,for becoming increasingly silly and comical,and for getting further and further away from Fleming,but he and his films still provide plenty of entertainment.

Live and Let Die is one of his best. There are times when the film feels more like a 70s 'black' film than a Bond film,aided by George Martin's funky score,but it works,giving the film a fresh style rather than rehashing previous Bonds,although of course there are plenty of traditional 'Bondisms' too. Slightly unusual plot elements such as voodoo are well worked into the film,too. Jane Seymour's Solitaire is one of Bond's most intriguing women but her characterisation is somewhat muddled. The action,although not always that exciting due to the amount of humour,is pretty non-stop,highlights being chases by bus,car,plane and boat,and one sequence of Bond escaping from a small island by walking over alligators,is one of the great Bond moments,silly but totally cool. There are at least three other terrific stunts in the film,and much of the comedy is indeed funny,especially Sheriff J W Pepper. One can almost forgive the climax being such a damp squib.

Allegations of racism are ridiculous-the black villains are for the most part portrayed as being more competent than Bond! Not a perfect Bond film than,but a hugely enjoyable one and with the best non-John Barry theme song of the entire series!

Several British agents are killed in America and in the Caribbean. Despite the difference in how the murders occur they seem linked together by drugs. Bond begins to investigate and finds links between the American drug dealer Mr Big and the mysterious owner of a Caribbean island Kananga. While investigating Bond falls foul of both despite gaining the affections of Kananga's beautiful mistress Solitaire.

Roger Moore's first Bond is one of his best. The film wisely steps away from those regular bad guys the Russians and gets a new feel by actually having non-white main characters. The plot is pretty good and doesn't have the usual `take over the world' feel to it. There is plenty of silly stuff of course but the stunts are quite good and Bond has a new line in `eyebrow raised' humour.

Moore will never be the best Bond but he did make the role his own – adding an element of self-deprecating humour to the role. Yaphet Kotto is a good actor and makes a good bad guy. Jane Seymour isn't convincing as the mystic property of Kananga – she really should have been played by a black actress and it shows a lack of bravery on the side of the producers that they went with a white face as the lead Bond girl. Julius Harris is good as Tee Hee and Clifton James adds some comedy value as J.W. Pepper.

Overall this is one of Moore's best Bond movies and certainly stands out from previous films with numerous Russian baddies. Also the theme music is a really fun song from Wings.

Live and Let Die was Roger Moore's debut as 007 in 1973.

As a whole, it's not a bad movie. Moore is okay in his first outing as James Bond, but the role was still written with Connery in mind. It would take two more films before Moore really settled in the role.

The storyline isn't that good and the villain isn't very convincing, nor is the Bond-girl Seymour.

But the great stunts make up for something and the fun that Moore brings to the role, makes that Live and Let Die is way better than Diamonds Are Forever.

It's fun to note that though Moore was in '73 already 5 years older than Connery was in '71. Still, Moore looks younger. A new era has begun.

After all the physical stuff with Sean Connery, Roger Moore will always be the true James Bond to me. Understated humour and a lot of Britishness. I love it. And, needless to say, Jane Seymour is positively enchanting.

And none the worse for it, since every Bond film needs a fresh spin on the same old formula. Roger Moore's first outing as JB is, in equal measures, comical and action-packed. You'll never get bored. But it's definitely the weirdest Bond ever with loads of utterly bizarre moments.

It begins with M turning up at JB's house in the early hours while he's pumping some Italian agent for information (don't you just love his initialled dressing gown). Before sending him to America to investigate a Harlem pimp known as Mister Big he delivers some gadgets from Q-Branch, including a very useful watch. Q himself, or Major Boothroyd if you want to call him by his proper name, doesn't make any appearance in this one.

Standing out like a Muslim in an airport, almost every single black person JB encounters in Harlem is on Mister Big's payroll. And they've got a seemingly endless bag of tricks to play on him. The funny thing about Moore is that he's very proper and British and doesn't think anything of walking into a tough Harlem bar while dressed up like the Duke of Edinburgh. His stunned reactions when they mess with his head are seriously funny.

The action then moves to Lousiana and a savage Caribbean island as JB uncovers a massive heroin plot. There's a particularly long speedboat chase across a bayou where JB encounters Sheriff J.W. Pepper, the most stereotypical southern redneck ever. Think of Texas Businessman from The Simpsons and you get the idea. JB also gets to dodge a hundred hungry Gators and do, many times over, Solitaire, Mister Big's Tarot card reader.

I'm not sure what kind of formidable villain uses a Tarot card reader to help him do business but when you also surround yourself with a hook-handed maniac called Tee-Hee, a quiet fat guy called Whisper and a seemingly unkillable voodoo high priest called Baron Samedi then you really do become a serious baddie. Right? He even goes on a big speech about how his master plan works before attempting to kill JB slowly. Obviously this makes much more sense than just shooting him right away. When will they learn?

Despite being the oldest actor to debut as Bond (at 46), Moore does look younger than Connery. And while Sean was gruff and Scottish, Moore is perpetually calm and refined, even in the face of danger (fingers being chopped-off, snake in the bath, being eaten by gators/sharks). Everything that the British once thought they were. He has a certain sarcastic edge that the other Bond actors lacked. While some of his films may have been the sillier of the franchise, Moore has always been my favorite. And the massive revolver and holster he uses at the end is so much more masculine than the usual, wimpy as hell, Walther PPK.

And, as much as I am no fan of Paul McCartney, you gotta love that theme song! Exciting and iconic at the same time. And also yet another juxtaposition in the weirdest Bond movie ever.

MI6, Harlem, Pimps, Paul McCartney, Gators, Heroin, Voodoo, Snakes, Sharks, Clairvoyance, Rednecks, Afros, Fake Afros, Fillet of Soul, Human Scarifice, Scarecrows and a small-headed man in a Top-Hat who lost a fight with chickens. Is this a Bond film or did the whole world just go insane?