LIVE AND LET DIE

CAPSULE REVIEW –– Every once in a while one needs mindless entertainment and the Bond films are perfect in that regard. Since I've already seen most of the Connery flicks, I decided to check out Moore's first take on the super suave, super spy role. What a difference an actor makes. Granted the plot here is not very sophisticated or original, but I just didn't care for Moore's portrayal as Bond. He could seduce the ladies with the best of them, but he's so neat and reserved that I didn't buy him as a physical threat to the villain. He's just too soft. The tone of the film is also very tongue-in-cheek, giving the impression that he's winning because he's supposed to instead of from any great ability on his part. Yaphet Kotto is cool as Mr. Big, a Caribbean drug lord poised to take over the world. His weakness/belief in the foreseeing powers of a certain Tarot-card reading virgin, played by Jane Seymour, is what eventually does him in. Bond plays a part in his demise as well. The action sequences are few and far between and except for a boat chase through the Louisiana bayou, nothing special. The gadgets are boring, the humor obvious – though occasionally funny – and the inevitable deaths of the villains some of the silliest stuff to ever grace the big screen. A mediocre outing at best. Bond fans deserve better.