Maybe its because im burnt out from watching them all in order, but despite a new actor playing Bond, it seemed like a bit more of the same, a little less inspired than the ones before. It also had a really boring 30 minute boat chase that ground the story to a halt for me. I hope they find the balance again between action and story.

James Bond was going through a change in the 1970s… George Lazenby famously left before the turn of the decade. Sean Connery returned for his Bond payday but quickly left! The question on everybody’s lips was who was going to be the next James Bond? Enter the stage, Mr Roger Moore. Roger Moore had been touted around the Bond role for quite a while… His name was always mentioned when casting for the part of James Bond in Dr No, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and also Diamonds Are Forever! But would the fans accept him as Bond? What I admire the most from Moore’s first outing is his natural charm, or his “sheer magnetism”. It’s his way of delivering those one-liners that makes you instantly fall in love with this interpretation! Roger Moore may not necessarily be the best Bond (In some fans eyes, he is!) of the bunch, but dammit, he’s the most fun! When you sit down to a Moore film, you’re pretty much guaranteed to be in for a good time. He’s clearly having a ball in the role, and that feeling is infectious, no other Bond actor puts a smile on my face quite as big as Roger does! Live and Let Die is one of the more atmospheric Bond films, preferring the haunting of the supernatural to the realism of espionage… Frankly, the film is all the better for it! It’s definitely a very unique Bond film in the sense that it is considerably more darker than the previous films. Live and Let Die is also arguably the most controversial Bond film in the whole franchise! But do I consider this film to be racist? No, I do not, but ultimately I can see why some people may view it in that way… My only criticism is Bond’s rather creepy move in tricking the Bond girl, Solitaire, into having sex with him, at the time played by 20 year old Jane Seymour, the epitome of the English rose here. While I certainly don’t hold it against Moore, this scene really has NOT aged well! But at the end of the day, Live and Let Die represents the sign of the times and nothing more! The theme song by Paul McCartney & Wings is an absolute banger! As a big McCartney fan, this has always been one of my favourites! I just can’t get enough of those DUN DUN DUN! DUN DUN DUN! DUN DUN!’s on the soundtrack!

7.1/10 The biggest point to make about Live and Let Die is that Roger Moore is the new Bond. He’s good. Not as good as Sean Connery, but definitely better than George Lazenby. Otherwise, this is a fairly standard James Bond experience. It honestly felt pretty run of the mill. Well done action, good score, etc. Same old, same old. The formula is really starting to feel tired out here. Mr. Big was a somewhat interesting new villain. He was a solid replacement for Blofeld. The ending was cool, but it felt completely copied and pasted from From Russia With Love (at least the fight on the train did). I really am trying to find things to say about this film. It wasn’t bad, truthfully. It just felt so formulaic that at this point I’d just be a broken record.