Director: Guy Hamilton
Year of Release: 1973
Should you watch it? Nope
Why?
Holy fucking shit. Even by James Bond standards, this stands out as one of the most wildly unpleasant racist and sexist movies. I mean. Holy shit. There could be a whole column devoted to all the ways in which this movie is racist in both big and small ways. I feel like the only succinct way of describing just how racist this movie is, is to point out that a cringe-inducing first half sequence involves James Bond going to Harlem and meeting black people. And by the end of the film, it is positively quaint in comparison to what you experience afterwards from watching the whole film. The most generous thing you can say about Live and Let Die is that the film represented an awkward transition from the tone of the Sean Connery era to the Roger Moore era and somehow ended up here.
How is the Bond?
Roger Moore is really not bad here, but it feels like he is doing a Sean Connery impression more than anything else. He did seem perfectly at home at the new zanier and kookier stuff they were rolling out in this film. It implies that he will be fine as the movies get goofier over the next decade-ish.
How is the Bond Woman?
Jane Seymour plays a virgin psychic held captive by Yaphet Kotto. She loses her powers after losing her virginity to James Bond. She then is the damsel in distress that James Bond must save so she is not destroyed by “the bad black people.” It’s quite insane. This somehow seems more demeaning than some of the early Bond women who simply wore bathing suits and that was the extent of their character.
How is the Bond Villain?
It’s hard to imagine anyone was ever wasted more by a James Bond franchise than the late great Yaphet Kotto. I mean I guess you could never say he was given “nothing” to do so that gives him an advantage over some others I’m sure. But man, it just felt so demeaning to ask him to do this shit. I don’t know. The dude deserved better.
Does the film irresponsibly present the West as the hero of the world and thus promote imperialism and colonialism as inherently positive?
Yes.
The Reel World 