MovieChat Forums > Live and Let Die (1973) Discussion > This guy, we see here, is the real Bond ...

This guy, we see here, is the real Bond - better than all the rest.

posted 11 years ago by hal-9010
23 replies | jump to latest

Think what you will about "Live and Let Die", but the Bond we meet here is in my opinion the real Bond. Never has he been better portrayed with such class, finesse, ruthless determinism and mysticism and yet also oddly grounded. I believe we see the same Bond in "The Man with the Golden Gun" and to a degree also in "The Spy Who Loved Me". He simply does it to perfection.

Roger is often sited to be the more lightheaded version, and this is true if we focus on his later instalments. But that too can be said of Connery, yet it is mostly his first movies he is remembered and credited for. But for whatever reason, I see more debt and mystical balance in the Bond that Roger Moore introduces to us in the "Live and Let Die" movie. Beside Connery's early Bonds, no other Bond comes close.

Indeed to most none-fans, Dalton is often ignored. Not fair, as his Bond at the very least holds a strong candle to the two greats. Lanzenby is famous for being not famous, and his Bond has a unique balance of the crude Connery Bond and the friendlier Moore Bond, and he does it very well too. Brosnan is a great charismatic actor but his Bond comes off as a little bland and not really good or bad, or especially intriguing. The latest Craig gives us a very solid action hero who can cry, but apart from that I don't see that je ne sais quoi that the Bond character demands. Since Dalton the Bonds have not really been anything more than good looking action heroes - which Hollywood already have given us in oversupply and from many other and perhaps even better sources.

The true spirit of Bond, and his almost magical presence and serene allurement was never better than Connery and Moore. I have just watched them all chronologically over a couple of weeks, and from my fresh perspective the Bond I saw in "Live and Let Die" blew me away - and I wasn't expecting it. This guy, we see here, is the real Bond and he is great.

** Nobody Does It Better **

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[–] McQueen1980 11 years ago

wow thats an amazing post. I will say that Roger Moore is easily my favourite bond and your sentiments exactly reflect mine. Moore is too often overlooked and while Moore is primarily charming and easygoing he can kick ass like the rest of them as well. In LALD he simply looks the part , yes exactly looks the part. great casting by cubby broccoli.

[–] marhefka 11 years ago

I have to agree with you in that the two best Bonds are Connery and Moore. I have them reversed though: Connery #1 and Moore #2.

[–] Captain_film 10 years ago

Sir Roger Moore brought more charm, wit and charisma to the role than Connery ever could. He is an inspiration to us all.

[–] franzkabuki 10 years ago

I find the popular contention that Moore is better at wittier, funnier, more lighthearted stuff than Connery, somewhat puzzling. It's obviously true that Moore's 'films' were more comedic than Connery's, but when it comes to actual comedic acting itself, then the Scotsman was in possession of considerable subtlety, timing and suggestive power whereas Moore's funny stuff always comes out more bland and obvious, sort of instisted upon. I'd say that overall, out of all Bonds, he only outranks Lazenby in terms acting skill in general (which isn't at all to say that I don't 'like' Moore, btw - I do. He's just a very limited performer).

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[–] robhiphop 9 years ago

Moore is effortless when it comes to his delivery of quips, which can be amusing, but I never did like the elements of broad comedy they attempted to inject into the Moore movies.

The prime example of what I'm talking about in Live and Let Die being the character of Sheriff JW Pepper, who is given an inordinate amount of screen time and is simply not funny, no matter how hard they try. The whole sequence plays more like one of those southern chase movies starring Burt Reynolds that came along a few years later, than it does something out of a Bond flick.

Somebody must've liked that character though, as they brought him back for The Man With the Golden Gun.

There are too many stabs at broad humour with the Moore Bonds and it invariably fails to hit the mark. If they had just stuck to the quips as the primary source of humour and ditched the more overt silliness, Moore would've been OK.

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[–] HetaAnma 9 years ago

Agreed. LALD is easily one of if not the best film in the series. It got it all right, and Moore's charm/and ruthlessness shown has still hardly been matched. Great film. Great Bond.

[–] king_cooler 8 years ago

He's just a limited performer

He's only limited in the Bond movies because that's what the scripts required. Roger Moore may not be one of the most diverse actors but in The Man Who Haunted Himself he proved there was more to him than the one dimensional raised eyebrow, one liner persona that he was in Bond or The Saint.

[–] slrussell1908 9 years ago

Well said OP to me Roger Moore iis the best James Bond he was the reason I read the books .

[–] geor1772 9 years ago

I don't even watch the Bond films with Connery! Roger Moore was made to be Bond!

[–] hal-9010 9 years ago

I think Connery is great in Dr No and From Russia With Love, but he (or rather Bond) did not impress in Goldfinger, and the last worth a note was his Thunderball. The rest of his are better left not too analysed.

On the contrary, Roger was solid through them all. His last; A View To A Kill is often stated as a bit of a miss, but Roger’s Bond, despite his age, was a badass son of a bitch. Cold Blooded and determined, just right. His Bond here was a great way to end it, despite what some might think of the movie. If I should critique Roger, it would be his playboy undercover persona in A View To A Kill, which I think was overdone to the point of taking a piss on it all. This, I would change or have him play less exaggerated.... but for a 12 year run, that aint half bad to have just one :)

___________
** I am normally not a praying man, but if you are up there, please save me Superman **

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] trprt77 9 years ago

I'm curious, how many of those who prefer Moore over Connery (or any of the Bonds) got their start with Moore?

I find it hard to fathom that anyone who got their start with Connery, especially Dr No or From Russia With Love could ever think Moore surpassed those roles.

I think even at his most buffoonish, Connery was more suited to the role than Moore ever was. In the books, Bond is often described as cruel and cold, something that Moore never, in my opinion, projected on the screen.

In a fictional matchup, I think Connery's Bond would wipe the floor with Moore's Bond, although Moore would probably have some better bon mots!

[–] hal-9010 9 years ago

Forgive my long answer, but you have quite a few good questions and observations.

I'm curious, how many of those who prefer Moore over Connery (or any of the Bonds) got their start with Moore?

Whomever we grew up with matters a lot. And I grew up with Moore (although my very first was with Connery), so I would be a fool not to accept this as part of my favouritism. The general consensus seems to pedestal Connery, and I do not think it is completely fair. Stop most none-fans in the street and ask them, and I will bet you they will either say the latest Bond (whomever he may be) or Connery. Stop most diehard fans in the street at I bet you most of them will say Connery or Moore... and a few will mention Dalton.

Of course Connery is great and he did after all help establish the personification we love to day. He was different, he was tough and he connected with male and female audience alike. Without him, perhaps no franchise and thus a completely different take on action movies in general in this day. I salute him for his part in cinema history. However, if scrutinized only three, perhaps four, of his seven Bonds films are imo still good.

When I wrote my OP I had just watched them all over a relatively short period of time and so I had a fresh perspective. I expected to favourites them both, but what surprised me is how wonderful I found Rogers version to be - even when meddled amongst fantastical elements like in Moonraker, his Bond came off solid and intense.

I find it hard to fathom that anyone who got their start with Connery, especially Dr No or From Russia With Love could ever think Moore surpassed those roles.

Indeed, it is very much a religion and to me too I guess. And I agree, those two are in the very top (in my top three for sure). But Connery was in more than just these two pearls and should be judged more broadly.

In the books, Bond is often described as cruel and cold, something that Moore never, in my opinion, projected on the screen.

Connery has this wonderful moment in "Dr No" where his ruthlessness shines through everything and you realise he is a force to be reckoned with. It is when he executes a guy in his bedroom the very second he got his needed info. A moment like this is far in between although imo Roger has quite a few of those, and if we put them back to back I think more than Connery. E.g. in the iconic Goldfinger Connerys most tough moment is a forced role in the hay.

To me, Roger Moore is ruthless in just the right amount, and you can hint madness behind his eyes from time to time. The more cheesy remarks are often in times of hard distress and so, in a way, makes him seem even more cold and calculated.

In his first installment he outright cheats a poor virgin to have sex with him. In "The Spy Who Love Me" he knocks a guy down off a roof the moment he get his info – not unlike how Connery did it in Dr No – but Moore does so a split second before he got the info; very cold. I don't remember seeing Bond this cold in any of them since... beautifully played. In "The Golden Gun" he has a fight with three men, where he beats one of them by hitting his head three times in to the wall – where one is clearly enough. This fight rivals the great train fight in From Russia with Love. Another of the finer moments is when Roger kicked Locque off of the cliff in "For Your Eyes Only"; also one of the coldest ever filmed in the Bond universe. The way he just stands there and looks at him when he does it. Another moment is when he threatened Rosie at gunpoint AFTER they had sex in "Live and Let Die" and with complete suave coolness says, "Make your choice?". "In A View To A Kill" he plays a playboy as part of his undercover and this undercover was done to animated for my taste. But upon rewatch and when he is himself in the frames (and not his undercover silly persona) he is unusual cold and his hatred towards Christopher Walkens character is intense....

In a fictional matchup, I think Connery's Bond would wipe the floor with Moore's Bond, although Moore would probably have some better bon mots!

.... they would meet for drinks and colour the night for their eyes only. :-)

___________
** I am normally not a praying man, but if you are up there, please save me Superman **

[–] hal-9010 9 years ago

In a fictional matchup, I think Connery's Bond would wipe the floor with Moore's Bond, although Moore would probably have some better bon mots!

Proof: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9C7yYomVuo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwz4v5SChiY
😎

___________
** I am normally not a praying man, but if you are up there, please save me Superman **

[–] geor1772 8 years ago

Absolurleyt not Connery puts me to sleep as Bond he doesn't have Moores panache and wit!

[–] CathodeRayTubesRock 9 years ago

Your post is well written but to me, Roger Moore, has the "gentleman" part of Bond but not the "ruthlessness". In my opinion Moore just does not have the physicality required to win a knockdown fist fight. His fight moves always seem tentative, without any real power.

Live and Let Die was, I believe, the first Bond film I ever saw at a theater. I enjoy the movie but Moore does not have much charisma. Just my opinion. Maybe the problem was that I saw him first in "The Saint" so always pictured him as "The Saint" playing at being bond.

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[–] hal-9010 9 years ago

I saw the whole bunch over a fairly short time when I wrote my OP and one of the things that hit me was how the Roger Moore Bond was not as I remembered at all. I too saw him as the general lighter and a more of a slapstick kind of spy, but it was not so...

Connery has this wonderful moment in "Dr No" where his ruthlessness shines through everything and you realise he is a force to be reckoned with. It is when he executes a guy in his bedroom the very second he got his needed info. A moment like this is far in between although imo Roger has quite a few of those, and if we put them back to back I think more than Connery. E.g. in the iconic Goldfinger Connerys most tough moment is a role in the hay.

To me, Roger Moore is ruthless in just the right amount, and you can hint madness behind his eyes from time to time. The more cheesy remarks are often in times of hard distress and so, in a way, makes him seem even more cold and calculated.

In his first installment he outright cheats a poor virgin just to have sex with him. In "The Spy Who Love Me" he knocks a guy down off a roof the moment he got his info – not unlike how Connery did it in "Dr No" – but Moore does so a split second before he got the info, very cold. I don't remember seeing Bond this cold in any of them since... beautifully played.

In "The Golden Gun" he has a fight with three men, where he beats one of them by hitting his head three times in to the wall – where one time is clearly enough. This fight rivals the great train fight in "From Russia with Love".

One of the finer moments is when Roger kicked Locque off of the cliff in "For Your Eyes Only"; also one of the coldest ever filmed in the Bond universe. The way he just stands there and looks at him when he does it.

Another moment that just came to my mind is when he threatened Rosie at gunpoint AFTER they had sex in "Live and Let Die" and with complete suave coolness says, "Make your choice?". She chose poorly.

"In A View To A Kill" he plays a playboy as part of his undercover and this undercover was done to animated for my taste. But upon rewatch and when he is himself in the frames (and not his undercover silly persona) he is stone cold and his hatred towards Christopher Walken's character is fierce....

What I am saying is that I would have agreed with you, but upon my revisit of the classics over a short time (aka fresh perspective) I realised how wonderful his Bond really was. Since Connery and him, we have not really seen Bond they way he was meant to be.

___________
** I am normally not a praying man, but if you are up there, please save me Superman **