Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Live and Let Die’

Written by Scott Edwards

​A new Bond is here and here to stay. Roger Moore has taken the reigns from Sean Connery and turned 007 into more of a wise cracking hero than anyone could ever expect. With dead pan deliveries for some of the worst one liners, Moore is the new James Bond and the fans will forever feel that this is the way 007 should be played, he has the deliveries, the mannerisms and most importantly, the draw for both men and women to fall in love with and not feel bad about it.

After getting called back from his foreign affairs case, Bond is sent up to New York City to investigate a strange murder and he knows that he is in the right place when his driver gets killed. Being able to track the license plate of a pimp mobile, Bond winds up in a Fillet of Soul restaurant that does not cater to his type of crowd. Being swung into a gangster’s den, Bond makes eyes with the young woman sitting at a table reading her tarot cards. Introducing herself as Solitaire, Bond has found a new interest, but will have little time to pursue it when he is sent out to the alley to be shot.

Being able to escape with the help of a Harlem agent, Bond needs to find out more about Mr. Big and what his operations really are. Flying to San Monique to track a drug dealer named Kananga, Bond is greeted by a young double agent that is pretending to be his wife. Although he does not know what her game is, he is willing to roll the dice and see where it takes him. With a voodoo show going on outside of the bungalow, the practice is very strong in this region and with so many believers of it, many people will not dare to cross the living dead behind it. Finding that Kananga is about to distribute two million pounds of heroin in the United States, free of charge, Bond has to find a way to stop it. Confronting Kananga, Bond finds out that he is out matched and will have to find a way back to the States before the drugs are able to.

Trying to lay low in New Orleans, Bond is found quickly by Kananga and Solitaire is taken from his grasp. Being taken back to her home to be dealt with, Solitaire has lost her ability to read the cards and is of no further use to Kananga and his needs. Wanting to sacrifice her to the undead Baron Samedi, Bond will have to find a way to cause a distraction big enough to keep the ritual from going through. With little help on his side, Bond has to depend on his wits, his smarts and his winning personality to save the girl and more importantly, save himself.

I do have many movies that I fall in love with, and this is one of them. I do have a soft spot for the practice of voodoo in movies, along with dealing with the occult, but this movie brought it to life, and I have fallen for the cast. With Yaphet Kotto as Kananga/Mr. Big, Geoffrey Holder as Baron Samedi and Julius Harris as Tee Hee, this movie was destined to be a hit from the very beginning. Not to mention the recurring members of the Bond franchise. But the baddies made this movie great and believable from so many seasoned actors that you have spotted at least once in movies prior or after this one came out. Then not to forget a young Jane Seymour who just made you wonder if having your cards read was really not the right thing to do. Then you have one of the greatest water boat chase scenes in history on display and poor Sheriff Pepper is not able to believe his eyes when he loses his squad car to a misplaced boat by the bayou. This movie has so much fun, so much action and so much…. well, it is a Bond movie so you should be able to fill in the blank there. Just keep it Shaken, not Stirred.

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