**

In short, this film is colossally stupid. But more importantly, the BOND producers have given all of us BOND fans a new actor to portray Agent 007. It is none other than Roger Moore, who had been picked years earlier to replace James Garner on MAVERICK. That bit of casting didn't work and neither does this one. For anyone who's been paying attention, my own BOND website clearly shouts to all who come here that Sean Connery IS the man. But to quote a former coworker and fellow BOND fan, "Roger Moore is a twinkie" compared to Sean Connery's James Bond. Even Roger Moore's own son calls Connery's portrayal the "real" James Bond. Despite all of this, Roger Moore can make a very good Agent 007, albeit, only within two of his later BOND film efforts. However, in this particular BOND film, Moore's performance falls rather flat. He won't get it right until his third effort in 1977.

I'm not against Roger Moore being cast as James Bond as much as I'm totally against his particular interpretation of 007. In a collaborative effort, both he and the BOND producers are aiming very low and always going for the cheap laugh rather than cool thrills. James Bond became blander and sillier within this particular partnership. It doesn't help matters when a hack like Tom Mankiewicz replaces the true BOND screenwriter, Richard Maibaum. All of these ingredients predictably come together in yet another overblown, disjointed and sophomoric mess. Except this one takes on the look and feel of a Grade Z Blaxploitation nightmare come true. It never ceases to amaze me how the likes of Yaphet Kotto and Geoffrey Holder could be caught acting in such an insulting and embarrassing movie such as this. Despite all of his Black Power politics in other matters during production, Kotto should have been demanding a better script that didn't contain any condescending material.

Why not jettison the tired heroin smuggling plot and the stereotyping of Harlem and New Orleans? How about striking out voodoo death rituals where white men and women are terrorized by crazed snake-wielding witch doctors? On a similar note, let's negate all loose jowled camera mugging and gratuitous eye rolling. At the same time, let's forget about any unconvincing Scooby Doo style villains in cheap disguises. Instead, why not have a supervillain who just happens to be African? For a smuggling plot, instead of drugs let's have said supervillain traffic in rare gold coins which are hidden within poisonous tropical fish tanks. The funds raised here could be used for some nefarious counterintelligence type activities. For added flavor, let's have a tropical island setting where said supervillain exerts absolute control over its inhabitants because of a voodoo cult belief that he also happens to be a certain mythical Baron Samedi. But then we would be right back to the Ian Fleming original and little hacks like Tom Mankiewicz would be out of a job. ' Nuff said.

To be perfectly honest, this film is only an excuse for some juvenile kinetics involving cars, boats and planes. In short, this pastiche is only thinly grafted with a sophomorically stereotyped storyline, which is sporadically sprinkled with low brow humor and sexual innuendo. To further realize the depths the filmmakers were willing to sink to, one only has to read Roger Moore's James Bond Diary concerning the making of this film. Yes, Virginia, grown men actually made this garbage. But you're probably wondering why I give LIVE AND LET DIE two stars instead of one. Well, it's somewhat sexist and hypocritical of me, I admit. Jane Seymour's Solitaire is a delight upon the eyes. She is sweet and exotically sexy at the same time. I like that. I hate to confess this, but I find Clifton James' J.W. Pepper to be a real hoot. The only time I laugh out loud while enduring this flick is when J. W. spouts, "A secret agent! On whose side!?!" Admit it: you all laughed.