release year: 1973
genre: James Bond
viewing setting: home DVD, 12/8/99
what I expected: n/a
what I got: decent first outing by Roger Moore
synopsis: Three agents have been killed, and Bond is assigned to find out why.
impressions: Not a bad first try for Roger Moore, but it wasn't a world-saving situation. There was never a sense of large-scale menace, simply danger to Bond himself. The villain here - Mr. Kananga - was just a heroin dealer implementing his plan. Of note in this movie: the 7-Up commerical guy, more cursing than in previous Bond movies, New Orleans, lots of Impalas on the road, snake in bathroom, Rosie Carver - worst CIA agent ever trained, voodoo, fortunetelling, henchman with metal hook for hand, crocodile farm, sharks, annoying redneck cop J.W. Pepper.
acting: Roger Moore turned in a good enough performance, but he obviously wasn't completely comfortable in the role. He did bring his own style to it, quipping one-liners and smoking cigars. Yaphet Kotto was a menacing, if simple, villain. Jane Seymour played a good, innocent girl. The J.W. Pepper character was over-the-top and irritating, and detracted from the movie.
chase scenes: 1 bus/cars, 1 plane-on-airfield, 1 good long boat chase through the Louisiana rivers/bayous
mass fight at end: NONE
neat gadgets: magnetic watch w/saw, tiny pressurized air pellet
confirmed Bond kills: 6
confirmed Bond nooky: 3, and he nailed Solitaire many times
obnoxious female name: Solitaire
defining Bond moments:
- very forward, just walks in and does what he wants (voodoo shop, bars, Solitaire's table)
- calmly puts on aftershave after killing snake in bathroom
- prepares for danger with cigar clamped in mouth
- doesn't bother to tell Rosie about the dead snake in the bathroom
- uses a fake tarot deck of "lover" cards in order to get Solitaire into bed
- uses chunks of raw meat to make a trail to lead alligator into the drug lab
- tosses deck of cards to distract henchman
quotable:
Solitaire: (to Bond, who just drew the "Fool" card) "You have found yourself."
Bond: (after being rescued from goons) "Harry Stratter, CIA. Where were you when I didn't need you?"
Bond: (after Rosie sees a tiny hat w/feather and screams) "Why, it's just a hat, darling, belonging to a small-headed man of limited means who lost a fight to a chicken."
Rosie: (staring at Bond's gun in her face) "But you can't...you wouldn't...not after what we've just done!"
Bond: "I certainly wouldn't have killed you before."
Bond: (in answer to Solitaire's request for more sex before he leaves) "Of course - there's no sense in going off half-cocked."
Bond: (in Kananga's headquarters) "Ah! An underground monorail. Connected to the last refuge of a scoundrel, no doubt."
Bond: "Thank you for sharing all of that, Mr. Kananga. But I'm sure there must be a simpler way of drowning someone."
Felix: "I just don't see why you want to travel this way. I mean, what the hell can the two of you do on a train for sixteen hours?"
Bond: (to Solitaire) "Say goodbye to Felix, darling."
final word: Not a bad first effort, but the plot wasn't earth-shattering in nature.
rating: C+