I've now made it through Live and Let Die and The Man With the Golden Gun.
I watched these with the group commentary track turned on, which I think helped me to enjoy them better. I've always thought Live and Let Die was a decent, if mixed bag. The blaxploitation angle annoyed me, but it's there to a degree in the novel. Kananga is a solid villain, though, and I really enjoy Yaphet Kotto's performance. Jane Seymour isn't bad either.
As Moore's first outing, it's one of his better ones. The Man With the Golden Gun, however, is pretty uneven. It has its good moments, but it's so horribly dated, from the clothes to the subject matter (the energy crisis), to the kung-fu fascination. And, of course, both films suffer pretty badly from "funny" moments. It was nice to hear on the commentary track that even Cubby Broccoli thought the slide whistle in TMWTGG was misplaced. It really IS an awesome stunt, and John Barry's doofy whistle insert totally undercuts the moment. Meanwhile, Christopher Lee plays one of the coolest villains in the series. I mean, the concept has SO much potential, and Lee is just oozing charisma on the screen. He really seems like a worthy challenger to Bond.
Some other Bond, that is.
I have come to think that Moore was, quite simply, the wrong guy for the job. I know people came to like Moore's take on Bond, but Moore doesn't feel like Bond to me. Moore lacks two key factors that ALL the other Bonds have had, and they're both related: (1) an air of violence or menace to him, and (2) an air of sexuality.
Moore can do suave. Moore can do sophisticated. Moore can do nonchalant. Moore CANNOT do violent or sexy. He's better in Live and Let Die at both, but there's something about the way Moore physicalizes Bond that, I think, ultimately does it. Guy Hamilton, I believe, commented on how Sean Connery has this terrific quality to him when he's doing fight scenes -- he has this vicious grin/grimace on his face where he bares his teeth. He's also physically a very imposing guy. Connery's physicality allows him to play the nonchalance. Why? Simple. Because you get the sense that he can bring the pain if needed. Pretty much all of the other Bonds had that quality to them, including Lazenby and Brosnan. Moore just lacks it. He can do the fight sequences decently, but you never get the sense that he could really kick your ass. There's a sequence where he's running to catch a boat in TMWTGG and I'm just stunned at how obvious it is when a stuntman is doing the running and when Moore is. Moore doesn't lift his knees when he runs. It's like a fast shuffle or something. That right there is a prime example of his physicalization of Bond.
On the sex side of the coin, Connery always seemed like a guy who would LOVE to bed a woman. You get that vibe from him, and again, it's related to his physicality. One of the things I notice is something that you may see from time to time in older films: when kissing, NOBODY opens their mouth. It's all just smashing your lips against someone else. Yet when Connery is doing it, you get the sense that he's headed somewhere. Moore looks like he's just kind of doing his duty to get the scene done. The other Bonds had more sexual charisma too, I'd say. You actually believe they could seduce a woman.
None of this is a criticism of Moore personally, mind you, nor as an actor. But he just seems like such a....gentleman...that I find it hard to believe he'd punch the snot out of a henchman and then seduce the villain's girl. Both aspects -- key to Bond -- seem like a put-on with him. Moore would be more suited in, say, a period piece set in the 1890s as the consummate gentleman. But as Bond? As a killer and a lover? No, not so much.
I think it's these differences in Moore's performance that led the production team so far into the comical and ridiculous stuff. That's another thing -- Moore's TERRIFIC at subtle British comedy. (As opposed to the broader farcical kind.) Moore actually seems to have solid comic timing, and a good sense of humor. But, for example, in Live and Let Die when Tee Hee (the guy with the hook for a hand) is trying to get his watch off, and the actor couldn't do it, Moore adlibs "Butterhook!" as an insult. This is TERRIFIC adlibbing....in another movie. In Bond, it just comes across as TOO nonchalant and blase. These guys have him basically in a no-win situation and are threatening him openly with violence, but all he can do is quip away? Great comic acting and timing. WRONG FILM IN WHICH TO DO IT.
But I think that, because this stuff is a strength for Moore, and the other aspects are...if not a liability, not as strong as Moore's sophisticated, debonair qualities, coupled with his sense of humor, the films eventually just get made in a way that takes advantage of Moore's strengths, rather than trying to force him to play through his weaknesses. That shifts the nature of Bond for a long run, and tehy only occasionally move away from the silliness back to something more serious.
Anyway, that said, TMWTGG wasn't as awful as I remembered it, and I was able to really appreciate what was good about it. There's still plenty that's "meh" but when you know it's coming, it's easier to take.
:thumbsup
