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Live and Let DieRoger Moore's arrival in the role of 007 marked a distinct shift in the series' tone. Increasingly camp, comic and corny, in the 70s Bond's principle loyalty was to the cheesy quip. Twenty years later, some of the appeal of his first film has been overtaken by Austin Powers but there's still much to enjoy in its exaggerated characters and comic-book action.
In a departure from the usual world domination scenario, here Bond is dispatched to New York to investigate the disappearance of three British agents. From there he tracks drug baron Kananga (Yaphet Kotto) down to Louisiana and uncovers a complicated plot to bring a billion dollars worth of smack into the US.
From Wings' theme tune onwards it's a film far more of its time than previous Bonds. Early scenes set in Harlem are straight out of a Blaxploitation flick, while Clifton James's redneck sheriff grew into a comic staple on 'The Dukes of Hazzard'. Moore's physicality doesn't extend much beyond arching that famous eyebrow, but an impressively staged speedboat chase, hungry crocodiles and a fine array of pantomime villains (including a voodoo witch doctor henchman) contribute to an entertaining if deeply daft action spectacular.
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