SSG: Spy/Spec-Ops Group discussion

The Bond I love to hate! How could they let this one sap single-handedly screw up the most lurcrative movie franchise in history so friggin' much that the series was nearly ready to tank!?! And had to be rescued from disaster?

I hold a long list of grievances against this dandyish, mincing, fop. I can--and shall--list them. But at the same time I must ask myself why--in spite of all the best efforts of this clown, to sabotage these entertaining movies--many of his Bond outings are still eminently watchable?!?

Talk about a guy skating on thin ice..whistlin' past the graveyard...no one ever wanted him, and when he arrived he did just about everything wrong; his flicks are some of the most cringe-worthy ever; and moreover he took up valuable time to 'get settled into his role'.

He had an extremely brief bout of genuine serviceability...then quickly outstayed his welcome; ultimately souring everything that was good about the project....and yet in spite of all this he still manages to outshine all the wannabe-Bonds who followed after him. How?

Grrrr!

I grew up with with the Connery Bonds, and was aghast when Roger Moore was choosen, (would have preferred Lazenby) at first I figured he would not last long, but he did, I still went to see the his movies, only because it was Bond, just something about Bond that drew me in to view those movies, and the last few summers I've been re-watching them yet once again, and damnit, he's kinda grown on me, he was a cunning linguist though..

I must say that, as James Bond, Roger Moore looked as much of a tough guy as a marshmallow dressed in a smoking.

Appalling. His physique was about as menacing as that of Julia Child or Waylon Flowers. He had no more muscular definition than Tiny Tim!!! How the hell he got that part is beyond me...

Now--mind you--against all comprehension--'Live and Let Die', while considered one of the lowest nadirs of the classic Bond era--nonetheless is a flick essentially so badass that it *overcomes* the presence of Moore in the lead. So many greatnesses about that movie that --even adding the negative quotient of Roger 'The Saint' Moore couldnt make it fail. Seriously. It is always fun, isn't it?

Even though Moore showed up with auburn hair; even though he prissily smokes a cigar(!!!)'; even though he wears open collar, non-pinstripe shirts(??) and even though he wears no hat!

You just can't beat a film where they jump a speedboat OVER a highway. Can you? No. As well as a flick...with PAUL McCARTNEY scoring the theme song.

Plus, Yaphet KOTTO as the villain. Kotto alone makes this flick. He steals the film from the wooden, apprehensive, unsure-of-himself Moore Bond.

Most of the film, Roger Moore looks as if he is being buggered, am I right? He looks as if he is being reamed by a pineapple. He seems as if he doesn't even want to be in the movie at all! The only fun he appears to enjoy is when he commandeers a double-decker bus to romp through Florida in. Admittedly, a fine sequence. Does it make sense? No.

Bottom line: LALD, saved. No fail. Save! No one knows why.

Feliks wrote: "Appalling. His physique was about as menacing as that of Julia Child or Waylon Flowers. He had no more muscular definition than Tiny Tim!!! How the hell he got that part is beyond me..."

Yep we thought the same thing back then.

The one lesson EON should have learned from this flick: Roger Moore wants to play comedy. He's an overgrown child, he wants to be goofy. If they had just perceived that one crucial observation; history would now be different.