**YOU ARE NOW ENTERING SPOILERTOWN**
Plot: Leader of Caribbean nation San Monique, Dr. Kananga, plans to flood the market with free heroin to put his competition out of business, then have all the addicts as customers of his monopoly. (Sounds eerily relevant…)
Foiled by: Bond breaks into Kananga’s lair, escapes an overly elaborate death via being very slowly lowered into (you guessed it!) a shark tank. Blows up Kananga with a gas-expanding pellet, saves the girl and shows the authorities the hidden drug fields.
Intriguing Setting(s): Fictional Caribbean nation of San Monique | Harlem
Bond: Roger Moore (in his first turn as Bond, as Connery turned it down and thought Moore “an ideal Bond”)
Villain(s): Dr. Kananga/Mr. Big
Bond Girl(s):
- Solitaire (Jane Seymour) – the fortune teller and one of the finest Bond girls of all time
- Rosie Carver – the double agent!
- Miss Caruso – he unzips her dress with his magnetic watch. Apparently Roger Moore’s wife was on set during the love scene, causing some very awkward moments for the actress.
HL’s Hot Take: The Voodoo Bond. It is pretty obvious early on that Dr. Kananga and Mr. Big are the same guy, but the heroin addiction plot reveal is strikingly topical and resonant today. What really dinged it in my ratings was how far it pushed the bounds of plausible escape from enemy hands, even for a Bond film.
Head Librarian Rank: 22/24
Critical Rank: 14/24
TRIVIA SECTION!
Odds & Ends: The film was shot in Jamaica, but given a new name since Dr. No had already utilized the location
6 Degrees Cameos: Yaphet Kotto (Mr. Big/Kananga) was also in Alien; And Good Ol’ Boy Clifton James in his first of two appearances as Sherriff J W Pepper
Gadgets: magnetic wrist watch; gas-expanding pellets – limited gadgets as Q does not appear in the film
Cars: Let’s try a new site I just found!
Awards: Oscar nomination for Best Song – “Live and Let Die” by Paul and Linda McCartney (also got a Grammy nod)
Release Order: 7/25 (1973)