LALD, very popular with casual bond fans and the masses

jonnybond78

LALD, on the whole, generally is considered at best average by most of you fine folk on these forums. However in conversation with work mates, friends and family etc etc. LALD is allways a firm favourite.

I think it shows the difference between The Bond purists view of Moore and the view of the masses, with the latter very often citing Moore as there fav Bond, or second fav (usually behind Connery).

Anyway whadaya think ??

thesecretagent

Surely the "masses" are fans too? I'm not really sure if purist can relate to Bond. To be a true purest, you surely wouldn't watch any of the films, as all of them have taken extreme liberties with the novels. I think most of the RM Bond's have a greater appeal to a great many viewers, children and the old alike. Not to mention they are always the most broadcast of the entire series on tv. Much of Brosnan's and especially Craig's are less child friendly (with the lack of gags, humour and amount of stunts) so I imagine LALD et al will always be more popular with the general (non-obsessed!) public.

SilentSpy

All of Moore's Bond films are fun to me. The boat chase in LALD is great fun. The dialog is cool too. Moore makes stuff look easy in his Bond films. He simply jumps from one boat to the next. No problem. Although, I wish they included the bit in the books where Bond mentions leaving a trail of death.

Napoleon Plural

I agree with jonnybond78, but I've noticed Bond fans (or purists) tend to prefer those films that a) have a bit of Cold War espionage about them, which LALD lacks and b) can be taken seriously. The voodoo motif goes down well with casual fans, it makes the film a bit different from the others. It's a great Bank Holiday movie on the telly (which is how casual fans watch the films) but not so good on DVD with no ad breaks (which is how purists watch the films). I mean OHMSS is great at the Imax cinema, it holds up brilliantly, but I find it very tedious and claustrophobic on telly, with scarecely a decent joke to tickle one's interest, worthy though it all is.

The Domino Effect

LALD was the first Bond film I ever saw. I was about 6 at the time and on holiday in Cornwall and when the wind and rain prevented us from sitting on the beach eating sand-and-jam sandwiches (sissies!), we went to the cinema instead. I was hooked. It has remained one of my top 3 Bond films of all time partly because it was my first and partly because I still think it's a thoroughly-enjoyable romp. I was so impressed by it that I blew almost all my holiday pocket money in a neighbouring shop on a toy 'James Bond' cap gun complete with a silencer. It was only years later that I realised that it actually looked a great deal more like a Luger than Bond's trademark PPK by which time I had lost the plastic silencer and half of the gold plastic handle - but the other half remained and the main metal body too. In fact, I've only recently misplaced it. So, to cut an already long story short, I personally love LALD.

Thunderpussy

I pestered my older brother to take me to LALD,it was the first film I remember seeing advertised on TV, and the milk ads. Still enjoy it and was amazed on another thread some time ago to see the boxoffice it made. The Croc escape still stands up as one of those great movie moments.

From Russia with Love

I agree that the Moore era movies are a lot of fun and very enjoyable, but as a matter of personal opinion I can't help feel that they missed a trick with them by being that little bit too silly a bit too often. I think the Voodoo element of 'Live and Let Die' in particular is out of place (especially with the "real after all" implication at the end with Baron Samedi).

Napoleon Plural

If you were growing up with them as a kid they were great, but 007 Magazine at the time always rolled its eyes a bit and was very damning of the Moore films - if you were in your 20s of course - as I believe Loeffs would have been - it would just make the films off limits and embarrassing to be associated with, in an era of Annie Hall, Apocolypse Now, Taxi Driver et al.

RJJB

I can honestly admit that upon my first viewing of the movie, I enjoyed it up until the climactic fight between Moore and Kanaga. First, the watch magically becoming a buzz saw was bad and violated the "rule" that the gadget's abilities must be known prior to their use. That of course was followed by the incredibly stupid Looney Toon demise of Kanaga. That literally spoiled the entire movie for me. Pure garbage that set the standard for the Moore years.

hegottheboot

I am a Bond maniac and know every film by heart.
LALD is still my favorite for sentimental reasons. I saw it when I was three years old.

thesecretagent

Just reading through the thread and get great scenes conjured up by this. The crocodile jump (has everyone seen the out-take of it going wrong and the stuntman losing his shoe? - I always assumed they weren't real!) The boat chase is great, the magnetic watch - I made one when I was seven out of an old leather watch strap and a fridge magnet (it was s*it) - the bus chase, Tee Hee - all great stuff and perfect for a bank hol weekend. I might get it out of the box and give it whirl right now!

Ricardo C.

I think LALD was a very mixed bag. It's mostly an assembly of stunts (and that boat chase was painfully long) and though Yaphet Kotto is a great actor, he couldn't do much with such a petty role. I also hate the look of the film, it's so down in the dumps. I did love Solitare, Tee-Hee, Baron Samedi, and JW Pepper was very funny IMO. Lastly what really makes this film is the music. Paul McCartney and Wings made a kick ass theme and George Martin has been the only one outside Barry to get the Bond sound correctly.