LALD - An iconic vintage Bond comic-book - Roger Moore (1973-1985)

Recently I sat down and watched LALD again for the first time in aggggges. I thought I’d share some of my views on the picture. One thing I thought really came out when watching the film was the iconography of the film. Guy Hamilton I think was the king of creating those moments and characters which were so audacious that they have become hallmarks of the Bond series. Hamilton’s films zip along quickly, I always describe his take on Bond as almost a comic-book. It moves from frame to frame quickly, going from dark to light to keep the picture forever moving forward and to keep the audience distracted from the (lack of) plot. All Hamilton’s Bond are crammed with game-changing stuff, whether it be GF (probably the most iconic and Bond movie in terms of imagery) or DAF and TMWTGG. The films are crammed with characters or moments which have become hallmarks of the series. The pre credits are great, I think we would all have loved a big intro for Roger, but alas his introduction is all but a whisper. The 3 killings of the British agents is a great device to begin the film, undercut by the brilliance of each execution, all highly original and entertaining. The great thing about the pre credits is how structural sound it is in the movie itself, as the beats of 2 of the killings are repeated again in the films 3^rd act. Its a clever device that works very well later in the film. The title sequence is great, the song is great, personally I love the heads turning into flaming skulls, its a great money shot for the movie. As mentioned the iconography throughout the movie is heavy and impressive, you really feel like your watching a vintage Bond movie, a game changer for the series. A True Bond Film. Not in the sense like say something like TND, which almost is a check-list of a movie, consisting of all the classic elements people expect, LALD is an example of not following the forumal but paving its way while adhering to what people have to expect of Bond films. The first act zips quickly along despite the lack of plot, we’re told earlier by M what the mission is, and once Bond twigs Mr.Big is somehow involved, its not till Bond is confronted by Kanaga at the end of the 2^nd Act is the next dose of plot unveiled. You wouldn’t notice though, Hamilton keeps the whole thing moving effortlessly along, there’s a great sense of espionage as Bond tackles the streets of Harlem. There are some golden moments as well in the first act, in particular the introduction of Tee Hee, he’s a great villain and its great seeing Bond’s walther rendered useless. The film’s move to San Monique though is a necessary element though does turn into a slight slog. It does though harness some of the film’s best moments, in particular the scenes with Rosie. I for one really loved these scenes, its where Tom Mankiewicz’s dialogue really shines through. As for Roger, I really enjoyed what he did in the movie. I feel let down for the lack of ‘bang’ to his intro, but he has an charisma and a way he carries himself, that makes him easily watchable and buyable as the hero. Though he may seem austere there’s a Robin hood element to his portrayal, a daring and cheeky rogue in there. Moore I think particular shines when dealing with mankiewicz’s dialogue, he chews up the words so well and delivers them fantastically. Mankiewicz and Moore are really a great match together. I don’t think the script is as zinger-laden or witty as DAF or TMWTGG, but the best in it is reserved for Moore. In particular I loved Moore dandy behaviour, I don’t think Bond has ever been so stylish, and Moore seems to relish in that quality. When it comes to smoking a cigar while wearing a cravat, to switching over the dark suit to a lighter one on the inside out, its all very suave. As for the film’s villain. I really enjoyed Yaphet Kotto as Kanaga, my only upset is his lack of screentime, he has a great voice and screen-presence and I would have loved for him and Bond to have had more verbal sparring matches. The concept of having a villain obsessed with the occult is a nice touch, it adds an odd twisted element of faith and morality to the film, which leads nicely to the character of Solitare... I may be biased because I think Jane Seymour is totally amazing, a real stunner, by far the best Bond girl. I could watch her all day, one thing that did strike me and LALD is how odd, but no less interesting the relationship between Bond, the villain, and the girl is. Its strange macabre and very twisted. The confrontational scene is really a testimony to that, its quite a unique feature of the film, this odd love triangle. The film though does have faults. The major being is that the affair is overly long, and the film is badly paced, at times the film descends into the dull and you can feel the boredom sneak in. The biggest issue though is the action sequences, they are few and far between, and when they do occur their shoddily put together, overly-long, and to put it quite simply banal. The bus chase and the plane chase on the ground are rather dull affairs, and to think previous entries like YOLT were action packed, or say OHMSS where the scope and scale of the action was never short changed. Here the film is dying for a major set piece but it never gets it. You think it may occur when we get the film’s boat chase, and while this is exhilarating at times, I love the shots where you can clearly see its Moore driving the boat while his tie flies in the wind, but the whole thing lacks any real punch, it just happens, there is no real element of danger, you never doubt Bond won’t win. This is the film’s major downfall, while providing all the thrills and spills of a Bond movie and setting that solid iconography, the whole thing is just a little banal. The film lacks real punch, which is really a crying shame. Im not trying to say the film is a missed opportunity, because I don’t think it is, I think it solidly does the best it could have done, just that the film seems to have fallen by the wayside in the wake other more superior Bond movies. You can never single out LALD as one of the best films, nor one of the worst, as a film it never stirs any strong emotion, it seems almost to just exist for the sake of existing. However, as I have stressed throughout Hamilton knows what makes a great caper film, and those images are key to his storytelling. The scenes with he crocodiles will forever be remembered by Bond fans. The Baron Samedi another character who will never be far from the imagination, and host of other great elements are on display here, that really shaped and defined the Bond mould. The film is at its weakest in its 3^rd act, its finale, despite Moore looking the part in his black jumper and shoulder-holster. It’s a slightly rushed affair and Kanaga’s lair could really have been a great highlight of the movie, but instead comes across as an afterthought. Suddenly we’re thrown into a panto, we have machetes, knifes, gadgets and air-compressing bullets we’re never even had introduced to us, it all feels very hasty and rushed. The set itself is also very dodgy, and looks like something out of a bad ‘60s Doctor Who episode, which is such a shame because the production in DN which is some 10 years younger, and several million dollars cheaper, looks by far better. So to conclude, I think LALD is a great Bond movie, it really is iconic in its stance. A game-changer for the Bond series, but has since fallen into the shadows of previous entries who have built on its success.

Edited by Pierce - Daniel, 23 December 2011 - 11:01 PM.

I don't like LALD. It's episodic (Bond does something mildly exciting, then goes to see Felix; then he goes to do something else, nearly gets killed, then goes back to see Felix etc.), the action is dull and flat and it's strangely unspectacular. It's quite a hard film to get through.
Some great iconic moments and visuals, but not a great film.

Mankiewicz's writing style is kind of flabby and certainly always episodic, which is perhaps why there were supposedly a number of unused ideas in his screenplays which were picked up or considered for later films. It doesn't bother me in DAF and LALD, because I feel they have enough energy to carry me along, but I do feel it's a major problem with TMWTGG, which is a considerably slower film.

How come the original post came out so dark? How do I go about fixing it?

Same thing happened to me just now. Try adjusting the Text colour and set it to automatic. Seemed to work

LALD - An iconic vintage Bond comic-book

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