Never Say Never Again
Sean Connery returns as James Bond – 12 years since the part was last performed by him. Again, this isn’t an official movie concerning Eon/MGM. It was created by Taliafilm instead and distributed by Warner Bros. The movie title is a nod to Connery, who once claimed he would never play James Bond again. And it’s a reboot of Thunderball, really. (The film rights to the book were obtained by one of Ian Flemings’ writing colleagues, so that’s where this series comes from.)
Never Say Never Again
Live and Let Die (1973)
Budget: $7 million
Worldwide Box Office: $161.8 million
Rate of Return: 23.1
In a loose riff on the era’s blaxploitation movies, Roger Moore’s first rodeo as James Bond sends him into the drug dens of New Orleans. Yaphet Katto is a fun baddie, but for much of the movie, the (understandable) desire not to portray the many black villains as fools makes Bond himself stumble in the dark. Even so, Live and Let Die began the Roger Moore era with a bang, contrary to popular belief.
Live and Let Die (1973)