--- title: "Live and Let Die: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/live-and-let-die/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/live-and-let-die" critics_score: 64 critics_reviews: 12 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Live and Let Die (1973): what the critics said Critics' score 64 from 12 reviews: 6 positive, 4 mixed, 2 negative. ## Radio Times — Tom Hutchinson Rating 4/5. Roger Moore's first Bond outing pits 007 against voodoo and Yaphet Kotto, with Jane Seymour as love interest. It delivers Saturday-matinee thrills and splendid action sequences including a record-breaking speedboat leap, though adversaries are as mechanical as Moore himself. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-56ink9/live-and-let-die/) ## Empire — Ian Nathan Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. The critic finds it good quality Bond that successfully updates the formula for Roger Moore with a lighter, more playful touch, particularly praising the Caribbean locations and voodoo elements, though noting it lacks an explosive finale. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/live-let-die-review/) ## IndieWire — Jim Hemphill Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 3 September 2026. The critic argues that Live and Let Die demonstrates Roger Moore as the best James Bond. The film blends spy thriller elements with blaxploitation and establishes the tone for Moore's decade-long tenure in the role. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/features/commentary/live-and-let-die-roger-moore-best-james-bond-1235214170/) ## The New York Times — Roger Greenspun Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 28 June 1973. The latest Bond adventure takes nerve in its premise and insolence toward pieties but delivers with clever pacing, photography, editing and effective use of its theme song. It features a phlegmatic but handsome Roger Moore as 007 amid grotesque killings and chases. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1973/06/28/archives/the-screen-live-and-let-die-opensthe-latest-james-bond-fights.html) ## Variety Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 1973. Roger Moore makes an okay replacement for Sean Connery as Bond in a comic-book plot filled with hardware production numbers, chases and hazards like sharks and crocodiles. The film introduces a new direction for the series with voodoo and heroin schemes. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1972/film/reviews/live-and-let-die-1200423004/) ## The New Yorker — Penelope Gilliatt Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 9 July 1973. The film is an accumulation of clever tricks and stunts with a funny amphibious speedboat chase but little else of substance or fright. It succeeds through buffoonish flamboyance and a benign view of the material rather than depth or snobbery. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1973/07/09/the-wits-vs-the-nitwits) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 6 July 1973. The film has all the necessary girls, gimmicks and stunts but lacks the wit and style of the best Bond movies. The substitution of Roger Moore for Sean Connery contributes to a more superficial take on the role. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/live-and-let-die-1973) ## Sight and Sound Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 1 August 1973. The critic likens the film to old Saturday matinee serials full of cheap melodramatic perils like snakes, voodoo and shark pools. While the chase sequences are crisply filmed, the Bond formula feels expensively diluted and the verbal exchanges are ponderous and predictable. [Read the review](http://old.bfi.org.uk/features/ultimatefilm/chart/details.php?ranking=69) ## Film Stories — Mark Harrison Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 1 June 2022. The critic calls the film one of the series’ all-time bangers for its mix of gangsters, horror, and smut, crediting Roger Moore with establishing a more cynical and mean-spirited Bond who still lands witty lines. They single out Moore’s performance and the film’s successful Blaxploitation-influenced modernization for praise. [Read the review](https://filmstories.co.uk/features/live-and-let-die-and-the-making-of-roger-moores-james-bond/) ## Den of Geek — Max Williams Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 28 June 2019. The critic views it as nearly a classic and one of Moore’s best Bond films, praising the memorable villains, Solitaire, crocodiles, and voodoo elements, but notes the final half hour and boat chase fall flat. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/live-and-let-die-revisting-roger-moores-first-james-bond-movie/) ## Paste — Kyle Turner Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 27 June 2023. The critic explores how Live and Let Die positions Bond as an outsider confronting legacies of colonialism and race in America through its blaxploitation influences. It highlights the film's focus on death and rebirth as fitting for Moore's debut, while noting the unresolved tensions in its cultural depictions. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/james-bond/james-bond-live-and-let-die) ## Eye for Film — Jennie Kermode Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 26 April 2015. The critic describes the film as a sleazy affair that falls short of its predecessors but still delivers for action fans due to its pivotal place in Bond history. They single out the stunts, supporting performances from Hendry, Holder, and Hedison, and the theme song for praise while faulting Moore and Seymour’s leads. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/live-and-let-die-1973-film-review-by-jennie-kermode) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/live-and-let-die.md