Nobody Did It Better: Thank You, Sir Roger Moore

Sir Roger Moore has died.

I’ve loved all the James Bonds, to be honest. My favorite is George Lazenby, but I appreciate each and every actor who has played the part. There is a special place in my heart for Roger Moore, though, because he was my first Bond, and you don’t forget your first. That initial Bond experience for me was Moonraker in 1979, and I’ve been a James Bond fan ever since.

Here’s Moore as I first saw him:

Oddly, Moore’s first film as Bond is the Bond film I like the least — in fact, I dislike Live and Let Die so much that to this day I do not own a copy of it, and I don’t think I ever have. This isn’t Moore’s fault, though. He’s actually very good in the movie, and my distaste for it is based on other complaints. Moore’s reputation as Bond is unfortunately skewed: many see him more as a comic figure, when the Bond films had a lot more broadly comedic moments than in the Connery (or Lazenby) years. (Witness Jaws flapping his arms after his ripcord breaks in the clip above.) It always struck me as unfair to blame Moore for faults in the writing of the scripts, to be honest, and the Bond films of the 70s were all written with that kind of broad comedy that often bordered on outright slapstick. This started with Sean Connery’s last turn in the role, Diamonds are Forever, and didn’t end until 1981’s For Your Eyes Only toned things down significantly. That film and its successor, Octopussy, are two of my absolute favorites, and I even have a soft spot for the troublesome A View to a Kill, which starts trending to over-the-top comedy again.

Witness this clip from For Your Eyes Only, when Moore’s Bond gets the drop on a vicious hit-man who has been dogging him throughout the film:

That is as lethal a moment as anything that Connery’s Bond ever did, and it’s worth noting that no matter who plays him, James Bond is rarely that cold. But Moore could play it.

Moore’s Bond was an enormous part of my geek childhood, and I wouldn’t be a Bond fan if not for his work. So thank you, Sir Roger Moore, for your wonderful work, and I hope there are some wonderful ladies and nifty Q gadgets awaiting you!

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