12 Things You Learn Rewatching Live And Let Die
11. The Bond Girls Are A Disappointing Waste
The two main Bond girls in Live and Let Die had potential to be some of the series' most intriguing up to this point, but instead they're thoroughly wasted due to atrocious characterisation and some totally blatant sexism.
First up is the female lead, Solitaire (Jane Seymour), who is unquestionably one of the most beautiful Bond girls ever. However, Seymour's striking looks and steely acting talents are wasted on a depressingly passive love interest who has virtually no agency of her own.
She rarely does much of her own accord, is straight-up manipulated by Bond - but more on that later - and is disappointingly forgettable despite her beauty, psychic abilities and weird outfits.
Solitaire is nevertheless leagues ahead of CIA agent Rosie Carver (Gloria Hendry), who initially appears to be a bumbling dolt that falls into bed with Bond all-too-quickly, though it's soon revealed that she's in fact working for Kananga as a double agent.
Unsurprisingly she doesn't last long, being shot dead by Kananga in order to keep her mouth shut. Her fundamental incompetence is all the more disappointing as Carver was the first ever black Bond girl yet barely even made a dent.
