The Spy Who Loved Me

Roger Moore's tenure as James Bond resulted in some of the worst 007 entries. The best of a mostly bad lot, "The Spy Who Loved Me" (1977) functions as a greatest-hits anthology with barely enough plot holding it together. Director Lewis Gilbert stages some terrific action setpieces, but the large budget cannot mask a derivative screenplay -- not to mention an ineffectual Bond villain (played by Curt Jurgens). At least Moore has a slightly harder edge than usual.

"The Spy Who Loved Me" was Moore's third James Bond movie. This time, Bond is up against megalomaniac Karl Stromberg (Curd Jürgens), who's stolen nuclear submarines and plans on starting a nuclear war in order to establish a new, underwater civilisation. The plot sounds similar to some of the earlier Bond movies, but remember, Blofeld's (and most other Bond villians) motivation was money; Stromberg's goal is the destruction of civilisation as we know it.

To stop Stromberg, the British Intelligence enlist the help of the Russians. Bond has to work together with the beautiful Agent Triple-X of the KGB (Barbara Bach), whose lover Bond killed in Austria. Their mission takes them to exotic locations such as Egypt, where they meet Stromberg's giant henchman Jaws (Richard Kiel). The cast list also includes Caroline Munro as Stromberg's assistant Naomi.

Even though this is the Bond movie I've seen the most number of times, it's still one of the most entertaining. The story is interesting, it never gets dull, and there's some spectacular action. In my opinion, this is the best Bond movie since "Goldfinger".

Maybe not the biggest Bond movie in terms of overall enjoyment, but certainly it has the feel of a huge movie - especially after coming off the very timid "The Man with the Golden Gun". The large increase in movie budget was one of the factors that made The Spy Who Loved Me so big, with plenty of large sets and huge action scenes, and a variety of locales from Egypt to underwater that accompany large portions of the plot. Take some great characters and villains and interesting humor, and you've got a film that actually pleases to the majority of audience.

While the plot is indeed interesting and entertaining in itself, I couldn't help but feel like it was a re-use of some of the older Bond plots, specifically involving SPECTRE and Blofeld's attempts at world domination through the use of nuclear weapons. our lead villain in Spy Who Loved Me, Carl Stromberg, plays a similar role - attempting to start WWIII to destoy the planet's surface and begin a new era of life under the ocean. Stromberg actually interested me more than some villains, but probably deserved a little more time to flesh out his character some more. His underwater dome known as "Atlantis" is a magnificant locale, and very original, which can also raise itself above water. His love of sharks keeps his staff on their toes, for if someone betrays him, they quickly become fish bait. Even more enjoyable as a villain than Stromberg is Jaws, a giant with a mouth of steel that Stromberg hires to take out Bond. Jaws and Bond have many one on one fights throughout the film, all very entertaining and unique.

The overall action in The Spy Who Loved Me was easily satisfying. In addition to the fights between Jaws and Bond, there is lots of underwater action, and big explosions and shootouts both inside Stromberg's massive tanker and his Atlantis lair. One of the most memorable scenes is a fantastic car chase between one of the coolest Bond vehicles to date - the Lotus Esprit - and a helicopter, all which is very well shot and ends with the Esprit jumping into the sea and changing into an underwater sub.

Exotic locales are always a pleasing sight in Bond movies, and there are some nice locales in Spy Who Loved Me. Egypt looks rather nice, as we get to see plenty of pyramids and city architecture in Cairo. There are some scenes in Italy as well, though mostly around water's edge. Again, though nothing more than sets, the interior of both Stromberg's liner and Atlantis are beautiful in their own ways too.

Last but not least, one of the best Bond moments occurs in this film before the opening credits and song, and that is a spectacular ski jump that is must see. From start to finish, this movie pleases in every way imaginable. Even though the story doesn't feel too original, it is still well written and interesting. Riger Moore has finally reached one of his finest moments as Bond. Keep an eye out for "For Your Eyes Only", which in my opinion, is the other exceptional Roger Moore Bond film.

Acting - 4.5
Action - 4.5
Characters - 4.5
Story - 4
Overall - 4.5

There are six reasons to own this film:
1. Barbara Bach
2. The opening sequence chase scene and parachute jump.
3. Ken Adam's sets.
4. Richard Kiel as Jaws
5. "Nobody Does it Better," title song by Carly Simon.
6. A Lotus that doubles as a submarine.
7. Barbara Bach. Well, she is worth mentioning twice.

The third Roger Moore outing as Bond has some terific moments in it, that rank with some of the best in all the Bond films. The start in particular is fabulous. Bond leaves a mountain lodge and starts skiing down the mountain and is then pursued by 4 or 5 Russian agents. Bonds escape is breathtaking and was done for real (no CGI in 1977). Check the credits for the stunt-man who gets a special mention. There are other great moments as well, such as the Lotus Esprit and the first appearance by Richard Kiel as Jaws.

This film repeats various elements from previous Bond films such as the fight on the train from 'From Russia with Love', the Lotus Esprite
is effectively the Aston from 'Goldfinger' etc. For me though the main reason it isn't worthy of 4 or more stars is the less serious nature of the film. Roger Moore uses that irratating smile a few too many times, and the film maintains a jokey attitude throughout. To be fair its better than most of the Roger Moore Bond films that followed, where this jokey attitude got worse and worse (and Roger Moore becane too old for the part as well).

However, the script is pretty good, and the sets are very impressive so overall this IS an entertaining Bond film, but not one you can take seriously.