The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

Genre

Action | Thriller

Director

Lewis Gilbert

Country

UK

Cast

Roger Moore, Barbara Bach, Curd Jürgens, Richard Kiel, Caroline Munro, Walter Gotell, Bernard Lee, Desmond Llewelyn, Lois Maxwell, Geoffrey Keen, Milton Reid, Robert Brown, George Baker

Storyline

As a Royal Navy Polaris submarine equipped with sixteen nuclear warheads disappears, James Bond (Roger Moore) joins KGB Major Anya Amasova (Barbara Bach) and takes on a web-handed mastermind, Karl Stromberg (Curd Jürgens).

Opinion

After "Live and Let Die" and the disappointing "The Man with the Golden Gun", Rogen Moore's Bond is back in action, literally, in "The Spy Who Loved Me", arguably the best entry in the Moore era.

Well written and quite convincing, the story is much improved compared to the previous film, and it's excellent not only because of Stromberg's evil plot against the world, but because it had a pleasant side-plot about Bond's relationship with Major Anya Amasova. Sure, it is far from being realistic - the villain wants to repopulate the Earth in his underwater city - and self-parodic, but the package has enough charm to make it pretty enjoyable.

Unlike its predecessor, "The Spy Who Loved Me" also has great characters. While Karl Stromberg is pretty much a clichéd character/villain, Jaws is quite the henchman, probably the best we will ever get to see in the franchise.

The settings, among which stands out Egypt, one of the most beautiful places on earth, are absolutely stunning and nicely photographed.

Marvin Hamlisch provides the score instead of John Barry, and even though it is quite lovely, it does sound dated when listened to nowadays.

One of the highlights of the film is Roger Moore's performance. He finally looks confident as James Bond, and finally owns the character. Barbara Bach is gorgeous as Bond Girl XXX, but acting is not her strong suit. As for the villains, Curd Jürgens gives a terrific performance as the insane Stromberg and Richard Kiel steals the show because of his menacing and fearsome character, Jaws.