Review of The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) by Cameron J — 08 Jan 2012

If any "007" installment were to have its theme song named after its title, then this would be the one, because this film's name screams, "Album Title!" Well, I don't blame them for changing it, because Carly Simon can sing about it all she wants, but she probably couldn't get someone like Roger Moore. Now, I'm not saying that I'm attracted to the guy, but there comes a point where you have to look at the mug on the girl going for a handsome man and just say, "Sorry girl, but he's too good for you." No, Carly Simon isn't that bad, but come on, even in the '70s, you could tell that she was destined to look like the feminine Steven Tyler that she resembles now, which of course begs the question, "who's the masculine Steven Tyler?" Okay, I guess the answer is actually Steven Tyler, because even with his cheesy features, The Demon of Screamin' could still knock the heck out of me at 63 for calling him feminine; but, in all fairness, even Carly Simon could knock the heck out of me, and she probably would for talking trash about her looks. Hey, I'll give it to her that she did make one of your less cheesy "Bond" songs, which isn't to say that it's not cheesy, because it's still Carly Simon singing about her lover having skills like a spy, but at least it's better than "Goldfiner". Hey, let me tell you, I'll take "Nobody Does It Better", because we may as well get one of your better Bond songs if we're gonna have one of your better Bond films, which isn't to say that this big comeback of quality doesn't hit its fair share of missteps.

In my review for "Live and Let Die", I joked that they were going back to the good ol' fashion "Bond" with the early acts, in that the film was pretty slow early on. As for this film, almost "all" of it is going back to the good ol' boring "Bond", even going so far as to be loosely edited. Okay, it's not like the first two Terence Young "Bond" films, where things just seemed to go on and on, but certain moments overstay their welcome and add another bitter punch to the sometimes quiet, often rather dull atmosphere. Now, this isn't dull in the same way "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", where it's not only slow, but paceless, but you'll still often find yourself yawning and checking your watch. Still, no matter how slow the film gets, you're never fully unengaged, as there is so much atmosphere and intrigue in this film, because this installment is not only going back to the slowness of early "Bond", but of its quality. In fact, this is not only the best "Bond" since "Goldfinger", but it's just "as" good as "Goldfinger", and with "Goldfinger" being on par with "Dr. No" and "From Russia with Love" as the only "genuinely" good installments of the series, this film ties with the first three as the best installment thus far, almost entirely because of one great factor that's been missing in recend "007" installments: seriousness. True, there is still plenty of snap and plenty of over-the-top moments, but on the whole, gone is the camp, the cheese and repetition that may have been adding to the fun factor in recent installments, buit this is a better film for losing it, having the tense, serious tone needed to bring this series back to its former glory; and it took, of all people, the director of "You Only Live Twice" to get us there, and to that, all I have to ask is this: Lewis Gilbert, where has this side been hiding?

"You Only Live Twice" was a pretty decent film, but was damaged by underplotting and overstylizing, but here, Gilbert brings tension to the forefront, almost more so than Terence Young and Guy Hamilton ever did, and he wastes no time in showing you what he can do when handed a more story-driven script by taking most every familiar element and breathing new life and uniqueness to it. The villain of this film is one of the most effective ones that I've seen so far, because Gilbert does a great job at emphasizing his quiet harshness and intellegence, both of which are attributes that have been found in most every Bond villain, though aren't usually handled as uniquely or effectively as they are here. The first time we see him, he pulls the old cliche of feeding a traitor to his "sharks" - always "sharks" -, but does something that's slightly different on paper, but entirely different in tone: showing the death on a monitor as an example for his men and playing elegant music, which fully emphasizes the level of cold brutality and brilliance of this monster; and just like that, Lewis Gilbert has really shown just how fine his taste in tension is, thus keeping you engaged, and it certainly helps that Gilbert is also bringing in three things that we already know he works great with: dazzling locations, broad scope and, of course, action. The action in "Twice" was solid, but overlong and often over-edited, but here, everything is tight and the editing is just quick enough to really add to the tension, while the excellent taste in music and manipulation of that music emphasizes tone and smooth motion - captured by the fine cinematography - emphasizes the slickness of the choreography and staging, thus resulting in some of the smoothest, most engaging action of the entire series. Still, Lewis Gilbert isn't the only carrier for the film, because, as expected, Roger Moore delivers on what we've come to expect from him as Bond: crackling charisma that truly embodies the James Bond character. However, he's not alone as the compelling lead, because this time around, a Bond girl takes action, being just as skilled and just as smart as Bond, and the beautiful Barbara Bach nails those aspects gracefully, making the Anya Amasova character an all but just as compelling as Bond. As if it's not enough that we've two strong leads, they're strong together, having such a strong chemistry that really adds to the sense of consequence and seriousness, and as the story, and by extension, Bond's and Amasova's relationship unravels, it's hard not to be compelled.

Wow, I'm making it sound like I'm about to give this film a glowing rating, but I'm not, because it's still not a major knockout, but overall, in spite of the unwanted return of much slowness - complete with a quiet atmosphere and some loose editing at points -, Lewis Gilbert's surprisingly, yet refreshingly serious, compelling tone and familiar, yet still very welcomed grand scope and excellent action, as well as strong lead performances and electric chemistry between Roger Moore and Barbara Bach ultimately leave "The Spy Who Loved" to stand tall as not only a satisfying return to form for the "007" series, but one of the best installments yet.

3/5 - Good.