Review of The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) by Jay R — 01 Dec 2009

Merry Christmas With Bondfreak - Episode 10.

Now this is more like it. Roger Moore is at his best in the series in this movie and it is a wonderful bounce back from The Man With The Golden Gun. The standouts in this movie are the wonderful sets, they seem to be so real for 1977. And we welcome back the tension, the car filled with gadgets and the electrifying stunts that will leave you breathless. This is a wonderful chapter in Bond, and The Spy Who Loved Me is a great return to the basics that made the series so great.

Moore is at his best here. His feud with Q are at their usual dry best. He is charming but also smart. But he shows us his menacing side which we haven't seen in the series before when he hits the guy of his tie so that he plummets to his death. Its a real vision of the cold killer that Bond sometimes can be. He brought out a lot for this movie and it certainly shows with his upbeat energy, the numerous jokes and winks to the camera.

We are also introduced to one of the most memorable villains in the Bond franchise with the henchman Jaws. This guy is just plain scary and he never has to say a word. WHen he breaks the chain with his teeth no matter how unrealistic it seems, its frightening. Then the train sequence where he appears out of Anya's closet made me jump in surprise. This guy just won't die and he it tall, muscular and scary, just the thing Bond needs to be against. Perfect villain here.

We also have the wonderful car the Lotus Esprit S1 turbo sports car. While its not exactly good looking, the chase between that car and the helicopter is one for the books, this car has the works in it. Its a submarine, and it was really cool how it had that ability that seems real, but is totally all camera tricks and double cars, that was neat. Its just nice having one of those cars with a bunch of cray weapons in it back in the series.

But this is not the best action in the movie. We have the very first jaw dropping stunt in the beginning when Bond skis off the cliff top and then parachutes down. That was done 100% real by a stunt man and it gave me goosebumps and I gasped as it happened. And then the Union Jack flag pops out as the parachute and I was in a euphoric state. I was just thinking "Hehehehe...classic". That was wonderful. The final battle aboard the submarine is also cool. Its like a miniature war with some high tension when he is going to disarm the bomb. I loved the moments of silence in this movie because they draw out some important parts and have that feeling of worry creep up on you.

The girl is this movie is very sexy, but she is also a spy which was very neat. She knew what Bond was thinking and she isn't some useless sex toy for Bond. She's a fighter for sure and she even outsmarts Bond a couple times. Good thing they end up working together in both a team and sexual sense.

Now this movie is not without its flaws. The main villain, Stromberg, is actually kind of a secondary villain to Jaws even though he is the mastermind behind everything. He didn't seem that important nor was he on screen enough to create much of a menacing presence. Also there is some slow parts at the pyramids when everything is being introduced, but that was to explain the plot and gadgets. Also, a thing called Atlantis just rising out of the ocean with no one noticing until now it was there is kind of unbelievable.

This is a return to Bond roots and man was it a big payoff. There are many classic scenes in this, in particularly the stunts and sets. The Spy Who Loved me is a return to the Bond elements that set the series on fire in the first place and it is also Roger Moore's best film.

Thumbs up!