Director: Lewis Gilbert
Writer: Christopher Wood, Richard Maibaum (Screenplay)
Starring: Roger Moore, Barbara Bach, Curd Jurgens, Rich Kiel, Caroline Munro, Walter Gotell
Plot: James Bond investigates the hijacking of British and Russian submarines carrying nuclear warheads, with the help of a K.G.B. Agent, whose lover he killed.
Runtime: 2 Hours 5 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Moore’s Best Bond
Story: The Spy Who Loved Me starts when both a British and Russian submarine are hijacked with nuclear weapons on board, James Bond (Moor) and Russian agent, Agent XXX (Bach) are assigned by their countries to learn the truth, putting them on a collision course with each other.
The mastermind behind the hijacking is Karl Stromberg (Jurgens) who is using his men including Jaws (Kiel) to kill anyone who was involved in the project, it is up to Bond and Agent XXX to stop this mastermind before he uses the weapons.
Thoughts on The Spy Who Loved Me
Characters – James Bond we can’t really say anything new about this character, only to talk about his role in this film, he must work with a female agent from Russia to track down nuclear weapons, he doesn’t get everything his own way when it comes to the ladies this time and gets to face his biggest opponent in Jaws. Agent XXX is the Russian agent that is forced to work with James on her mission because Russian warheads have been stolen too, she isn’t going to fall for James seductive ways and is easily the smartest Bond girl to date so far. Karl Stromberg is the marine biologist that has taken the weapons in an attempt to cash in, he lives under the ocean and sends his hitmen out to kill anyone that can give away his secret. Jaws is arguably the most iconic of all the Bond villains, his size is huge which only makes him a threat in a fight with mental teeth one character you will never forget.
Performances – Roger Moore is wonderful in this leading role, this is his best performance to date in the role, where we do believe everything that is going on for his character. Barbara Bach is a delight in the Bond girl role going against the normal character mold we have seen in recent film and while Curd Jurgens is a good villain it is the introduction of Richard Kiel to the franchise that will give you someone to remember.
Story – The story pits British and Russian spies together to locate nuclear weapons and submarines that have been taken by an unknown mastermind. By putting two rival intelligence agencies together this does become more interesting because both agents know they can’t give away secrets while also knowing they are both just doing a job. The story also gives us the most iconic of all the henchmen in the Bond franchise Jaws. The villain does have a good plan and does feel like a threat to everyone involved which is a big plus from the last outing, this puts the franchise back where we like to see it.
Action/Adventure – The action in the film follows chase sequences, a massive base battle and the fights with Jaws which show his pure power. The adventure does put Bond on a trip around the world to locate the truth which is big for the film, showing us this could be a worldwide threat.
Settings – The film uses the settings well because the bases that we see our characters fight in are wonderfully constructed for this movie and our worldwide trip takes us to Egypt this time around.
Scene of the Movie – Jaws.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The villain does seem average compared to his henchmen.
Final Thoughts – This is easily the best Bond outing for Roger Moore, it increases the peril involved in the film which was need after the last one and gives us a character we will never forget in Jaws.
Overall: Back on track.
Rating
