The Spy Who Loved Me

Robert Cotton -- Doesn't age well, but for sheer seventies spectacle it's hard to beat. The submarines, a fair storyline, and a throw everything in along with the kitchen sink attitude saved the series. Deservedly so. Paul Baack -- This is a film better remembered than revisited. After the long drought of the Guy Hamilton/Tom Mankiewicz trio that preceded it, The Spy Who Loved Me was a tall, cool drink of water that revived us Bond fans, charmed the critics, and probably saved the series. It was an extraordinarily ambitious and expensive project for EON and United Artists, after the crashingly disappointing "Golden Gun" movie, they were probably unsure as to whether they still had an audience. Personally, I remember having a fantastic time viewing this. Roger Moore's performance, though still tongue-in-cheek, was assured and commanding -- it can be argued as to whether or not he was James Bond, but he was definitely the star of this show. Casting throughout the film is satisfactory, and of course Jaws remains to this day an iconic figure in the series. Speaking of icons, "Wet Nellie," the Lotus Esprit that doubled as a submarine, was the first "James Bond car" that actually did stuff since the Aston Martin of Goldfinger and Thunderball. Ken Adam's sets were truly spectacular, as were the picture's exotic locations. The theme song "Nobody Does It Better," was a top 40 hit and remains an FM Lite staple even now; the title phrase likewise remains a tagline associated with the Bond film series. Finally, the movie made a TON of money, in the summer of Star Wars no less, certifying the now-solo Cubby Broccoli as a genius showman in charge of a profitable franchise. Looking back 20 years later, TSWLM seems a little more of a mediocre Bond movie, basically just a better-made version of You Only Live Twice (and from the same director). There's still quite a bit of goofy comedy, and a lot of the non-action scenes play out in a very static and boring manner. Marvin Hamlisch's very 1970s music score is uninspired and uninspiring. The whole movie is one of the few James Bond movies that actually seem dated -- we're probably fortunate in that there were no disco dance scenes included! The 1970s were not a good time for James Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me is the only high point from that miserable decade, and in retrospect, it's not all that high.

Bill Koenig -- The troubled production (the breakup of the Broccoli-Saltzman team, lawsuits, delays) resulted in the best Bond movie of the '70s. The film has one of Roger Moore's best scenes, Curt Jurgens is a fine villain and Barbara Bach is mostly good (except for occasionally losing her Russian accent at critical times). Ken Adam is back and does amazing work with the sets. If the producers could have gotten the film out a half-year earlier (Christmas of 1976), Adam would have gotten the Oscar for production design without Star Wars (1977) as competition. James McMahon -- Most consider this Moore's "Goldfinger"; the zenith of his tenure as Bond. Slick, glossy, top notch movie fun; but with little feel of James Bond to it. Introduces the Moore era's best henchman, Jaws. But Moore cannot lend any weight to the effort and the film fails to be anything more than a total lark. The film has one of the best title songs. Barbara Bach is far sexier here as Agent Triple-X than Vin Diesel's agent Triple-X in 2002; proving once again that EON does it first, and that... "nobody does it better! " Ed Werner -- Saltzman is now gone and Brocolli takes more time putting this one together and it shows. We're back to Bond saving the world from armeggedon, but after the energy crisis / solex aggitator from the last film, it's a welcome relief. The casting is right on the mark with Kurt Jurgens as the baddie Stromberg. Barbara Bach is not difficult to look at, although not the most dynamic of actresses. Caroline Munro as the femme fatale Naomi is interesting in a slutty kind of way but nowhere near the caliber of Paluzzi in Thunderball. EON stupid character Mark III is introduced with Richard Kiel as Jaws. As his name implies, what has now happened to the Bond movies is that instead of being the leader, they are now beginning to follow Hollywood trends. Oh... I can also do without Stromberg's webbed fingers. Michael Reed -- The most overrated film in the series. A plot ridiculous and stupid, a monster who has steel teeth and isn't insured when being hit by a van, monotone actresses - is this "Walker, Texas Ranger," or a Bond film? Moore is the only good thing in this film. Tom Zielinski -- The partnership of Saltzman and Broccoli is no more. Harry Saltzman has sold his share to MGM/UA, and Albert Broccoli is now sole producer. He jettisons Mankiewicz and Hamilton, and hires Christopher Wood to write the screenplay, and Lewis Gilbert to return ( You Only Live Twice ) as director. These two changes alone are huge improvements. Roger Moore looks great in this film, and Lewis apparently reined him in a bit. It all pretty much works, and Moore is surprisingly good in several scenes. The pre-titles ski/parachute sequence, directed by John Glen, was and still is an impressive piece of filmmaking. Richard Kiel s Jaws is menacing at times, a cartoon (there s that word again!) at others, and Marvin Hamlisch was a curious choice for composer. But no matter, after the disappointments of the previous two films, this one is a breakthrough.