The Spy Who Loved Me

Roger Moore at his best, dropping zingers left and right. The writer was able to deliver the material in time for the filming, so the necessary final touches were made before shooting, and everything finally got back on track. Plus, the film features Richard Kiel for the first time, an underwater car, and a Soviet agent whose ‘death wish’ turns into a ‘sex wish’ under Bond's influence. (03/08/2016)

The change of director was a good decision and moved the franchise closer to the eighties as well. Bond stopped making stupid jokes and started playing a real agent, women dress much more daringly than ever before, there’s plenty of technology, and no shortage of refined shots of sunsets. The cold and intimate spy thrillers have turned into full-fledged eye-candy spectacle, without losing any of the traditional values and attributes that make Bond Bond. By far the best Moore film to this day. (02/05/2014)

It is well known that films with Roger Moore have a more humorous tone. It suits him well with the witty lines. However, "The Spy Who Loved Me" is a bit silly at times and the humor is too pandering or rather forced. It is balanced out by interesting characters and gadgets, with Jaws being the standout villain henchman alongside characters like Tee Hee, Nick Nack, and Oddjob. The Egyptian elements add a lot of exoticism. There are truly excellent gadgets here - the submarine is fantastic - but unfortunately, it doesn't mean that the overall impression is spectacular. It's good, cool, but not excellent. On the other hand, it is an undemanding spectacle with interesting settings that you can enjoy watching on television. (07/03/2014)

The three-year hiatus swiftly aided this and even though the script, suffering from about a dozen rewrites this time around, is truly lame, The Spy Who Loved Me has become for me a top 3 representative of the current trio of Bonds. Sharing second to third place with On Her Majesty's Secret Service and trailing behind Goldfinger. This is mainly due to the production team's respect for the work of production designer Ken Adam, after whose painstaking and unceasing work on all the previous installments was given a blank check to create the exteriors and interiors and was thus able to go all out, both in creativity and in all his grandeur. So whether its the Eisenstein-inspired office of the KGB general, the secret British Secret Service base under Abu Simbel, the monstrous tanker-submarine, or the famed construction of the submarine Atlantis, they all retain exactly the creative period esprit of technological advancement combined with innovative design for which Bond films are famous. Plus, the closing submarine love nest is one of the coziest spots on the movie screen, where I could easily hump for days. This time, you really can cheerfully ignore the lame old man in the jacket and his rubber plaything trying to convince you of something she can't even pronounce. Because here above all you can enjoy to the fullest the environment where it takes place and the wild action scenes, where no expense was spared. The Leicester cinema where the film was screened on opening night with the assistance of Prince Charles knows a thing or two about that, where the entire cast stood in silent awe during the opening jump off the mountain. (18/08/2019)

Another quality Moor Bond film, even one of the best ones. 007 is not only a sexual, joke-spouting machine, but the film shows him much more as a soldier (probably because of the officer's uniform he puts on a few times). The opening ski chase is well filmed (though not as long or as entertaining as the one from For Your Eyes Only), and I really like the whole part set in Egypt (the cameraman did a great job) + the music from Lawrence of Arabia used in it. The ending in the tanker is a brisk, originally-filmed action full of gunshots, explosions and angry hijacked and kidnapping sailors. What I really liked was the quick handling of the villain. No speeches, no talking points, blah, blah, blah, Mr. Bond, just fast action and saving the Bond girl (the very, very pretty Barbara Bach). Four pure stars. (28/03/2010)