The Spy Who Loved Me - Review

This Bond movie is a ton of fun! This was the very first time that the actual story wasn't based on an Ian Fleming novel, even though it takes the name 'The Spy Who Loved Me', and this is evident as this Bond film feels very cinematic!

It is also clear that James Bond has now evolved into a new age of the 1970s. While Roger Moore's first two outings were influenced greatly by the different film genres that were popular at the time such as Blacksploitation and Karate movies, this film feels like straight classic 007, with a new coat of paint.

That coat of paint is the Disco era of the 1970s. The score isn't done by the famous John Barry and instead feels like something you would hear in a disco club at the time, but it still has that badass sophisticated classic Bond feel. Plus, Nobody Does It Better as the song is one of the best Bond songs of all time. It captures the adventure aspect of 007 as well as the romantic tone that is prevalent in this movie.

While the story is almost the same as You Only Live Twice, this film tells it with many unique twists and wonderful spectacle. First of all, this is the first time we see Bond go on a mission with a rival country's agent who is also the love interest. This warrants lots of comedy and humor but it never goes out of hand and stupid. So it's a very unique character dynamic between Bond and Russian agent Triple X.

Insert those characters in some of the most exciting scenes this franchise has seen up to this point. The ski chase in Austria with one of the greatest film stunts of all time and a perfect way to start the movie off with a bang. Almost stating that Bond isn't going anywhere even though the times are changing. The chase through the Ancient Egyptian ruins with Jaws, who by the way is one of, if not the best henchmen in 007 history and who could forget the underwater Lotus. One of the coolest cars in cinematic history!

But an interesting dynamic between the two leads and awesome set-pieces can be a great time at the movies, it's the emotional stakes that make a film truly memorable. Lewis Gilbert is great at this. He directed You Only Live Twice and delivered us one hell of a climax where you felt the stakes and the tension was high!

While Karl Stromberg isn't the most memorable Bond villain (he's just not in the movie that much), his plan is diabolical enough to warrant sincere concern from our heroes and it was one of the first times in this series where I felt genuinely tense and I grabbed the edge of my seat real tight. Everything from disarming the nuclear bomb to reprogramming missiles to stop a nuclear holocaust. This film has an intense ending.

However, even with the heart-pounding climax, I left this film with a huge smile on my face. This film had it all from the comedy to the action, to Roger Moore giving one of his best 007 performances, along with Anya Amasova giving a twist to the typical Bond girl formula, a maniacal villain with larger than life evil plans, big bad henchmen, exotic locations, nifty gadgets, and emotional intensity, this is one of the most fun bond films to watch!