Overrated and overhyped

Load of rubbish!!

I saw this movie before reading any reviews, and I thought it was very funny. I was very surprised to see the overwhelmingly negative reviews this film received from critics.

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

England, the Soviet Union and the U.S. join forces in this James Bond thriller to stop a maniac who's bent on destroying the earth. That is, the dry land earth, above the oceans. Of course, they don't know his plan at first. But James Bond and a Soviet secret agent are out to find out what happened to each country's nuclear submarine that disappeared. The Americans get in the picture with a third submarine as Bond and Agent XXX pursue the Stromberg behemoth of a ship. Roger Moore is in his third of seven roles as British secret agent 007, James Bond. Barbara Bach plays Soviet Major Anya Amasova. One wonders if the her agent ID wasn't a bit of a spoof of the Soviets, who often tried to have the biggest, best or last of something. Where Bond is agent doublte07, the Soviet Amasova is agent triple-x. The fiend in this Bond thriller is played by Curd Jürgens. Richard Kiel, a true giant of an actor at 7 feet, 2 inches, plays Jaws. He has a genuine steel trap for a mouth. This is the first Bond film in a while to receive any major film award nominations. It received three Oscar nominations and two each Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations. Apparently, "The Spy Who Loved Me" was Moore's favorite Bond film. The filming took place in Egypt, off the Emerald Coast of Sardinia, Italy, in the Bahamas, at Baffin Island in Canada, in Okinawa, at St. Moritz in Switzerland, the Bay of Biscay off the coast of France, and in England and Scotland. The plot has a good amount of intrigue, and the film has a variety of thrills. A ski-chase scene in the Alps gives way to a road-chase by a gun-ship helicopter, and finally undersea skirmishes. Some wonderful props for this film included the Atlantis city of Stromberg that rose like a giant steel octopus in the sea. And the specially made Lotus Esprit S1 car turned heads on the beach in the film and amazed moviegoers. The Wet Nellie, as it was called, converted to a mini submarine, and had various gadgets including a rocket launcher. This is a fun-filled, action-packed and enjoyable Bond film - one of the best of the series. Here are some favorite lines. For more dialog, see the Quotes section under this IMDb Web page of the movie. Log Cabin Girl, "But James, I need you." James Bond, "S does England."James Bond, "When one is in Egypt, one should delve deeply into its treasures."James Bond, "Still, you did save my life." Maj. Anya Amasova, "We all make mistakes, Mr. Bond."Maj. Anya Amasova, "You don't have to worry abut me, Mr. Bond. I went on a survival course in Siberia." James Bond, "Yes, I believe a great number of your countrymen do."

THE SPY WHO LOVED ME offers an evening's worth of explosive, witty, and exciting entertainment. Great music, cinematography, a large budget put to excellent use, some fine effects work and an absolutely gorgeous Bond girl (Barbara Bach looking her best, which is saying something), plus plentiful well-staged action throughout, make this one of Roger Moore's finest hours Bond. Certainly the British leading man gives his best performance as Bond; having settled admirably into the role in the first two films, he gives exactly the right combination of tongue-in-cheek humour and straight-faced seriousness, without resorting to tired comedy and overaged action antics as he would in later 1980s outings.Lewis Gilbert displays his skills as director and mixes all of the right ingredients into a pleasing concoction which never lets down from a breakneck pace. The action takes in beautiful underwater surroundings, deserts, the Pyramids and the Sphinx, seedy Egyptian nightclubs, Austrian Alps and much much more, making for a viscerally pleasing movie. The script is witty and intelligent and there are plenty of good cliffhanging moments to enjoy amongst the more straightforward action sequences, including some huge gun battles occurring towards the end of the production. The characters are also a bit more developed than usual, especially Barbara Bach's character, a feisty Russian spy who proves more than a match for Bond's British agent; indeed Bach has the luck to play the best female character in the entire Bond filmography and her performance - and beauty - are outstanding. She certainly deserved the success, after putting in solid performances in Italian crime flicks for many years.Curd Jurgens is excellent as the suave but sinister laidback villain, nonchalantly killing off minions and helpers at a moment's notice, and his largely incapacitated turn makes for an interesting change from your more usual brand of villain. His lack of athleticism is more than made up for in Richard Kiel's Jaws, the metal-mouthed henchman who has repeated run-ins with Bond and Bach throughout the film; Jaws is definitely one of the most memorable characters in the series, with his exaggerated, almost comic book-like superhuman persona, and his inclusion adds a lot to the entertainment value. In fact he was such a hit they kept him for the sequel, just like Sheriff J. W. Pepper. The rest of the cast is awash with solid supporting players (Lois Maxwell, Bernard Lee, and Desmond Llewelyn all make return appearances, alongside the heavyweight likes of Walter Gotell, Geoffrey Keen, and Edward De Souza) and pretty female faces, including British fantasy icons Caroline Munro and Valerie Leon at their sexy best.Altogether this is a most pleasing viewing experience that offers everything one should expect from a Bond film - fast cars, exciting car chases, silly but fun gadgets, plenty of surprises, loads of suspense, bombs, explosions, well-timed comedy, evil henchmen, and gorgeous girls in ill-fitting costumes displaying as much flesh as the censor will allow. Great fun and a real high point; sadly the team were unable to retain the same atmosphere and elements for further Moore adventures, which are not without their moments but never equal such highs as this. A wonderful film, the kind of which cinema was invented for.

Directed by Lewis Gilbert, and produced by Albert Broccoli (Harry Saltzman left the franchise after the collapse of their personal finances), has script Richard Maibaum and Christopher Wood and is the tenth film in the franchise.In this film, James Bond investigates the disappearance of American and Soviet submarines, a situation that is generating a great discomfort in the already strained relations between the two nuclear powers. In Egypt, after several setbacks, the secret services of both sides decide to join forces and Bond ends up collaborating without trust with Amasova Anya, the Soviet agent Triple X. The tracks drag the unlikely duo to Sardinia in order to investigate Stromberg, an industrial mysterious, passionate about the sea, living in a kind of underwater station in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea.Regarded by many as one of the best achieved movies during the Roger Moore as 007, he received a script that is completely different from the original book Fleming and gives the film so many similarities to "You Only Live Twice" and "Thunderball" that comes to be confused with them. Again, this film back to pick up the American and Soviet rivalry, still very current and already quite focused on previous films in the franchise. However, this time, and the style of "détente", both countries are aware that something is happening and want to avoid open war. And it's funny to see the distrustful relationship that arises between Bond and Amasova in which both seek to be one step ahead of rivals. One of the iconic scenes of the film is the sequence filmed in Luxor, where both seek to steal a microfilm and defeat Jaws for then if they steal and fight each other for the prize. Machines and inventions are also part of this film, with an amazing amphibious car and a hollow tanker, capable of containing inside an authentic naval base. A positive note also for the opening credits, with the song "Nobody Does It Better" sung by Carly Simon.In this film, apart from central casting inherited from the previous films, Barbara Bach gave life to the bond-girl Anya Amasova, Caroline Munro played Naomi, Curd Jürgens was the villain, Stromberg, Walter Gotell played the Russian General Gogol and Richard Kiel gave soul the ruthless killer Jaws.

After this film, there was no question that Roger Moore was a great successor to Sean Connery. His wit, humor and a gentle romantic side make him a unique Bond fitting for the détente era. Agent XXX (Bach) is one of the few female leads in the 70's to actually have character development and an independent scene. Some scenes like the sunset, underwater aquarium and the parachute scene have been done to perfection. Stromberg is not a bad villain at all and the burly expressive Jaws is one of the series' most memorable henchmen. It's a grandiose adventure epic for Bond, but some of that grandiosity hasn't aged well. The soundtrack lacks energy, the beginning is a bit slow, and the plot follows the standard Bond formula with few surprises and curve balls. It feels a little bloated with gratuitous chases in almost every vehicle imaginable, though I have to admit the amphibious Lotus car chase was quite epic. At the end of the day, it's a solid adventure and exactly the hit that Roger Moore needed to firmly establish himself in the role.