32 replies to this topic

[Daniel Craig the cool 007]

Roger Moore is fantastic as James Bond in the movie...Its one of my favorite Bond movies(im sure that Casino Royale will top that one to second on my list)
Moore portrays 007 with charm and his lines couldnt have been delivered with such panache if he wasnt cast in the role...the locations and fantasy are purely bondesque...Its also great romantic thriller as oppose to other flicks of the franchise..Bond going down with a parachute at the beginning(the stunt man did win an oscar for that)with the british flag and bond theme is really cool.Nobody does it better is the theme music for me...The lotus car with its underwater gadgets is also great...Jaws for his part uses roger as a tooth pick

[DamnCoffee]

'The Spy who loved me' is my all time favorite Bond movie and was the first one i ever saw so i have a real soft spot for it, its moores darkest movie aswell IMO

[Sunny_on_SM]

'The Spy who loved me' is my all time favorite Bond movie and was the first one i ever saw so i have a real soft spot for it, its moores darkest movie aswell IMO

Why the darkest?

A very impressively made movie. I always wondered about the name.... Did it imply that Anya loved Bond or Bond loved Anya?

[Diabolik]

While I put TSWLM in the Top 8 and was throughly blown away by it when it first came out in the theatres, it seems more visual fluff than a tight story.

Don't get me wrong, Moore really came into his own on this one, Barbara Bach is one of the best Bond girls, Jaws is one of the most memorable Bond Henchmen and the film features one of the best set designs in the tanker. But as has been discussed in other threads about TSWLM, it doesn't have much dramatic depth like say FRWL, GF or TLD.

And Moore starts clowning around more in this one and not taking the part very seriously (except the scene when he admits to Anya he killed her lover). I mean, when Anya and Bond are struggling to get the van started as Jaws tears it apart, Moore hams it up so much he smells like bacon! Com'on! It's a matter of life or death, man!

And I don't agree that it's Moore's darkest, I'd have to say TMWTGG is Rog's most ruthless intepretation of Bond.

Anyway, sorry for the rant. It's a fun film, but not nearly as good for repeated views and analysis as some of the others.

Edited by Diabolik, 29 August 2006 - 07:23 PM.

[zencat]

It's my #1 favorite Bond film.

[DamnCoffee]

"Then you and I have something in common"

[Daddy Bond]

Definitely my favorite Bond. It is #1, just above GF and GE for me.

BTW, I still think this would be the best Bond-to-Video-Game adaptation.

Regards!

[DamnCoffee]

Yeah i think TSWLM would make a fantastic Bond Game, imagine Driving the lovely Lotus, The massive Liparus Battle - bloody fantastic stuff

[Sunny_on_SM]

BTW, I still think this would be the best Bond-to-Video-Game adaptation.

Speaking of...are there ANY Bond games out there with Roger's Bond and characters from his movies? I am not a games buff, and so far I have only seen Brosnan's and Connery's villains and Bonds in games.

[Daddy Bond]

Only Connery and Brosnan so far. But I'd sure like to see Moore in a TSWLM video game.

Fighting Jaws all over the Egyptian the desert AND on the train AND in the undersea fortress, driving the Lotus on land and in the ocean, gun battles in Cairo and the belly of the tanker, skiing off a cliff. This movies is just begging to be made into a video game (unlike FRWL - a movie and game which I happen to like - but which would most certainly NOT be my first choice for a movie to game choice.

Anyway, my favorite Bond movie might make my favorite Bond game.

Regards

[Double-0-Seven]

The Spy Who Loved Me is awesome. It's my favorite Roger Moore film, and one of my top favorites overall. I also agree with Daddy Bond that this would be a great choice for a video game adaption.

[DLibrasnow]

It's #2 on my list.

[Loomis]

THE SPY WHO LOVED ME is a very mixed bag - good in parts, and excellent in places, but it's also overlong, with stretches of boredom and/or silliness. It's severely overrated - mostly by non-hardcore Bond fans, though, I've found. No way is it the best film of the series, or even close. Neither is one of the worst. It's a solid middle-of-the-pack outing that's somehow managed to acquire a glittering reputation (probably because it's undeniably the iconic image of the Moore era at its commercial peak).

[Daddy Bond]

THE SPY WHO LOVED ME is a very mixed bag - good in parts, and excellent in places, but it's also overlong, with stretches of boredom and/or silliness. It's severely overrated - mostly by non-hardcore Bond fans, though, I've found. No way is it the best film of the series, or even close. Neither is one of the worst. It's a solid middle-of-the-pack outing that's somehow managed to acquire a glittering reputation (probably because it's undeniably the iconic image of the Moore era at its commercial peak).

Personally, I place it as #1 because I enjoy watching it more than any of the other Bond films. Perhaps that makes me less than a hard core Bond fan . Either way, most people rank it above middle of the pack (even if it's not their favorite), not because of any reputation, but because I think they genuininely enjoy watching the film.

Regards.

[Loomis]

THE SPY WHO LOVED ME is a very mixed bag - good in parts, and excellent in places, but it's also overlong, with stretches of boredom and/or silliness. It's severely overrated - mostly by non-hardcore Bond fans, though, I've found. No way is it the best film of the series, or even close. Neither is one of the worst. It's a solid middle-of-the-pack outing that's somehow managed to acquire a glittering reputation (probably because it's undeniably the iconic image of the Moore era at its commercial peak).

Personally, I place it as #1 because I enjoy watching it more than any of the other Bond films. Perhaps that makes me less than a hard core Bond fan . Either way, most people rank it above middle of the pack (even if it's not their favorite), not because of any reputation, but because I think they genuininely enjoy watching the film.

Regards.

Well, I won't argue with any of that, and I'd certainly never say that anyone is less of a Bond fan for liking such-and-such film the most. Heck, my favourite Bond flick's THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN, which definitely puts me in a very tiny minority of 007 fans!

People genuinely enjoy watching the film? Fair enough. I do, too, although I'll admit to being bored by the final battle and rather dragged-out ending. It's a film full of truly great moments (mostly in the first half, though, IMO), and definitely more iconic images than probably any of the subsequent series entries (Jaws, the Lotus going underwater, the ski jump....). But that isn't to say that it doesn't have flaws, and I don't see that it's really a superior film to many of the other Bonds. What I will say, though, is that the series would be a little poorer without it (just a little, though ).

I mean, I'm not out to slam THE SPY WHO LOVED ME, but, yes, I do think it has an undeservedly high rep (along with GOLDFINGER* and, following its relatively recent rehabilitation in fandom, ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE).

*As with TSWLM, I think GOLDFINGER has an absolutely brilliant first half, but loses a lot of steam from there. And, like TSWLM, it's full of iconic images and memorable "movie moments", which means it's praised rather more than, as a film in its entirety, it deserves.

[Qwerty]

Always has and still is my #1 favourite.

[manfromjapan]

Interesting comments!

I always thought this one was in the middle of the pack, but watching it again recently, I changed my opinion. Whilst agreeing with nearly all of the negative comments, I think it is very hard to find many 007 flicks that move so briskly, are both funny and serious, have such great action, locations and characters, and approach the effortless cool and enjoyability factor of the early'60's and OHMSS.

It doesn't try to be artistic.

It's reputation is one of the purest IMO - it is held so highly because people watch it a lot rather than believe it to be a good representation of what they consider to be Bondian.

I also have to say that I love the model, matte and special effects in the film, as well as the photography.

And come on, Roger dropping the fish out of the car window is funny!!!

I would place it behind OHMSS, FRWL, GF, DN, GE, LTK and TLD. It is certainly more fun (and better paced) than TB.

[Skudor]

It's a true epic Bond movie. I think it's one of the best purely because it's one of the most watchable and enjoyable of the series. Not because of any great overall quality - it's just entertaining. One of Moore's finest.

[Qwerty]

My review from the Countdown threads:

[Skudor]

That just reminded me - the tension between Amasova and Bond over the killing of Sergei is really well done in the movie. I've bought into the suspense of it far too many times, considering I know how it all ends! Excellent stuff!

[DaveBond21]

Yes, I love it. TSWLM is certainly in my Top 5, with FRWL, FYEO, TLD and GE. It is a real "Greatest Hits Package" of everything that is good about Bond - girls, gadgets, villains' lairs, henchmen, exotic locations, fist fights, and stunts.

It is basically the same plot as YOLT and is directed by the same man, Lewis Gilbert, but is done so much better.

Up there with the best.

[codenamel]

It's the Biggest.....It's the Best....It's Bond and Beyond.... and it still holds up as the best James Bond film made between GOLDFINGER and FYEO. Roger Moore just does not get any better, and that's the best there is. Still prefer FYEO, OCTOPUSSY and AVTAK among the Moore films, but it is an embarrassment of riches to choose from.

[Blofeld's Cat]

The Spy Who Loved Me is my most favourite Bond movie to date.

[Double-Oh Agent]

The Spy Who Loved Me is great and thoroughly entertaining. It ranks number 007 on my Bond list. As has been mentioned, there are so many things to like and so many iconic Bond moments--from the PTS ski jump to swatting away Sandor, from the sets to the stunts, from the music to the cinematography, from the Lotus to the Wetbike, and from the villains to the girls, virtually everything clicks in this film.

[MarcAngeDraco]

It has great moments, but overall it's rather middle of the pack for me...

Maybe I just can't get past some of the ridiculous scenes (Anya incompetently attempting to drive the telephone van away from Jaws while Bond incessantly makes annoying and idiotic wisecracks, for instance...)

[Turn]

It has great moments, but overall it's rather middle of the pack for me...

Maybe I just can't get past some of the ridiculous scenes (Anya incompetently attempting to drive the telephone van away from Jaws while Bond incessantly makes annoying and idiotic wisecracks, for instance...)

Same here. Besides being painfully unfunny, that van thing really undermines the atmospheric scenes that went before it.

The other big flaws for me in TSWLM are the weakest villain in the series and, like FYEO, so many scenes are based on Bond films past, particularly YOLT.

[Spurrier]

The Spy Who Loved Me is my favorite Bond movie of all time. In fact, I take it further and say, it's one of my all time favorite movies. It's a great combination of suspense, drama, humor, violence, sex and locations.

Roger Moore is at his best. He is ruthless in his killings in this movie. He turns on the charm with the ladies but, also is abrupt with Anya when she mentions his late wife. He shows poise when needed;never panics. He tops his humor with one of the most memorable lines in Bond history ("Just keeping the British end up").

Barbara Bach is beautiful and sexy, one of the best ever. Her role in this movie is significant in Bond history because for the first time, we find a woman who is Bond's equal, rather than a pawn. It's hard to find a Bond movie with a more beautiful pair of women than Bach and Caroline Munro...and still very beautiful to this day.

I can remember watching this movie in the cinema in 1977 and marveling over the scene where Bond skis off the cliff with the British jack parachute. They have tried to top this opening sequence since. But it's hard to top the best.

When one thinks of Bond villains, Jaws is near, if not, at the top.

The music is one for the ages. No Bond song is played more on the radio than Carly Simon's "Nobody Does It Better". And the words in the title are identifiable with James Bond more than any others today. And it's not only that song that's great. The music in the opening ski sequence is perfect for that moment as is the music when the Lotus is underwater.

The underwater Lotus was ahead of its time and realistic as such a car is a reality today. The same can't be said for an invincible car (DAD).

TSWLM could not have been better timing as it seems that the Bond franchise might have been reeling after TMWTGG and the departure of Salzman. "The Spy Who Loved Me" was a grand slam home run, when one was needed.

[DaveBond21]

Good post.

Yes, the PTS set the standard for all subsequent Bond movies to follow.

[elvis-the-burgerking]

I agree roger moore is one of the best bonds followed by sean connery and The Spy who loved me is one of the best Bond films ever made.

[Qwerty]

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