"The Spy Who Loved Me" Review

STORY As the plot and title rely on the lives of spies, its great to see Bond doing more spying than schmoozing. I love anytime we see Bond being tricky, stealthy, sneaking into places and watching others from afar. The plot is easy to follow, but still has some complexity. In the first half, the romantic plot is front and center and the great adventure their on is secondary. I love that idea and hope it returns. The mission they are on is sort of small potatoes for Bond anyway. Its really the interesting characters he meets, the thrilling danger he escapes and the relationship with XXX that impress you. Until we get to the 3rd Act where Bond is using his brawn, bullets and brain more than ever. I applaud how Bond kills Stromberg. Its great to finally see Bond just waste a terrible human being realistically, ironically in such a fantastic film.

STYLE The Moore films come into their own here. His first two outings are stylish, underrated and fun but far from perfect. His films after "Spy" are fun, light adventure films but were too simple and cartoony. This film is a crossroads, and its an excellent film to introduce you to Moore's Bond. You'll see both sides of his series here. Every extravagant element is played straight, never reaching stupidity or camp. We have an assassin with steel teeth and a villain with an underwater layer, but it comes off menacing, in the Fleming style of the bizarre villain.
The action is well above average. Skiing, guns and car chases are saved for short, appropriate moments and we get more close, physical combat which I always prefer. The action is directed and choreographed gracefully instead of the whiz-bang style of John Glen's films. The direction is flawless, full of iconic shots and beautiful photography. The Egyptian scenes are some of the prettiest in the film. This is when Bond films were classy. Director Lewis Gilbert seems to fully understand what Guy Hamilton was going for after GF, as he blends tender, witty humor with sophisticated adventure and suspense, all while keeping Bond as cool as can be. He's helped by a wonderful and unique musical score that helps Moore step out of the Connery shadow and be his own Bond.

LEGACY When its great, TSWLM shows us how modern and innovative the series has been. Bond is globe-trotting here, but he's taken to places we've never seen before, but will be reused again and again. Rewatching it, I see how QoS reused the bits with Bond spying at a big outdoor convention AND coldly letting an opponent fall off of a roof. The inclusion of a female secret agent is a highlight of the film. The two characters are a perfect fit, and the acting compliments the relationship. The fact that they work against each other gives Bond a chance to play off a woman without being overly sexual.
The most influential things here are the action scenes and "Avengers"-inspired gadgetry. Very inventive and colorful stuff that was ripped off endlessly in action films all over the world. TSWLM is probably the 2nd most ripped off or referenced Bond film after Goldfinger. The jokes/action/gadgetry would become too heavy in future films (Thanks for saving us, Casino Royale!), but this film shows it can work if the ideas are fresh and cool.

ACTING Roger Moore is incredible here. Stern, masculine, relaxed, sexy, sly and cool. Not the "silly uncle" Bond most of his detractors remember. He delivers his humorous lines gracefully, deadpan and less mawkishly. He's playing a dangerous gentleman who jokes and not a distinguished comedian who's a spy. And he looks great here. The youth in LALD is gone and he's showing some refine and visual maturity here. Finally he seems comfortable in the role. Some have problems with his nonthreatening demeanor and use of stunt men, but I think he's at his most believably dangerous here. I've never really like Roger Moore's clothing, but its kept simple and classic here. His performance in "Spy" has just aged very, very well. He uses a quieter charisma here than his other films. And he has his most serious moments as Bond ever when he learns he killed XXX's lover and when he must handle a mini missile crisis.

Everyone else is great here too. Barbara Bach works for some reason. I think she's beautiful in a way you never see, and her gentle, atonal voice works for her character. The more buxom and flashy actresses here are great. I wish there was more of Caroline Munro and Valerie Leon, but their limited roles make them so memorable. Richard Kiel is as intimidating as you get. But he's so likable too. Curd Jurgens as Stromberg is nice, but I think he would have made the ULTIMATE Blofeld! Stromberg's motive is really psychotic and you have to love how he plays it so legitimately. M, Moneypenny and Q are used sparingly and I'm not complaining.

FLAWS The biggest flaw the film has is that its so full of ideas that it recycles a lot of stuff we have seen in other films. Apparently, Stromberg was to be Blofeld. Had it been Blofeld we could excuse some of the faux SPECTRE action and Stromberg's little screen time and lack of backstory. People find many scenes too similar to YOLT ex. the villain feeding his henchwoman to killer fish, the climactic big battle between the henchman and government agents. There's other bits that we've seen done better like Stromberg blowing up an associate's helicopter is weaker than Wint and Kidd doing it in DAF. Bond using a woman as a human shield here a'la TB. We've seen Bond fight on a train just two films ago. And more sharks?? These little unoriginal bits are minor grievances, but they stop TSWLM from getting too high a grade.

If there is one word to describe this film its "SOLID". I can't decide if its as great as the pre-Moore Bond films, but I think its safe to say this is as close as it gets til Goldeneye and Casino Royale. This is the film to silence any Roger Moore haters out there. There's so little to complain about and so much to commend, so I give it a
8/10

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