The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

Directed by Lewis Gilbert. Starring Roger Moore, Barbara Bach, Curt Jürgens, George Baker, Richard Kiel, Caroline Munro, Bernard Lee, Walter Gotell, Geoffrey Keen, Edward de Souza, Desmond Llewelyn, Sydney Tafler, Lois Maxwell. [PG]

Moore finally settles into the role of James Bond in his third outing, tenth overall. He teams up with an alluring Russian spy (Bach) to stop a megalomaniac (Stromberg) and his ludicrous plot to eradicate the world’s population and start a new civilization under the sea (with Ariel and Sebastian the Crab?). Ken Adam’s supertanker and underwater lair designs are impressive, the gadgets and gimmicks are above average, and Bond meets his match in a giant, steel-toothed henchman called Jaws (Kiel), but the story is routine and the final act—basically a string of climactic battles—goes on too long. The premise of pairing Bond with a beautiful enemy/rival is a good one, so it’s a shame that Bach isn’t up to the task (she seems dazed most of the time, and never exudes any real spycraft skill or danger), and her character is let down by a script that sidelines and “damsels” her down the stretch. Highlights include an eye-popping ski jump stunt in the pre-titles scene, an elaborate chase scene in Sardinia, and an especially evocative set piece near the Great Pyramids, with particular attention to flashes of unnatural light and consuming darkness. Takes its title from Ian Fleming’s novel, but the plots are completely different. Carly Simon sings “Nobody Does It Better” (music by Marvin Hamlisch), one of the more recognizable tunes in the franchise’s history.

67/100