Huievest Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Maidexpl Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

SeeQuant Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

Patience Watson One of those movie experiences that is so good it makes you realize you've been grading everything else on a curve.

gab-14712 The James Bond franchise is one of those franchises that will never die. It has been going strong since the first movie rolled out in the early 1960's, and new James Bond movies are still produced today. What makes this series unique is they use multiple actors to play the titular character over the years. They all bring their own gravitas to the role, and each Bond is a different man when compared to each other (although the martini, shaken not stirred and the beautiful women among other things remain a constant.) So my first James Bond review for this blog is 1977's The Spy Who Loved Me. This wasn't my first look at the series, but it was my first look at the older movies. I really liked what I saw. This is an old-fashioned story that combines a spy drama and an action-packed war movie into one package. Like many of the older Bond movies, the story can get borderline preposterous. The cheesiness of the plot did come to grow on me after awhile, even if the main villain is Russian (remember, this came out during the Cold War) and wants to destroy the world. Also like older Bond (or 007 if you prefer) movies, this movie is invested in its gadgets. There is nothing quite like seeing Bond use these cool-looking devices that can do powerful things.James Bond (Roger Moore) is back for a new mission! This mission involves finding a Royal Navy submarine holding sixteen nuclear missiles that suddenly vanished without a trace. Bond must team up with Major Anya Amasova (Barbara Bach) to take down the mastermind of the plot named Karl Stromberg (Curd Jurgens) and his henchman named Jaws (Richard Kiel), whose biggest weapon is his metal teeth. The clock is ticking as Bond must find the nuclear weapons before they are fired.There are two questions to ask when watching a James Bond movie. Who are the villains? Who is the Bond girl? Both very essential to a Bond movie, as they can make or break the movie. In this case, we get two (mostly) effective villains, and a good-looking Bond lady. While Stromberg is the main villain with the plan, he is not too strong of a villain. I am more interested in Jaws. Jaws is actually labeled as one of the best villains in any Bond film, and I would wholeheartedly agree. He is quite a menace. He may be a little clumsy, but goodness once you see the teeth he has, you might rather face the shark that Jaws is named after. There are scenes here that can be quite gruesome when you see the teeth come into action. As for the girl, I think Major Anya is a good Bond lady. She is an undercover Russian agent, so the political side of that was an interesting concept given the time period.I think the film was well-acted. I believe Roger Moore is one of the weakest Bonds, but he does a solid job. He plays a little older Bond, but his sense of humor and savvy attitude fits this film very well. Richard Kiel is the man who brought Jaws to life (sorry, Spielberg) and well he was terrifying as the sharp-teethed villain. Barbara Bach does a good job as Major Anya, and I liked the rivalry she brought to Bond. Curd Jurgens was a good villain, but his goals are similar to other villains of essentially every other action movie, so his role did not move me in one way or the other.The Spy Who Loved Me is a fun, entertaining action flick and a worthy addition to the James Bond franchise. I liked the realistic tone the film was going for, given the tone of previous films. There is still cheesy parts, but what's a James Bond movie without the cheesiness. I am rather impressed with the visuals of the film. This was filmed on location in the ancient, majestic parts of Egypt and they had some really cool underwater sets and quite frankly, I loved the visuals of Stromberg's lair in the middle of the ocean. There is lots of action, although I feel the final act of the film chooses to do the obligatory action conclusions that many action movies do these days. However, the fights involving Jaws is just worth watching this movie for. If you are new to the franchise, this is a good beginning.My Grade: B+

bowmanblue If the Roger Moore era had a peak, it was definitely 'The Spy Who Loved Me.' It seemed to be the perfect combination of everything Bond. It has everything from – arguably – the most beautiful Bond girl in the (perfect!) form of Barbara Bach, a nice overtone of Cold War paranoia (that was prevalent at the time of filming in the late seventies) and naturally the stunts, car chases and Q's gadgets (the pinnacle of which being that awesome car which doubles as a submarine!). The plot follows Bond on a routine (or that's 'routine' for him!) mission where he retrieves a delicate microchip while being pursued by those faceless enemy agents who can't shoot straight on a ski slope. Naturally he offs a couple with considerable ease, only to find that one of his targets wasn't quite as faceless as they normally are. It was a case of a henchman with a backstory (think those cutaway scenes in the first Austin Powers movie) where he was dating another female spy. And, when she gets assigned the same mission as Bond, there's more than a little s3xual tension between the two.Yes, there may be a supervillain in there who lives in an underwater lair (some people seem to object whenever a supervillain comes into play, as it does always lean the story to the far-fetched), however the film gets so much right that even the most die-hard supervillain haters can't help but give this one a pass. Perhaps another reason people lay off 'Stromberg' is because he's not in it that much (which is a good thing, because, if this film does have a weak link, it's him – he is pretty wooden – almost worse than 'Drax' from 'Moonraker'). The real villain is Jaws – possibly the most famous and beloved of all the foes Bond has ever gone up against. Yes, Jaws never sets out for world domination, however he's simply far more dangerous and enjoyable to watch than any cat-stroking megalomaniac.It's also worth noting that the largest ever set was built (at the time of filming) to accommodate an action set-piece that would be impressive even by today's standards. An entire studio was repurposed as a submarine pen in order to accommodate a massive battle which definitely stands up to today's standards. In short: best story, best sets, best gadgets, best girl, best villain (Jaws not Stromberg!) and best Bond (my opinion only on that last one!). Apart from the main villain himself, there's almost nothing negative to say about this film. In fact… I guess the theme song sums this film up when it sings, 'Nobody does it better…' Okay, you could argue that Connery did it better, but the simple fact is that no Roger Moore Bond outing is better than this. If you only watch one Moore film, watch this one.

Filipe Neto 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.

tomasg-69814 One of the super movies of the 70's. So I've heard from fellas at work who were in their teens when this James Bond movie came out. Such space adventures as Star Wars and Close Encounters must have been hard to compete with this year, but 007 was to be "down to earth" for one more act, then surrender.I myself can't find that many flaws in this film. All the necessary essences are there, such as the thrilling ski-jump of the opening scene. British - Russian collaboration (and love story, of course) spice it up, to crush a common enemy who wants the world population to start all over again, below and beyond the sea, after the usual destruction of the world as we know it. (Got it/heard it before?)Great tour to Egypt and Sardinia, among places, on the way. Script-entering the hit-man Jaws ( R.I.P Richard Kiel) went out so well that he was to return, not being annihilated here. The beautiful,wedge-shaped, sporty and sexy white Lotus S1 (actually a poor developed, unfinished and doubtful car, according to the memories from one Roger Moore) became such an addictive must-have car in public. The era of the flashy Seiko LCD watches, for which you have to put up some hard money getting one at E-bay in these days, started around here. ( Model 0674 in this movie, I think.)Yes, I think this film represents the 1970's James Bond movies to the fullest. A little shallow, a little plastic, mostly speculative. But as wonderful as a Bond movie could have been at the time. Kind of moderate acting from some of the casts is aided by all the action and gadgets, and the beautiful women. (There's really one in EVERY corner, wherever James Bond's feet takes him.)I find it fun - as of just 40 years old, today - imagining heading for the cinemas in 1977 as a teenage boy for this super adventure. Exhilarated, excited and a little bit stressed for the experience to come, I would have taken several rounds to the Men's room in the lobby, just to avoid such interruptions during the show.And before the 70's was over, the audience still had the pleasure to wait for, and be presented to, by then the most expensive, lavish and extravagant Bond movie ever.