Day 10 - The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) - Film Review

Starring: Roger Moore, Barbara Bach, Curd Jurgens & Richard Kiel

Screenplay: Christopher Wood & Richard Maibaum

Directed By: Lewis Gilbert

Certificate: PG

Entering double digits, we now arrive at the tenth James Bond film. 'The Spy Who Loved Me' begins with the disappearance of two nuclear submarines - one belonging to the British and the other to the Russians. MI6 bring in Bond to investigate, which brings him to Egypt, where the plans for an advanced submarine tracking system are being put on sale. As he tries to recover the plans, Bond encounters a rival Russian agent who is also there to obtain them. Both are committed to returning the plans to their respective agencies, but they may have to set their differences aside to combat a much bigger threat. 

From the opening eight minutes alone, it was a relief to find that things were already off to a much more promising start than last time. Instead of redundant, if fancy sequences going around a hall of mirrors, 'The Spy Who Loved Me' gets its main pieces into position with great efficiency. We have the disappearance of the submarines, the introduction of Agent Triple X and have Bond summoned to headquarters. When we cut to a man and woman in bed together somewhere in Russia, and the as-yet-unknown Agent Triple X is called up, everything about this franchise had me conditioned to think that the man was the agent. I mean, with a chest that hairy he evens reminds me of Sean Connery. But shocker... Agent Triple X is the woman! It's a neat little subversion that plays on your conditioned expectations. Then we have Bond, who has to escape a bunch of goons by skiing across some snowy mountain slopes. Nothing about the scene is particularly new or mind-blowing - in fact it reminded me a lot of 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service'. Even the abduction of the submarines is practically the same conceit as the spacecraft being taken in 'You Only Live Twice'. But it still works nonetheless, and Bond's escape is a nice snappy action scene - the prolonged silence as he skis over the cliff edge is particularly effective, and the Union Flag parachute he deploys is another iconic image.

So far, so good and it's here we're brought to the theme of the film, this one called 'Nobody Does It Better' and sung by Carly Simon. One of the more successful Bond tracks, this was a marked improvement over the last theme. While musically I don't think there's much I can comment on, what makes the track stand out is Simon's voice - it's a fantastic performance. The accompanying visuals are really pleasing to watch as well, and probably my favourite since 'You Only Live Twice'.

As for the rest of the film, one of the first things to really stand out about it was the setting. Ten films in, by now it does feel like Bond has been to plenty of different corners of the globe - far-east Asia, North America, the Caribbean, Europe etc. This time, much of the first hour takes place in Egypt, and it does help to give the film a unique feel. The production crew made the most of the time they had for location shooting, and that shows through with some really pretty shots of the sun-kissed desert, and even finding time to check in at the the pyramids and various other ancient sites. There is still a whiff of Orientalism in some scenes, but if feels a lot less direct than in some previous occurrences. I'm also noticing something of a running motif developing where MI6 seemingly have a headquarters anywhere you turn, and it is quite amusing seeing stuff like Moneypenny waiting for Bond in an office built among some ancient ruins.

But by far the biggest triumph of 'The Spy Who Loved Me' isn't its location, but rather Barbara Bach as Agent Triple X, a.k.a. Anya Amasova. From looking at the body language and staging of the topmost image, I wasn't expecting much change here as it just looks like Bond with almost any interchangeable female supporting character - they'll have sex and that'll be the end of it. But I couldn't have been more wrong, and I'm so happy about that. Amasova still fits the Bond girl mould in many ways, but she has the most agency and narrative importance of any Bond girl so far. We've had hints and promises of some Bond girls being more than just a sex object, perhaps most notably with Diana Rigg's character, but Amasova is the first I've felt to really deliver on that promise. She and Bond don't immediately f*ck, and she's able to manipulate Bond's penchant for seduction and casual misogyny back on him. Bach and Moore also have a really strong rapport with each other and even in their earlier scenes you get the sense that while they quarrel, there's still an underlying respect for one another. And it doesn't both me that Bond and Amasova do end up sleeping with each other. Remember when I said I wouldn't necessarily want the Bond films to be sexless? This is a prime example of why, because in this case it feels like a natural progression for both characters. In fact there's only one aspect of the plot involving them that never really lands - Bond killed her lover when making his ski escape. When she finds out, Amasova promises to kill Bond at the end of their mission, but the groundwork is never really there for this subplot to amount to much, so it's no surprise that this plot thread is just dropped in the end.

If Amasova is the greatest triumph of 'The Spy Who Loved Me', then conversely the main villain Karl Stromberg is its greatest weakness. There's nothing that bad about him really, but he's just a rather generic baddie - the bread and butter if you like. He has an elaborate base (the exterior of which is a great bit of miniature model work by the way), several henchmen and wants to screw over the world for his own means. He even feeds people to sharks, as we've encountered with villains of yesteryear like Largo. But ultimately Stromberg is little more than a lukewarm amalgam of past Bond villains. Fortunately, the spotlight is kind of usurped by Richard Kiel as Jaws. There's a good reason why Jaws is by far the more recognizable, iconic villain. Kiel is perfect casting too - not only does his 7ft+ height make him a towering physical presence, but the way he stays mostly silent and how good he is at giving a sinister smile leaves a far stronger impression. At several points he provides some actually good jump-scares, plus I think there's something more threatening about a villain that prefers not to use a gun but who gets much closer up when attacking people, to the extent that his finishing move is to bite them with his metal... well, jaws. 

I'd been praying that the third time would be the charm for Roger Moore... and I think it was. Maybe the three years between films gave the production crew time to gather themselves, but whatever it was it paid off as this is easily the strongest film of Moore's tenure thus far. I've seen several reviews claim this to be his best Bond film, and while for me at least that remains to be seen, three films in I can so far concur. It's not hugely original, but its familiar elements are executed well-enough to keep it entertaining, and with the best Bond girl the series has featured so far.

7/10

NEXT TIME - Moonraker