The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) Review

Sorry for this being a day late!

Because of several problems, pre-production of The Spy Who Loved Me was hell, struggling to get a director, legal difficulties and financial problems; this film was pivotal and could have been the last. Through all this turmoil one of the greatest Bond films emerged.

First of all the performances are fantastic with Roger Moore completely owning the role, looking comfortable and putting his personal stamp on the character, this was when he became really cemented as James Bond. Everyone else does fantastic with Curd Jürgens doing everything he can with the reasonably characterless Stormberg making for a very sinister yet somewhat dull villain. Talking about villains, in this film we are introduced to one of the best henchmen of the series in the form of Jaws who is also very ominous with a great screen presence.

The music was also excellent; it works well with the film while being a lot of fun to listen to as well. Some might say it’s a little dated with all its synthesizers and more electronic approach but I love it. The track ‘Bond 77’ is one of my favorite tracks from any Bond score and I listen to it very regularly. The visuals and aesthetics of this film is some of my favorites of the series also, superb lighting and editing with absolutely marvelous sets and thrilling action all displayed with great camerawork.

The Spy Who Loved Me is absolutely one of my favourite films in the Bond franchise, tense, well acted, visually fantastic and a load of fun, an absolute classic and essential viewing for a fan of 007 or the spy genre in general.

8/10