The underwater car, the terrifying henchman and perhaps the most iconic opening scene of all time.
The Spy Who Loved Me is a cracker…
This article comes fromDen of Geek UK.
And so we arrive at the best Epic Bond of the lot.
A great big chocolate fudge sundae of a film with extra waffles and butterscotch ice cream.
It begins by making a parachute iconic and cracks on from there.
Nuclear Armageddon meetsFinding Nemo whats not to like?
Hops around the globe without losing its direction.
Never once stops trying to just the audience.
The Villain:Overshadowed by his henchman.
Stromberg isnt a terrible antagonist but he hardly sets the pulse racing.
Comes across a bit Blofeld-lite: (I Cant Believe its not Blofeld!)
SPECTRE were supposed to be resurrected but legal shenanigans denied Moore his shot at the Connery heavyweights.
Stromberg is a decent replacement.
A stodgy dish but fantastic trappings.
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The Girl:As fierce as Pussy Galore, as beautiful as Solitaire.
Anya Amasova is an extremely high calibre heroine and just the tonic needed after a succession of drips.
She is the female equivalent of James Bond, although naturally not quite as good.
Holds only a brief grudge over Bond killing her long-term boyfriend.
Although the Russian accent is tolerable, her codename Triple X is more problematic.
Every time anybody says it, a shirtless Vin Diesel must be banished from my mind.
And people say it a lot.
A confession:I really wanted to dislike this one.
I hadnt seen the film for years, and for some reason I harbored vaguely negative memories.
And everybody loves it.
After all, theres nothing like mass adulation to provoke instant prejudice.
So I settled down to watch, hackles raised and teeth bared.
And, after ten minutes, it reall hit me: its really bloody good, isnt it?
Watch The Spy Who Loved Me on Amazon
The pre-credits is a zinger.
Impressive, especially for a series hardly renowned for narrative economy.
Bonds silent freefall after skiing off a precipice might be the signature stunt of the series.
Cue the Union Jack parachute and Monty Norman at full blast.
Spines tingle, air is punched.
Such moments illustrate why the franchise has lasted 52 years and counting.
The Spy Who Loved Mecan be described in one word: fun.
The entire film has a great big smile on its face from start to finish.
Is there one unpleasant moment?
This is evident in the song, which became the unofficial slogan of the franchise.
And, truthfully, nobody does it better than Bond: it of course being that word again fun.
Certainly not when on form like this.
As a byword for pure entertainment, James Bond is the most potent name in pop culture.
Anyway: the film.
Two notable Big Fish make their debuts here.
Actor Walter Gotell played SPECTRE thug Morzeny inFrom Russia With Love, last seen ablaze in a boat.
Makes sense, no?
Egypt in Bond-land consists solely of the Sahara desert, the pyramids, and a lot of ancient ruins.
For me, Jaws stalking Fekkesh through the tombs is one of the Great Moments of the whole series.
Certainly I can think of no better introduction to a villain.
The other great Jaws moment is his appearance in Anyas wardrobe.
This is pureHammer Horror: the monster jumping out when you least expect it.
And Jaws really is a monster, far more than he is a person.
As well as the silence, and the metal teeth, his total inability to die is very horror.
Like Dracula he just keeps on coming.
His wardrobe appearance is beyond implausible how long has Jaws been there?
Imagine if he got the wrong train carriage?
And I, for one, jumped.
I bet Checking for Jaws became a bedtime chore for the parents of 1977.
Like most monsters, the dramatic impact of Jaws is one of diminishing returns.
Soon he is reaching for laughs, not chills.
The final confrontation on Atlantis is less thrilling than perhaps it should be.
Rather than battle an implacable opponent, Bond need only outwit an outsized buffoon.
Instead Jaws transitions from chilling bogeyman to the most beloved villain of the franchise.
Even detractors must concede it isnt a bad move.
And, be honest, becoming a submarine is way cooler than a poxy ejector seat.
Car chases are rarely as exciting as the filmmakers think they are but the Lotus is an exception.
The Lotus shows how to do it.
And with tongue shoved firmly in cheek.
Then we go underwater.
Fire rocket at helicopter, killing the beautiful Naomi somewhat harshly.
Oh look, divers!
Continuously shuffling the cards prevents the audience tiring of the trick.
Thats how you do it.
Although the plot is veryYou Only Live Twice, much of the film harks back toGoldfinger.
Both boast classic cars, henchmen, and heroines yet the similarities run deeper still.
They are the two best natured films of the franchise, deft of touch and pretention-free.
A good time is their only agenda.
And there is a shared sense of everything going right.
A serendipitous clicking of components that would prove impossible to replicate.
Neither Connery nor Moore surpassed their third adventure.
At the peak it’s possible for you to only go down.
Henchman, car girl?
Anya Amasova comes the closest to eclipsing herGoldfingercounterpart.
Their squabble over the microfilm powers the first act and, technically, Anya wins.
(Okay, the microfilm is a dud, but those cigarettes are a knockout regardless.)
The romance feels natural, not an act of convenience (Solitaire) or self-flagellation (Goodnight).
Thus her discovery that Bond killed her lover hits both agents hard, and a notable tension descends.
Although the dead lover is a brilliant idea, this plot strand doesnt really go anywhere.
Being a true professional, Anya restricts herself to glowering at Bond on a helicopter.
Her vow of post-mission vengeance never rings true.
Certainly the dead lover adds to the intrigue of the film; this is not criticism but idle musing.
Also: the film occurs three weeks after the boyfriends death.
I still mourn my cat and Buster died two years ago.
In fairness, its hard to circumvent this.
Bond needs a reason to infiltrate Atlantis and Anya is the only logical one.
One is not necessarily better than the other; just different approaches to a permanently problematic archetype.
Moore at his finest.
Nothing else to add.
So while Anya stands alongside Tracy and Pussy Galore, Stromberg is very much of the C list.
Stromberg is a triumph of stylings over substances.
He achieves top marks on henchman, diabolical scheme and lair.
However, while helpful, such details should be embellishments, not cornerstones.
And Stromberg himself is deeply uninteresting.
Take away Oddjob/Operation Grand Slam/the laser and Goldfinger is still a wonderful character and worthy adversary.
Take away Atlantis/Jaws/nuke everybody underwater and Stromberg is nothing but a deluded, dirty old man.
Blofeld really should sue.
Even the climatic battle looks suspiciously familiar havent we seen those reinforced steel shutters somewhere before?
As a straightforward approach is suicidal, Bond hangs from a mobile overhead camera to evade the gunfire.
Only, with the bomb planted, the camera stalls… Once Bond conjures the bomb from the warhead, thats enough.
A clever solution now Bond sneaks up and plants it.
But no, the film declares, this wont do!
Bond must use subterfuge and approach aerially.
And that is enough…
The camera must stall!
The escape route is compromised!
It isnt the greatest action sequence of the series, or perhaps even the film.
But it demonstrates the above and beyond mentality that everybody brought to the party.
So Bond reprograms each sub to fire on the other.
Cue more drama when it appears the two missiles might collide mid-flight!
At least it does on the giant globe in the control room.
Actually I suspect this risk is minimal.
The sky is a pretty big place.
While an elegant solution, it is a somewhat problematic one.
Youve just exploded two nuclear bombs at either end of the Pacific Ocean.
Surely there will be environmental ramifications?
Thats the end of marine life as we know it.
Vast ecosystems wiped out.
Goodbye to any boats within a hundred mile radius.
And what if sea winds blow the radiation inland?
Was cancelling the launch ever a viable option?
Maybe the whole plan is just a massive two fingers to Stromberg.
You like your oceans so much?
Well now were gonna nuke em.
Still, this is what I define as fun quibbling rather than fundamental problem.
In truth there are very few problems withThe Spy Who Loved Me.
The villain lacks panache, Jaws menace slackens, a fascinating plotline tapers off.
Yet solutions arent obvious.
Attempted corrections only disturb further.
Keep Anya vengeful or Jaws psychotic and a brilliantly balanced film tips into darkness.
Flesh out Stromberg and the narrative sags.
you’re free to almost view it as cinematic Jenga.
Remove a brick and the film is diminished, perhaps falls apart completely.
Leave well alone and it towers.
Cinematically,The Spy Who Loved Mebroke and breaks little new ground.
The similarities with the two Connery outings are obvious and discussed above.
But historically,The Spy Who Loved Meis a vital film.
It replenished the critical and commercial stock of a franchise that appeared to be leaving the building with Elvis.
And my God will that stock be required: the series is about to enter its leanest period.
RemoveThe Spy Who Loved Mefrom the landscape and the outlook is bleak.
Would the series have reached the mojo-restoringGoldeneyein 1995?
The film exists, the series continued.
We live in an uncertain world of many certainties.
And people are watching.
And they are happy.
Oh, and the parachute.
Worst Bit:Two weeks later when all the fish start growing tentacles and the Pacific turns bright yellow.
Final Thought:Blows me out of the water:
