The Spy who loved me
Added 9/9/2009
I am not a fan of Roger Moore - but - he isn't bad here. However, it is the 'setting' that makes this film noteworthy. Spying should take place in Istanbul and Cairo and not in the US (excuse the yawn) or the West Indies. I want exotic sites in my James Bond films - I want mosques and palaces - this is where spying belongs. This is second only to the brilliant 'From Russia with Love'.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Nobody does it better than Barbara Bach; Moore is not so bad either
Added 6/20/2009
I started watching some Bond movies again and came across this Ultimate Bond DVD. This is a fine film and fine DVD. Having watched Live and Let Die last night, the disappointment from that less-than-adventure almost prevented me from watching Spy. I am glad I persevered. This is really one of the better Bonds with Moore. There are many smarmy wisecracks here but they work just right. Somehow they got it right balancing the romance, the action, and the Moore.
I particularly liked Barbara Bach: she perhaps isn't the finest actress they've had with the Bond girls, but she looks fantastic and offers a fine romantic foil to Bond.
This DVD also is quite good. Moore provides, what he calls, a "one-way conversation" with you in the 2nd audio track. He is more amusing and charming as himself than as Bond. I let Moore go in the background while cleaning up the house and hooted many times. It is a very entertaining and warm addition to the DVD.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
My Favorite Bond Film (along with For Your Eyes Only)
Added 5/25/2009
I totally dig this movie. First of all, if you're checking the boxes of Bond film components, it definitely gets high marks: [Lot of spoilers follow]
Cold opening: skiiing off the cliff and opening the Union Jack parachute = classic (of course, in theory, he'd be a pretty easy target for some Russian at the bottom of the mountain, but this is a Bond film so we don't mention stuff like that).
Song: #1 Bond song of all time, in my book. 30+ years on and it's still in my ipod rotation.
Arch-villian: Stromberg's pretty far fetched, but no more so than Goldfinger. Who really wants a realistic megalomaniac?
Henchman: Jaws. Coolest ever. Not just the teeth, but the indestructibility: his car plummets from the sky into a house, he brushes himself off. Stranded in the middle of the ocean? No problem, just a long swim. And don't even try to take him out with a puny 2x4.
Bond girl: XXX (Barbara Bach). One of the first Bond girls who was more than just window dressing. Having to work with Bond while also nursing a vendetta against him, a step ahead of him on more than one occasion (such as knocking him out on the barge & knowing how to operate the special features on the Lotus). Plus, getting all b***hy with Stromberg's bikini assistant/hit-girl.
Gadgets: 1. The Lotus. 2. The Lotus! 3. The sub-eating supertanker. 4. The false-bottomed elevator. 5. Stromberg's submerged pad. 6. The Lotus!!!
Action scenes: decent. Not as good as FYEO, but respectable, with a balanced dose of humor (that would unfortunately get out of control in later Moore films).
There are no slow patches, no silly introspection, no moralizing. Just good ol' '70's non-PC fun.
I mean it's not Raiders or Star Wars, but it's a blast nonetheless.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Well, look at it this way.
Added 4/12/2009
Rabid Fleming fanboyism gets on my nerves A LOT, so if you fanboys/girls comment saying "Yeah but the book was better", your comments will be immediately deleted.
Anyways, after two disastrous movies, The Spy Who Loved Me broke the series out of the funk and gave us a solid Bond we'll all remember. Despite the cheesy title, which may sound like a noir romance, this is a pure Bond flick. Sure it's quite unconventional. Plus we have Jaws here, and that;s a bonus.
The scenes in the desert are pretty awesome and for once, Moore turns in a great performance. Plus the ski chase in the beginning is a tad reminiscent of OHMSS, but also leads into the opening credits quite beautifully.
This isn't he best Bond, but it certainly is a great movie. Do not miss this one.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
|
Best of Moore and the 1970s Bond
Added 3/30/2009
The Spy Who Loved Me was a film that I had always wanted to see and upon finally seeing it I can safely say that it is the best film in Roger Moore's run as James Bond. It is full of humor, wit, and charm, as well as action that was true to the Connery films of the 1960s (something that was lacking in Moore's previous films, Live And Let die, and The Man with the Golden Gun).
It involves a plot to hijack nuclear submarines by shipping tycoon Karl Stromberg, who lives in a underwater lair...But who cares about him! The only villain you people really want to see here is iconic henchmen, Jaws. Yes, that towering man with a metal teeth who fits his job description well. "This is jaws. He kills people."(Quote from Moonraker) Of course they should have said: "And cars, gates, sharks, chains, wires...pretty much anything he gets his hands or teeth on."
Of course James Bond has to stop this from happening, so after teaming up with the very attractive Russian agent known as Triple X Moore jumps into action (I wonder what Bond and "XXX" will be up to by the end of the film...). Together they face against the best that our dear friend, Stromberg, can throw at them, ranging from Jaws to random assassins. By the end, in true Bond fashion, our hero and a team of soldiers take on an army of henchmen in a giant supertanker while (of course) fighting against the clock to the facility's self-destruct timer.
Like any Moore film The Spy Who Loved Me is just plain fun and you can sit down and enjoy watching every second of it. It isn't as good as the Connery films, but at the same time it isn't at all a bad Bond film.
Personally, I think if you're someone who generally dislikes Moore this is the Bond film for you. It is the closest of Moore's outings to the original Sean Connery adventures and several moments are even able to bring out the charm of those earlier films.
So if you're not a fan of Moore you don't have to see *all* his outings as James Bond, but if you have to choose a single Moore Bond film to own The Spy Who Loved Me takes the cake as his most professionally done 007 film.
Trust me; you don't want to miss out on this one.
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
|
The Spy who loved me
Added 9/9/2009
I am not a fan of Roger Moore - but - he isn't bad here. However, it is the 'setting' that makes this film noteworthy. Spying should take place in Istanbul and Cairo and not in the US (excuse the yawn) or the West Indies. I want exotic sites in my James Bond films - I want mosques and palaces - this is where spying belongs. This is second only to the brilliant 'From Russia with Love'.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Nobody does it better than Barbara Bach; Moore is not so bad either
Added 6/20/2009
I started watching some Bond movies again and came across this Ultimate Bond DVD. This is a fine film and fine DVD. Having watched Live and Let Die last night, the disappointment from that less-than-adventure almost prevented me from watching Spy. I am glad I persevered. This is really one of the better Bonds with Moore. There are many smarmy wisecracks here but they work just right. Somehow they got it right balancing the romance, the action, and the Moore.
I particularly liked Barbara Bach: she perhaps isn't the finest actress they've had with the Bond girls, but she looks fantastic and offers a fine romantic foil to Bond.
This DVD also is quite good. Moore provides, what he calls, a "one-way conversation" with you in the 2nd audio track. He is more amusing and charming as himself than as Bond. I let Moore go in the background while cleaning up the house and hooted many times. It is a very entertaining and warm addition to the DVD.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
My Favorite Bond Film (along with For Your Eyes Only)
Added 5/25/2009
I totally dig this movie. First of all, if you're checking the boxes of Bond film components, it definitely gets high marks: [Lot of spoilers follow]
Cold opening: skiiing off the cliff and opening the Union Jack parachute = classic (of course, in theory, he'd be a pretty easy target for some Russian at the bottom of the mountain, but this is a Bond film so we don't mention stuff like that).
Song: #1 Bond song of all time, in my book. 30+ years on and it's still in my ipod rotation.
Arch-villian: Stromberg's pretty far fetched, but no more so than Goldfinger. Who really wants a realistic megalomaniac?
Henchman: Jaws. Coolest ever. Not just the teeth, but the indestructibility: his car plummets from the sky into a house, he brushes himself off. Stranded in the middle of the ocean? No problem, just a long swim. And don't even try to take him out with a puny 2x4.
Bond girl: XXX (Barbara Bach). One of the first Bond girls who was more than just window dressing. Having to work with Bond while also nursing a vendetta against him, a step ahead of him on more than one occasion (such as knocking him out on the barge & knowing how to operate the special features on the Lotus). Plus, getting all b***hy with Stromberg's bikini assistant/hit-girl.
Gadgets: 1. The Lotus. 2. The Lotus! 3. The sub-eating supertanker. 4. The false-bottomed elevator. 5. Stromberg's submerged pad. 6. The Lotus!!!
Action scenes: decent. Not as good as FYEO, but respectable, with a balanced dose of humor (that would unfortunately get out of control in later Moore films).
There are no slow patches, no silly introspection, no moralizing. Just good ol' '70's non-PC fun.
I mean it's not Raiders or Star Wars, but it's a blast nonetheless.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
