The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
After Guy Hamilton gave us some of the best Bond films of the franchise, of course I was nervous for a new director to take over but when I learned it was Lewis Gilbert making his franchise return after You Only Live Twice (one of my favorite films of the franchise) I felt really reassured. Hearing the plot of the movie I became even more intrigued. After a series of British and Soviet submarines go missing James Bond (Roger Moore) is sent to investigate but the Soviets also has sent an agent by the name of Anya Amasova (Barbara Bach). Despite working towards the same general goal, Bond and Amasova butt heads and often feud with each other over information.

This dynamic is something not seen in a Bond film before and when combined with certain elements that play out over the course of the plot is one that takes some really effective depth and emotions. Never before has a Bond film taken such a serious look at the consequences of Bond's actions quite like how this film handles it. It shows that the enemy Bond is facing most of the time are also just people and that the deaths do impact others. It's not the focus of the film but there is enough of a commentary and exploration of the matter that it is properly brought up and handled. The dynamic of Bond having competition from a side similar to him (especially from a woman) is also just fresh and fun adding a new dynamic to scenes nearly identical to those we have seen in previous films helping the film feel fresh. The villains are also pretty solid in this film with one going way above and beyond. Last year during this series which focused on the Godzilla films I for some reason fell in love with Ebrah and this year the same happened with the villain of Jaws (Richard Kiel). Where sure his character is kinda dumb and cheesy being a huge and powerful guy who has metal shark teeth but my god is he a force to deal with and is so much fun. Again the dynamic of Bond fighting a truly unstoppable monster of a man is new to the franchise but really works here. The sheer amount of destruction he is able to cause is cartoonish but effective, he really carries a presence to him and feels like an unstoppable threat.

The actual visual design of the film is also strong for the most part, as mentioned in previous reviews for this series, one of my favorite aspects of Bond films are all the unique locations and settings that they take place in. Again this takes us to the new setting of Egypt and the desert which on its own feels fresh and interesting but how they shoot certain scenes are straight up breathtaking. Take the scene with the pyramids for example, taking place during a nighttime show where there are all these bright colored lights shining on these classic structures where our characters are the film's use of color and shadow is a remarkable sequence that nearly took my breath away with its beauty. With that said where there is a real craft to certain aspects of the film there also is plenty of camp that just is not that good object fully. Where aspects like Jaws and his killings are enjoyable they are not that good as far as quality goes and does hold the film back just a bit. The plot itself also just isn't that interesting, as I mentioned there are certain thematic ideas explored that are really interesting but especially in the first half of the film where they really aren't present the film is a bit confusing and interesting. Why these submarines are being captured never really intrigued me and it wasn't over the top enough to be entertaining like Jaws was. Instead, it is stuck in a weird middle area that was forgettable overall.
Still, I did enjoy The Spy Who Loved Me quite a bit. Where the actual plot is forgettable it is filled with enough interesting dynamics and moments of genuine fun that I found myself enjoying watching it. It is far from being a technically great movie but especially in the clear transition that the franchise is going from serious to camp it is a good outing. There is enough here that I would recommend you check the movie out if you haven't before, just don't expect the technically best Bond film there is in the franchise.
Still, I did enjoy The Spy Who Loved Me quite a bit. Where the actual plot is forgettable it is filled with enough interesting dynamics and moments of genuine fun that I found myself enjoying watching it. It is far from being a technically great movie but especially in the clear transition that the franchise is going from serious to camp it is a good outing. There is enough here that I would recommend you check the movie out if you haven't before, just don't expect the technically best Bond film there is in the franchise.