1977's THE SPY WHO LOVED ME is classic OO7 and everything you want in a Bond flick. Back when James was less serious and more fun, Roger Moore really nailed the character in this, his third outing.
Featuring one of the series best opening sequences, Bond skis off a huge cliff into a free fall for a LONG time before opening his Union Jack parachute. It's a GREAT stunt and kicks things off in style.
Follow that with a sexy title sequence to the strains of Carly Simon singing "Nobody Does It Better" and you are pretty much in Bond heaven after ten minutes.
This was Cubby Broccoli's first time as the sole producer and he throws every bit of the budget at the screen.
Barbara Bach is wooden (but who cares) as Bond's female equivalent in the KGB, forced to work side by side with Bond when both countries lose nuclear submarines to the evil Stromberg, played nicely by a suave Curt Jurgens.
Richard Kiel makes his first appearance as JAWS and is menacing in a silly way (does he bite people like vampires, or what's up with that?) and there are many classic Bond moments.
The Lotus that becomes a submarine when Bond drives it off the dock, the scenes at the Pyramids, the terrific villain's lair Atlantis rising from the ocean complete with shark pools and helipads and the last 25 minutes aboard the giant, submarine stealing tanker are terrific.
Marvin Hamlisch's score is sometimes great, sometimes very 70's and occasionally silly, but its a minor complaint in this well made Bond classic!
Many great memories of this one, including seeing it on a road trip in Albuquerque with my brother-in-law opening weekend back in 1977.
Roger Moore's finest hour as James Bond. Nobody Does It Better indeed! An A+ and one of four Bond films in my Top 100 of all time.
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