The Spy Who Loved Me has a decent introduction to open up the plot of the film. First occurs the capture of the Soviet submarine yet we are not shown exactly who or what is responsible, to help leave a little mystery. Followed by the introduction of the two main characters Bond and Anya with a good Swiss Alps chase where Bond jumps off a cliff and parachutes to the ground below. All this leads into the Bond franchise's staple introduction sequence, which this time had Bond in it as well, something a little different and it worked well.
The title song for The Spy Who Loved Me is the first Bond song to not have the same title as the film, which I think is a little confusing because it makes it seem like the film should be called Nobody Does It Better, since The Spy Who Loved Me is mentioned only once in the song. Aside from that one inconsistency this is actually a pretty good song and fits well in the franchise. Nobody Does It Better is performed by Carly Simon:
Nobody does it better. Makes me feel sad for the rest. Nobody does it, half as good as you. Baby, you're the best. I wasn't looking but somehow you found me, I tried to hide from your love light, but like heaven above me the spy who loved me is keepin' all my secrets safe tonight.
And nobody does it better, though sometimes I wish someone could. Nobody does it quite the way you do, why'd you have to be so good?
The way that you hold me, whenever you hold me, there's some kind of magic inside you, that keeps me from runnin' but just keep it comin'. How'd you learn to do the things you do?
And nobody does it better. Makes me feel sad for the rest. Nobody does it half as good as you. Baby, baby, darlin' you're the best.
Baby you're the best. Baby you're the best. Baby you're the best. Darlin' you're the best. Darlin' you're the best. Baby you're the best. Baby you're the best.
As I have stated countless time before (and will continue to say) I'm just not a big fan of Roger Moore as Bond, he'll never reach the caliber of cool that Sean Connery portrayed in the first films, if anyone can. In this third outing Moore is finally starting it fit into the role a little "more", but I think it has more to do with the fact the films are finally starting to get better. The first two missions with Moore behind the drivers seat were extremely corny, now we are finally getting some descent Bond story lines. Without the Connery grit, I think this is the best Moore can do.
Main Bond Girl
Anya is the first Bond girl to actually assist Bond in doing anything useful; in fact she actually saves Bond's life at one point during the film. Anya starts out as being more of a competitor for Bond as both of them are after the same object but working for separate governments. Later on she and Bond team up and Anya becomes more of a partner than a follower, as all the previous Bond girls have been. While her character was is somewhat unique to the franchise and I liked the change, I really wasn't feeling her as a strong presence in the film. And as a Bond girl she was still rather average, plus I don't really find Barbara Bach that attractive.
The Villains
Stromberg is really your typical main Bond villain. Wealthy, insane, rather boring, and always attempting to initiate a plan in which he claims will make the world and better place by freeing it of war and corruption. But of course this is done by blowing everyone up... so try and make sense of that logic. Stromberg is another cookie cutter villain who really doesn't do much of anything except give orders for other people to carryout, in the end he's basically a crazy old man.
One of the most well known villains of the Bond franchise, but in my opinion a little too ridiculously written. As far as looks Jaws is by far the most menacing looking villain to probably ever "grace" the screen of a Bond film, but his inability to die or even get injured from things that would instantly kill anyone else begin to get ridiculous. Also his continued fascination at wanting to kill people by biting them in the neck like a vampire is quite strange, especially when one swift blow to the head by this guy should be enough to kill any man. Jaws is physically a great villain but other than that he becomes the annoying giant that never seems to die, and it gets old.
Total Rating : 7.7/10
Overall (Including Film Rating) : 7.9/10
8/10
8/10
Roger Moore = Best Bond Ever!
ReplyDeleteNot only was he was far better choice to portray a British secret agent than Scottish Sean Connery, he singlehandedly saved the James Bond franchise when he took it over! And he remained so successful and popular as James Bond that the producers clamored to him long after he should have called it quits.
I give a lot of credence to the stories of how Ian Fleming and the producers had him on their short list before Sean Connery got the gig. Not because they had seen him in the Saint (which didn’t hit the air until Bond was in Theaters), but because Fleming had originally wanted the quintessential Brit; David Niven in the part. At age 52, Niven was considered too old at the time, but Moore definitively fit the bill as a younger quintessential British gentleman.
Although Connery became a cultural icon playing the part, and was perfect for his time, it was painfully obvious that his time had passed by when came back for Diamonds Are Forever. And when he re-appeared in the abysmal Never Say Never Again, the competing – official – Bond; Roger Moore, beat him at the box office to the tune of 27 million dollars.
Connery’s campy Bond, spoofed by Austin Powers in the late 1990’s, had already begun to become a joke during the 1960’s, and was spoofed by Dean Martin in the Matt Helm series. (The fact that Martin made more money in a spoof than the “original” was apparently a major reason for Connery to leave the franchise!)
After the Bond franchise became such a big success, the stakes were naturally a lot higher than when Connery initially signed on, and a bankable star was needed for it to continue on. (Painfully evident after unknown Australian actor George Lazenby’s disastrous one-time effort in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.)
Enter: Roger Moore; an already established worldwide TV star, and debonair action hero. If ever there was perfect casting, this was it! As the only RADA educated actor to play the role up to this point, he updated the role with humor, grace, warmth, charm, and took it to the next level both artistically and financially.
I always felt that the Welsh James Bond - Timothy Dalton - was quite enjoyable; as he was basically enjoying the “Bond ride” Moore had created. He was even lucky enough to be directed by John Glen, who directed Moore in his last three Bond movies.
Irish Pierce Brosnan was an inspired casting choice, like Moore he was much more of a personality. Too bad he wasn’t directed by Glen, Lewis Gilbert or Guy Hamilton, as the tone of his movies was decidedly more dark, stark and cold. The six years that elapsed between License to Kill and GoldenEye was way too long, and the former charm and humor was lost and gone forever.
I quite enjoy watching Daniel Craig in his intense portrayal of what has now basically become James Bourne. It’s a new time, a new era, it has of course nothing to do with the original – “real” – cold war era James Bond, but as run-of-the-mill big budget action flicks goes, they have been quite entertaining.
But I seriously doubt that any of this would have been possible had Roger Moore not stepped in and modernized the role and basically saved the franchise in 1973.
So there you have it, case closed: Roger Moore = Best Bond Ever!
I don't think the case will ever be closed on anything regarding James Bond. As you've shown in your very in-depth post here everyone has their own reason not only for who they think the best James Bond is, but which film they think is the best, and the range encompasses the entire franchise.
ReplyDeleteI know the Roger Moore fan base is large, but I don't think it's larger than the Connery fan base. To say Roger Moore saved the franchise doesn't mean he's the best James Bond ever. Your also saying essentially Connery ruined it, which is just not so. The last two Connery films may have been campy (I don't count Never Say, Never Again) but that's not the fault of Connery, that's the fault of the writers. Connery was far from a campy Bond, in fact I say Connery, Dalton and Craig are the only actors to play Bond who weren't campy.
The franchise seriously tanked when Connery left, On Her Majesty's Secret Service was a complete 180 in the franchise, if anything that film almost killed the franchise not Connery. When Roger Moore stepped in the franchise started to get back to what it used to be but until this film (The Spy Who Loves Me) the first couple of Roger Moore films were about as campy as OHMSS.
Really Moore only had a string of 2-3 films, this one and the next couple that weren't campy! Octopussy is possibly the worst Bond film of all time! So I can't really agree that Moore saved the franchise, he may have brought new life into it, but it's the writers, finally coming to their senses after attempting to make Bond a comedy series that saved the franchise.