The James Bond Rewatch: Current Movie - SPECTRE

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Roger Moore finally settles into the role in possibly the best film of his tenure. For Your Eyes Only is my personal favorite so I’ll be interested to see which I put first. Following a three year break from the last film (the longest of the franchise at this point) and the exit of co-producer, Harry Saltzman, Bond returned to the silver screen in a truly enjoyable and action-packed adventure after the more low key previous films.

The plot is rather basic as a megalomaniacal industrialist has a plan to destroy the world with nuclear warfare and then retreat to a life under the sea. My first question was, wouldn’t you build the underwater city FIRST before destroying the world? But that’s immaterial as his true vision is not announced until almost the end and by that point you’ve been swept up for the ride. Stromberg as a villain is rather weak, although Curt Jürgens does at least imbue him with some sophistication, not playing big but rather exerting a more quiet menace. The original idea was to have Blofeld return with SPECTRE, however legal entanglements prevented this.

What truly sets The Spy Who Loved Me apart is Major Anya Amasova portrayed by the lovely Barbara Bach. Bond’s opposite in the KGB is more than capable of holding her own and can even best 007 at times. Sadly the film still requires her to be rescued during the finale, but because of the relationship built up between the two, it’s not as detrimental to the character as it could be. What starts out as professional rivalry and playful competition blossoms into actual romance. So you understand Bond’s need to go after her rather than let her perish. One of my favorite scenes is their meeting at the Mujaba Club as they size one another up and match wits by revealing how much they know about the other.

Moore is on point here as his Bond starts to resemble the man we knew from the early Connery days of the franchise. He can be cold as when he gets the information he needs and then dispassionately dispatches a lackey. Or, one of his best moments, his mixture of discomfort and anger when Amasova brings up his deceased wife, the first reference to Tracy we’ve gotten in four films. There’s more of this in FYEO and it’s nice to see him take the proceedings a little more seriously. He still manages to shade the character in a different vein and it does work. I couldn’t help but chuckle at his mild annoyance to find the right key as Jaws tore apart the van he was sitting in.

I’m going to give The Spy Who Loved Me a 7/10. Arguably the first completely original Bond film as the original novel has an entirely different story, Broccoli shows that Bond is bigger than ever (and not just with that gigantic tanker set which contained three submarines) and Moore is more than a worthy successor to Connery. Indicative of the shot of adrenaline to the franchise this film represents, Carly Simon’s Nobody Does is Better is the best theme of the 1970s and second only to Goldfinger. Is this Moore’s high point or is the best yet still to come? Stay tuned!

Current Rankings:
1) On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
2) From Russia with Love
3) Goldfinger
4) The Spy Who Loved Me
5) Thunderball
6) Dr. No
7) Live and Let Die
8) You Only Live Twice
9) The Man with the Golden Gun
10) Diamonds are Forever