James Bond Series Rewatch: 'The Spy Who Loved Me'

In 1977’s The Spy Who Loved Me, we find 007 “investigating the hijacking of British and Russian submarines carrying nuclear warheads, with the help of a K.G.B. Agent, whose lover he killed.” (IMDB)

Bond: Roger Moore
M: Bernard Lee
Q: Desmond Llewelyn
Moneypenny: Lois Maxwell
Director: Lewis Gilbert
Song: “Nobody Does It Better” by Carly Simon

I. Love. This. Movie. For as long as I can remember, The Spy Who Loved Me has always been one of my favorite Bond films. And I never really had a good reason why. I just thoroughly enjoyed it every time I watched it. In rewatching the Bond films for this review series, I’ve been trying to keep a more attentive eye. I hoped something would stick out this time around, something I could point to and say, “There! That’s what makes this one so good.”

But nothing. I still loved it as much as ever. But there was no particular scene, no one aspect, that jumped off screen. And now I see why. It’s just a good movie. It’s classic Bond. It has substance and style. There are good villains. Bond’s partner, Soviet agent Triple X (yeah, I know), is more or less presented as his equal. It’s a good, solid flick. Let’s take a closer look.

Major Anya Amasova/Agent Triple X

We probably don’t need to do any sort of deep dive into the Triple X moniker. It’s obvious, it’s somewhat humorous, it’s probably not even in the top three of most absurd names of Bond girls. But it at least has to be mentioned.

Aside from that name, however, Amasova (Barbara Bach) is essentially Bond’s Soviet counterpart. We’re even introduced to her in a familiar way: in bed with a lover. And it’s done in such a way to throw the viewers for a bit of a loop. Just before we meet her, General Gogol sends word to bring Triple X in on the job. It’s safe to assume viewers are supposed to believe Sergei Barsov is Triple X.

We hadn’t yet seen a female character who was truly meant to be on equal footing with Bond. There are a handful of female characters who hold their own and offer something of real value to Bond’s mission. But Bond has always clearly been the sole hero. And of course that’s still the case here, but Amasova has plenty to do here to hold her own. It wouldn’t be a consistent theme moving forward, but it does seem like The Spy Who Loved Me set a new, welcome precedent.

She also gets in a great, James Bond-esque one liner at his expense.

Bond: “Still, you did save my life.”
Amasova: “We all make mistakes, Mr. Bond.”

Opening ski chase

Can we all take time to appreciate how great the opening lines are here? “But James, I need you.” “So does England.”

The Spy Who Loved Me continues the tradition of a great, fun opening sequence. It’s not as over-the-top as I usually like, but it’s still plenty fun, with enough ridiculousness thrown in.

Jaws

What a character. With this introduction, The Spy Who Loved Me gave movie fans an iconic villain (played twice by Richard Kiel). The huge stature, steel teeth, extreme strength. I would have loved to see Jaws in one or two more movies, but I also appreciate that he wasn’t overused. It must have shown great restraint, but it was probably for the better.

And he has so many fantastic moments in this movie. It’s doubly great because it fully plays into the camp of the Roger Moore era, but nothing he does feels out of the realm of possibility for someone like Jaws.

The shark

Construction site

Car drives off a cliff, walks it off

Wet Nellie

This car is great. It’s actually a little surprising that this was the first underwater car in the series. But even still, I think it’s good they chose a Moore film as the time to feature one. It fits right in with the overall tone of that stretch. This is just a great sequence, loads of fun.

Stromberg

Karl Stromberg is a pretty good villain. He has a classic “destroy the world for its own good” scheme, wanting to start civilization anew underwater. This kind of motivation is always interesting, because it’s not motivated by money. He truly believes what he’s doing is in the best interest of humanity, so no amount of money can persuade him otherwise.

The elevator

I think this one speaks for itself. So extra, but so good.

Tracy Bond

Up until the Daniel Craig movies, there had been little to continuity in the Bond films. The one small exception was Bond’s marriage to Tracy four movies prior in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. When Bond and Amasova first formally meet and are sizing each other up, Amasova mentions Bond’s marriage to Tracy. He quickly cuts her off and it’s not mentioned again.

But it’s still notable that a mention of Tracy was included at all. I tend to prefer when the series don’t have these kinds of continuing storylines, but it works with Tracy. It shows that there is something deeper to James Bond, something you don’t see on the surface. It’s just a small moment, but it’s nice to have even a little bit of depth added to the character.

Train scene

Bond movies love their train scenes, and it’s no different with The Spy Who Loved Me. You might think they would blur together and not be as fun as, but you would be wrong. And yes, Jaws definitely helps here (I mean, how can you not love him biting that piece of wood for absolutely no reason?).

Ending

After Amasova learns that Bond killed Barsov, she vows to kill him after completing their joint mission. But when she gets her chance, all it takes to dissuade her is Bond popping a bottle of champagne. I get it, it’s not like anyone believed that Amasova would have actually killed Bond. But come on, it could have taken a little more effort on Bond’s part. And yes, it was a fun little moment, but there was an opportunity to add something more to this scene. As far as nitpicks go, this one is fairly inconsequential. But still, make Bond earn it.