This is not the best overall Bond, but it is for me Roger Moore's best as the character. Moore does a very good job here, displaying adeptly his trademark smoothness, while he is superbly supported by Barbara Bach as the alluring Anya and especially Richard Kiel as the unforgettable Jaws(not the shark mind you, see the film for yourself and you'll see). The plot may be a tad far-fetched but it actually does work, and the script has less reliance on slapstick humour but is more sophisticated and a little more cleverer than normal. The set pieces are spectacular of course, and Lewis Gilbert directs lavishly. I also liked it that this entry had an effective use of character realism too. Overall, a great entry, not one of the best Bonds for me but it is Moore's best. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Roger Moore as James Bond has got another assignment involving the fate of the whole world. British Intelligence never gives him anything less. This time he's investigating this disappearance of both British and American nuclear powered submarines while on duty with no trace at all.

The evil genius behind it all is Curt Jurgens playing the role of an Onassis type billionaire shipping magnate who wants the world made to order for him. And in this case he believes mankind should start all over again in an undersea world which of course he will run. Just another case of a guy with all the money in the world thinking that entitles him to decide how everyone else should live and behave. Jurgens has the resources to make it stick unless 007 can do something about it.

With both the Russians and the British working on this, the powers that be which in this case is General Walter Gotell of the Soviet KGB and M of course played by Bernard Lee have decided to stop working against each other. In this case it means Moore working with beautiful Russian agent Barbara Bach and you know of course she'll be Bondified before the film is over.

Probably up to this point the most dangerous foe that James Bond ever faced was Odd Job in You Only Live Twice. But when Richard Kiel as Jaws made his appearance, he took that title away and retired the crown as far as I'm concerned. That is one menacing dude, 7'2" with a mouth full of steel teeth that finish off most people. Of course 007 ain't most people.

The Spy Who Loved Me garnered three Oscar nominations for Best Musical Score for Marvin Hamlisch and for Best Song with Nobody Does It Better for Hamlisch and Carole Bayer Sager and one for Art&Set Direction. I'm not sure, but this might be the most recognition the Motion Picture Academy gave a Bond film.

And this film review is dedicated to Tom Golisano, another megalomaniac billionaire who thinks he ought to be running things. We're well used to the type in my area.

THE SPY WHO LOVED ME offers an evening's worth of explosive, witty, and exciting entertainment. Great music, cinematography, a large budget put to excellent use, some fine effects work and an absolutely gorgeous Bond girl (Barbara Bach looking her best, which is saying something),plus plentiful well-staged action throughout, make this one of Roger Moore's finest hours Bond. Certainly the British leading man gives his best performance as Bond; having settled admirably into the role in the first two films, he gives exactly the right combination of tongue-in-cheek humour and straight-faced seriousness, without resorting to tired comedy and overaged action antics as he would in later 1980s outings.

Lewis Gilbert displays his skills as director and mixes all of the right ingredients into a pleasing concoction which never lets down from a breakneck pace. The action takes in beautiful underwater surroundings, deserts, the Pyramids and the Sphinx, seedy Egyptian nightclubs, Austrian Alps and much much more, making for a viscerally pleasing movie. The script is witty and intelligent and there are plenty of good cliffhanging moments to enjoy amongst the more straightforward action sequences, including some huge gun battles occurring towards the end of the production. The characters are also a bit more developed than usual, especially Barbara Bach's character, a feisty Russian spy who proves more than a match for Bond's British agent; indeed Bach has the luck to play the best female character in the entire Bond filmography and her performance - and beauty - are outstanding. She certainly deserved the success, after putting in solid performances in Italian crime flicks for many years.

Curd Jurgens is excellent as the suave but sinister laidback villain, nonchalantly killing off minions and helpers at a moment's notice, and his largely incapacitated turn makes for an interesting change from your more usual brand of villain. His lack of athleticism is more than made up for in Richard Kiel's Jaws, the metal-mouthed henchman who has repeated run-ins with Bond and Bach throughout the film; Jaws is definitely one of the most memorable characters in the series, with his exaggerated, almost comic book-like superhuman persona, and his inclusion adds a lot to the entertainment value. In fact he was such a hit they kept him for the sequel, just like Sheriff J. W. Pepper. The rest of the cast is awash with solid supporting players (Lois Maxwell, Bernard Lee, and Desmond Llewelyn all make return appearances, alongside the heavyweight likes of Walter Gotell, Geoffrey Keen, and Edward De Souza) and pretty female faces, including British fantasy icons Caroline Munro and Valerie Leon at their sexy best.

Altogether this is a most pleasing viewing experience that offers everything one should expect from a Bond film - fast cars, exciting car chases, silly but fun gadgets, plenty of surprises, loads of suspense, bombs, explosions, well-timed comedy, evil henchmen, and gorgeous girls in ill-fitting costumes displaying as much flesh as the censor will allow. Great fun and a real high point; sadly the team were unable to retain the same atmosphere and elements for further Moore adventures, which are not without their moments but never equal such highs as this. A wonderful film, the kind of which cinema was invented for.