The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

The British government and the Soviet government agree to work together to find out what happened to their submarines which have disappeared without a trace. To this end, each country sends their best agent. Britain send 007 James Bond (Roger Moore) while Russia sends Agent XXX (Barbara Bach). When XXX finds out Bond was responsible for her lover's death, she vows to kill him after the mission is accomplished. The tenth film in the Bond franchise was an enormous success both critically and financially and remains a favorite to this day. Moore's third outing as Bond proved successful as he finally managed to find his own rhythm which hadn't quite in his previous outings. Visually, this is probably the best looking Bond ever. The Ken Adams sets are stunning and they're handsomely shot by Claude Renoir (THE RIVER). Alas, there's still that chintzy Marvin Hamlisch score to contend with. It's still somewhat derivative of the other Bonds, however, especially the tanker finale which is a redoing of the spectacular YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE volcano finale. It's good, so why don't I like it better? It just seems overblown but it's not as if some of the other Bonds aren't. Directed by Lewis Gilbert. With Curt Jurgens as billionaire villain with visions of world domination, Caroline Munro, Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell, George Baker, Desmond Llewelyn and Richard Kiel as the tiresome "Jaws" who's afford way too much screen time and, alas, is allowed to return in the next installment.