Pros and Cons: The Spy Who Loved Me
Absolutely_Cart
NJ/NYC, United StatesPosts: 1,740MI6 Agent
Released in 1977, it was the 10th official movie in the series and the 3rd movie to feature Roger Moore as James Bond. After the previous movie "Man with the Golden Gun" was considered the disappointment which resulted in the breaking up of Harry and Cubby, The Spy Who Loved Me was considered a big comeback for the series. Many fans acclaim it to be the best film of the Roger Moore era and one of the best films in the series.
Pros:
Has a perfect balance of camp and seriousness
Has a perfect balance of spy and action
Showcases that Moore can do a serious Bond (such as XXX's boyfriend death confrontation)
The raid of Stromberg's base is memorable.
Represents detente very well, with Bond and XXX being symbols for their countries.
Jaws, one of the most iconic henchmen in the series
The amphibious car scenes. Water sequences are paced perfectly.
The scene of Q and his gadgets are full of laughs
Barbara Bach does a good job as Agent XXX
The movie concludes very nicely in its last 15 minutes
Cons:
Follows the Bond formula rigidly (although it does that very well)
Stromberg, while not bad, isn't up to the excellence of other villains in the series.
Overall Thoughts
In many ways it's the most perfect well-rounded films in the Bond series, filled with many of the best moments of the series. The Moore era needed an answer to Connery era classics like Goldfinger and it got one. The Spy Who Loved Me is also unique with regard to it's adventurous grandiosity while still holding many of the traditions we've come to expect from spy films in tact.
Pros:
Has a perfect balance of camp and seriousness
Has a perfect balance of spy and action
Showcases that Moore can do a serious Bond (such as XXX's boyfriend death confrontation)
The raid of Stromberg's base is memorable.
Represents detente very well, with Bond and XXX being symbols for their countries.
Jaws, one of the most iconic henchmen in the series
The amphibious car scenes. Water sequences are paced perfectly.
The scene of Q and his gadgets are full of laughs
Barbara Bach does a good job as Agent XXX
The movie concludes very nicely in its last 15 minutes
Cons:
Follows the Bond formula rigidly (although it does that very well)
Stromberg, while not bad, isn't up to the excellence of other villains in the series.
Overall Thoughts
In many ways it's the most perfect well-rounded films in the Bond series, filled with many of the best moments of the series. The Moore era needed an answer to Connery era classics like Goldfinger and it got one. The Spy Who Loved Me is also unique with regard to it's adventurous grandiosity while still holding many of the traditions we've come to expect from spy films in tact.
Comments
AJB007 Favorite Film Rankings
Pros and Cons Compendium (50 Years)
Blew me away. :x so I probably can't give a reasonable argument against
It, as it would be like attacking part of my childhood.
Moore is in his element, at last the scripts are turning round to his light comedian
Skills. The action is top notch, good villain and locations, beautiful car and leading
Lady. Jaws is a fantastic henchman scary in a few scenes.
All in all SPY was another reboot and rejuvenation of the series, plenty of Money was
Spent and it shows. So as I've said, I'm a little biased towards it.
AJB007 Favorite Film Rankings
Pros and Cons Compendium (50 Years)
Whoever considers that is very much mistaken.
TSWLM was considered a big comeback in every sense.
AJB007 Favorite Film Rankings
Pros and Cons Compendium (50 Years)
Read this article for my views on the subject of TSWLM (mainly on the overtly contrived action sequences in the film):
http://www.thebondologistblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/kingsley-amis-draxs-gambit-and-reform.html
• It has a linear plot that makes sense (not the case with “Diamonds Are Forever” and “The Man With The Golden Gun” that preceded it)
• It’s frequently very exciting
• It has arguably the best pre-credits sequence of the entire series
• Major Anya Amasova is a well-crafted, three-dimensional character (quite a relief after the idiotic Tiffany Case and Mary Goodnight)
• The production design is stunning, as is the filming
• Roger Moore is on top form
• The acting is generally excellent, despite Barbara Bach struggling with a “Russian” accent
• It introduces General Gogol, who would be an effective fixture of the eighties films
• Jaws is genuinely terrifying
• Most of the humour works very well
• The score is excellent, with the title theme being one of the best in the series
Cons:
• It’s a thinly disguised rewrite of “You Only Live Twice”
• Stromberg’s plan is so ridiculous that it’s amazing anyone is willing to collaborate on it
• Stromberg is a one-dimensional supervillain (fleshed out a bit in Christopher Wood’s accompanying book)
• A couple of the jokes don’t work well at all
It would probably be better if you sum up your thesis in a few sentences for the purposes of this discussion.
AJB007 Favorite Film Rankings
Pros and Cons Compendium (50 Years)
Interesting. In what way. Don't half the films in the series confine to the Dr. No/Goldfinger formula, rather than anything specifically YOLT did. Just the nuclear missiles plan? Because that would be more akin to Thunderball.
The nuclear submarine could be comparable to the YOLT battle-copter. But what else am I missing?
AJB007 Favorite Film Rankings
Pros and Cons Compendium (50 Years)
Benson covers this in his "James Bond Bedside Companion", or you might have a look here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCisJExSWs4
I think Manxman means the ships swallowing the submarines (like the space capsules swallowing the Soviet and American capsules in YOLT) and trying to instigate another world war. For sure it's very similar in this regard. But I absolutely love TSWLM and don't have any gripes with it whatsoever {[]
Some of these are more than just coincidences (the villains bases, sharks, etc), but in most cases TSWLM seems to be just another movie following the formula.
I think almost every movie after Goldfinger could be likened to another Bond movie in 36 ways.
AJB007 Favorite Film Rankings
Pros and Cons Compendium (50 Years)
Agreed {[]
It's hard to find Faults with the Film.
AJB007 Favorite Film Rankings
Pros and Cons Compendium (50 Years)
AJB007 Favorite Film Rankings
Pros and Cons Compendium (50 Years)
Exactly. Some are formula, to be sure. Others may be chance. But the sheer number of them does firmly suggest a deliberate plan.
"Mr Bond, they have a saying in Chicago. Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
AJB007 Favorite Film Rankings
Pros and Cons Compendium (50 Years)
AJB007 Favorite Film Rankings
Pros and Cons Compendium (50 Years)
Dr No !
Secret Island Base Interfering with Rockets, escape via a tunnel. Two sides
Deing played off each other BT spectre etc.
So I agree that many of the films have reused ideas and " Formula " not just
TSWLM.
So you could say Dr No was remade as YOLT, then again as TSWLM, then as MR
and finally as DAD.
I'd say TND conforms to the formula we're discussing more than DAD does. I have a liking for the other much-used Bond plot (perhaps because it's more Flemingesque) where Bond is assigned to investigate the smuggling of some precious item (gold, diamonds, a Faberge egg, microchips) and discovers that the rich, powerful villain is up to something much more dangerous.
1+ {[]
Roald Dahl was the screenwriter on YOLT. He thought there wasn't enough story in YOLT for a movie (plus in the movies Tracy hadn't died yet, so there goes Bond's motivation from the book), so he re-wrote DN.