The Spy Who Loved Me

Release Year: 1977

Director: Lewis Gilbert

Review: With Roger Moore in his third role as James Bond, and the famous Jaws villain introduced, 'The Spy Who Loved Me' has all the trappings of a classic Bond.  Unfortunately it fell more into the bland Bond category.  Instead of campy, the action felt cartoonish, and the chauvinistic Bond was more irritating then he was endearing.  The film never veered from the traditional Bond tropes and it felt more like a lazy addition in a television series then a movie.  Ultimately, maybe this is classic Bond, and that is precisely the problem.  When the entire premise bases its effectiveness on the likability of its lead, and you don't buy into that lead, then its not going to work.  I prefer my action movies to be grounded in something at least resembling reality, but here there is none of that.  It's a live action Saturday morning cartoon.  While this has its benefits, they didn't work for me in such a contrived, generic, serial like the Bond films.
Rating: 2.5/5