...And he's got some great help along the way!Meet Jaws, the extremely tall, tin-toothed assassin, able to rip apart a shark without the help of John Williams music. Richard Kiel made his first of two appearances in James Bond films, and he's a force to be reckoned with. In fact, he's even more fascinating than the main villain, played by Curd Jergens, the reclusive billionaire who lives in a spider shaped compound somewhere in the middle of the ocean. Once again, he wants to destroy mankind whom he blames for the destruction of civilization, determined to live at the bottom of the sea in harmony with marine life. It's up to the spies of the world to take this villain down, and of course, it will be England's James Bond (Roger Moore at his best) with the help of a beautiful agent from another country who gets to be the one to hopefully do it.With a backpack he wears skiing that can turn into a parachute just in case he happens to fly off a Swiss mountaintop, Bond escapes from his pursuers and lands in the middle of another wacky adventure. He's all over the world with a bevvy of beauties (most notably here the Russian spy Barbara Bach) who seems to be trying to dispose of him even when trying to seduce him. Jergens is first seen taking care of a beautiful employee whose carelessness threatened his mission, giving two horrified eye witnesses a front row seat to how he takes care of those who can't do their job, obviously quickly dispatching of them as well. Along comes Jaws who pursues Bond with his razor sharp teeth, seen literally becoming a daylight accessible vampire as he deals with those who step in his way. Bond and Bach quickly figure out how to deal with escaping from fancy cycle riders pursuing them, thanks to the special Chitty Chitty Bang Bang like automobile given to him by the agency. (Not a surprise, considering that Chitty was created by the same man who created Bond...) Down curvy European highways, into the water, and finally, onto a crowded beach, this adventure just gets more and more riveting and often hysterically funny.With a great theme song ("Nobody Does It Better") sung by Carly Simon over the very creative credits, this is one to be seen hopefully as part of a marathon with the over-the-top "Moonraker" (not even credited in the end) and the credited "For Your Eyes Only" which took four years to come out even though it got the "James Bond will return in...." reference. This is fun, non-stop from start to finish, and I'm sure would still play wonderfully on a big movie screen, accompanied by a ton of popcorn. "Moonraker" was a slight disappointment after this, but "For Your Eyes Only" managed to top even this. As usual, Moore has his tongue in his cheek, enjoying every minute of dropping clever wisecracks and acknowledging the goings on around him with an acerbic wit that for me makes him my favorite of all the Bonds.

If the Roger Moore era had a peak, it was definitely 'The Spy Who Loved Me.' It seemed to be the perfect combination of everything Bond. It has everything from – arguably – the most beautiful Bond girl in the (perfect!) form of Barbara Bach, a nice overtone of Cold War paranoia (that was prevalent at the time of filming in the late seventies) and naturally the stunts, car chases and Q's gadgets (the pinnacle of which being that awesome car which doubles as a submarine!). The plot follows Bond on a routine (or that's 'routine' for him!) mission where he retrieves a delicate microchip while being pursued by those faceless enemy agents who can't shoot straight on a ski slope. Naturally he offs a couple with considerable ease, only to find that one of his targets wasn't quite as faceless as they normally are. It was a case of a henchman with a backstory (think those cutaway scenes in the first Austin Powers movie) where he was dating another female spy. And, when she gets assigned the same mission as Bond, there's more than a little s3xual tension between the two.Yes, there may be a supervillain in there who lives in an underwater lair (some people seem to object whenever a supervillain comes into play, as it does always lean the story to the far-fetched), however the film gets so much right that even the most die-hard supervillain haters can't help but give this one a pass. Perhaps another reason people lay off 'Stromberg' is because he's not in it that much (which is a good thing, because, if this film does have a weak link, it's him – he is pretty wooden – almost worse than 'Drax' from 'Moonraker'). The real villain is Jaws – possibly the most famous and beloved of all the foes Bond has ever gone up against. Yes, Jaws never sets out for world domination, however he's simply far more dangerous and enjoyable to watch than any cat-stroking megalomaniac.It's also worth noting that the largest ever set was built (at the time of filming) to accommodate an action set-piece that would be impressive even by today's standards. An entire studio was repurposed as a submarine pen in order to accommodate a massive battle which definitely stands up to today's standards. In short: best story, best sets, best gadgets, best girl, best villain (Jaws not Stromberg!) and best Bond (my opinion only on that last one!). Apart from the main villain himself, there's almost nothing negative to say about this film. In fact… I guess the theme song sums this film up when it sings, 'Nobody does it better…' Okay, you could argue that Connery did it better, but the simple fact is that no Roger Moore Bond outing is better than this. If you only watch one Moore film, watch this one.

After this film, there was no question that Roger Moore was a great successor to Sean Connery. His wit, humor and a gentle romantic side make him a unique Bond fitting for the détente era. Agent XXX (Bach) is one of the few female leads in the 70's to actually have character development and an independent scene. Some scenes like the sunset, underwater aquarium and the parachute scene have been done to perfection. Stromberg is not a bad villain at all and the burly expressive Jaws is one of the series' most memorable henchmen. It's a grandiose adventure epic for Bond, but some of that grandiosity hasn't aged well. The soundtrack lacks energy, the beginning is a bit slow, and the plot follows the standard Bond formula with few surprises and curve balls. It feels a little bloated with gratuitous chases in almost every vehicle imaginable, though I have to admit the amphibious Lotus car chase was quite epic. At the end of the day, it's a solid adventure and exactly the hit that Roger Moore needed to firmly establish himself in the role.

I could not stand the previous entry The Man with the Golden Gun; too camp, too plodding and just plain dull. It is a delight then that The Spy Who Loved Me manages to be an excellent film and a return to form for Bond.Bond goes up against Stromberg whose ambitions lie with the sea. His base is Atlantis and he plans to destroy the world and build his new one in the ocean.The Spy Who Loved Me takes a sensible approach in comparison to Moore's previous two efforts. He may be my least favourite Bond, but this time I realised that the writing was to blame. Moore was given double entendre laden dialogue and there's not much that anyone can do with a lack of decent material. This time around it's kept to a minimum making The Spy Who Loved Me, Moore's greatest Bond adventure and ensuring that it ranks up with the best that the franchise has to offer.If there is one small downfall that is to be had with The Spy Who Loved Me, it's that Stromberg does not hold his own as a villain. As a source of menace he is frequently overlooked by the more intimidating and threatening Jaws. But if that's all that one can say against the film then why frankly bring it up at all? It is thrilling, fun and exhilarating. The action scenes come thick and fast. If you thought there was nothing that could surprise you, this being the tenth entry in the franchise then you are severely mistaken.The pacing of the film helps the picture move forward, never slowing down or slacking. As Bond, Roger Moore at least works this time around because he does not behave ridiculously or look lost like he does in the majority of his other films as Bond.Baraba Bach as Anya Amasova proves that she can be taken seriously as a Secret Service Agent working for the Soviet Union. Perhaps the only time in Bond's history where the Bond girl proves to be a danger and hindrance to Bond as she has her own ulterior motive. The 70s enthused music is catchy and has a disco vibe. Unlike other times John Barry's absence is not missed and it lends the film a varying flavour.The Spy Who Loved Me is a strange Bond film sandwiched between two greats; On Her Majesty's Secret Service and The Living Daylights. If one happens to come across Moore's best Bond flick they should not take the experience lightly. Very few Bond films were granted this extravagant treatment; Grande, intelligent, sexy and above all thrilling from the opening gun barrel sequence to the final kill.