Brandon Peters dissects the 007 series part 10: The Spy Who Loved Me.

With Skyfall dropping in theaters in just a few months, along with the 50th anniversary of the James Bond series, a close friend and fellow film nerd, Brandon Peters, has generously offered to do a comprehensive review of the entire 007 film franchise. Today is the tenth entry, with a full review of one of the very best films in the franchise, The Spy Who Loved Me. I hope you enjoy what is a pretty massive feature leading up the November 9th release of Skyfall. I'll do my best to leave my two-cents out of it, give or take a few items I have up my sleeve (including a guest review from my wife as she sings the praises of her favorite 007 film, you won't believe what it is). But just because I'm stepping aside doesn't mean you should, as I can only hope for robust discussions in the comments section. Without further ado...

The Spy Who Loved Me

1977

Director:  Lewis Gilbert

Starring:  Roger Moore, Barbara Bach, Richard Kiel, Curt Jurgens, Desmond Llewelyn

Rated:  PG

All those feathers and he still can’t fly.

                        ~James Bond

STATS

Kills: 18 + unconfirmed amount in the control room bombing

Girls:  Anya Amasova, “Log Cabin Girl”, random “Arab Beauty”

Car:  Lotus Esprit

Locales:  Egypt, Sardinia

Odd Villain Trait:  Jaws is a giant with a set of metal teeth

Song:  “Nobody Does It Better” performed by Carly Simon

The Spy Who Loved Me delivers one of, if not the, ultimate James Bond films.  Plot driven with big scale action scenes, memorable villains, a fantastic song, cool gadgets, stunts, a highly complimentary score, Bond heroics and a beautiful female who can go toe-to-toe with 007 all come gelling together in this fun and exciting 70s spy thriller.  While the previous three entries were rather tame and almost like elongated television episodes in spectacle, The Spy Who Loved Me isn’t afraid to be ambitious and completely go for it.  The production team really doesn’t hold back on what is one of the highest points in the 007 series.