When two submarines — one British, the other Soviet — suddenly disappear, James Bond (Roger Moore) is called to investigate. He’s joined by KGB agent Triple X (Barbara Bach), who reluctantly teams up with her Western rival to solve the mystery. While the Cold War slowly thaws with their heated rivalry, a mysterious henchman with metallic teeth, Jaws, tracks their every move. Who is Jaws working for, and what happened to those missing submarines?
You’ll never guess the answer because it’s absurd — even for a Bond movie. Still, it somehow doesn’t matter, since The Spy Who Loved Me is one of the best Bond films in the post-Connery era. Moore has never been more smooth as 007, while Bach’s Triple X is every bit Bond’s equal. No mere Bond girl, she’s the spy you’ll fall in love with in The Spy Who Loved Me, along with the Hulk-like Jaws (Richard Kiel), who returns in the next Bond film, the ridiculous Moonraker, as an unexpected ally. Special mention should be given to Carly Simon, who sings the film’s signature tune, “Nobody Does It Better,” with such orgasmic resignation that you’ll want to smoke a cigarette after the opening credits.
