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James Bond (Roger Moore) is paired with a Russian agent (Barbara Bach) to stop a mad man (Curd Jurgens) from firing stolen nuclear missiles across the world. Along the way, the two agents fall in love. But when Bach’s character realizes Bond is the one who killed her former lover, she vows to kill Bond upon completing their mission.

This is widely regarded as Roger Moore’s quintessential outing as James Bond, and under the direction of Lewis Gilbert (You Only Live Twice), it delivers all the fun, thrills, and humor we expect in a Bond film. But I’d hesitate to call it Moore’s best Bond because it brings it little new to the franchise. It retreads so many tropes from previous films, with a nuclear threat lifted straight out of Thunderball, a villain too much like Blofeld, and even a henchman who reminds us of Goldfinger‘s Odd Jobb. It’s more like a pastiche of prior films than it’s own, unique endeavor. That said, it’s still an entertaining flick.

High points include the opening stunt, in which a stunt man playing Bond skis off a towering mountain cliff and plummets hundreds of feet through the air before launching a parachute. The scene reportedly caused raucous cheers in movie theaters. The new villainous henchman is also a standout. His name is ‘Jaws,’ indicative of his large, metal teeth that he uses to bite into his victims. Richard Kiel is mute but imposing in the role — and even a little funny. (He returns in Moonraker.) The Spy Who Loved Me also features one of the franchise’s coolest gadgets — a sleek, white Lotus Esprit that’s drivable on land and under the sea. The film also takes advantage of myriad locations around the globe, including a sequence set around the Egyptian pyramids.

Low points include a wretched co-starring performance from Barbara Bach (Mrs. Ringo Starr) and a boisterous, sloppily choreographed climax on the sea. Marvin Hamlisch’s score is painfully dated, but Carly Simon provides a terrific title song with the classic “Nobody Does It Better.”

With Caroline Munro, Bernard Lee, Desmond Llewelyn, and Lois Maxwell.

Oscar Nominations: Best Song (“Nobody Does It Better”), Score, Art Direction