A very good Bond movie overall, sometimes overrated. Maybe it is looking back after so many Bond films, but this one kind of suffers from the overuse of the tired Bond formula- super-villain out to conquer the world through extreme measures. The plot is a perfect midpoint between "Thunderball" and "Moonraker"- stolen nuclear missiles and a megalomaniac who wishes to wipe out the world and start anew.
The plot centers on the release of stolen plans which show that someone knows how to locate nuclear submarines, thus making them easy to destroy. This technology piques the interest of the UK and USSR who both send their top agents, 007 and XXX who first battle each other, but then must work together. Unfortunately, the competitive part is silly and childish, and Barbara Bach's XXX is rather silly. Another plot point which doesn't help is that Bond killed XXX's lover on a previous mission, and she has vowed revenge. The clues lead to a demented shipping magnate and deep-sea genius named Stromberg (Curd Juergens). Stromberg introduces one of the more famous Bond henchmen- Jaws (Richard Kiel)- who could have been a great heavy, but becomes a bastion for some poor puns and jokes.
The usual big-bang action is here and the super-stunts and chases are back, returning the Bond world from espionage to near comic-book superheroism, which to me is a weakness in many of the films. All in all the storyline is solid enough and the plot flows well, but the stilted acting of the Jurgens and Barbara Bach (not a good actress, overacts, and awfully poor accent) get tiresome quickly. However, Roger Moore is as at ease with the role as he can be and balances the drop-offs of Bach well enough. There is still enough espionage and spy work to remind the viewer that Bond is a secret agent, not a superhero and the excessive puns of later movies is more subdued here.
The plot centers on the release of stolen plans which show that someone knows how to locate nuclear submarines, thus making them easy to destroy. This technology piques the interest of the UK and USSR who both send their top agents, 007 and XXX who first battle each other, but then must work together. Unfortunately, the competitive part is silly and childish, and Barbara Bach's XXX is rather silly. Another plot point which doesn't help is that Bond killed XXX's lover on a previous mission, and she has vowed revenge. The clues lead to a demented shipping magnate and deep-sea genius named Stromberg (Curd Juergens). Stromberg introduces one of the more famous Bond henchmen- Jaws (Richard Kiel)- who could have been a great heavy, but becomes a bastion for some poor puns and jokes.
The usual big-bang action is here and the super-stunts and chases are back, returning the Bond world from espionage to near comic-book superheroism, which to me is a weakness in many of the films. All in all the storyline is solid enough and the plot flows well, but the stilted acting of the Jurgens and Barbara Bach (not a good actress, overacts, and awfully poor accent) get tiresome quickly. However, Roger Moore is as at ease with the role as he can be and balances the drop-offs of Bach well enough. There is still enough espionage and spy work to remind the viewer that Bond is a secret agent, not a superhero and the excessive puns of later movies is more subdued here.