The Spy Who Loved Me

Bond for Britain: 007's spectacular ski jump is aided by an ostentatious Union Jack parachute; caught in bed by his superiors, Bond smirks that he's keeping the British end up. Something of a straggler from the campy late '60s, this one mainly pushes the myth of British technological wizardry. Patriotic schoolboy flagwaving is accompanied by pre-pubescent sexuality and puerile innuendoes. Britain, Russia, and Martini-style locations conspire to thwart Curd Jürgens from destroying the world. The film has its moments - Kiel's indestructible heavy racks up a good score - but the rest is desperately weak. Interesting that a film which seems so often on the verge of impotence should boast so many phallic substitutes.