The Spy Who Loved Me (film) could not help but stand up. Even Prince Charles stood up." It was Roger Moore's favourite Bond film, and many reviewers consider it the best installment to star the actor. Christopher Null praised the gadgets, particularly the Lotus Esprit car. James Berardinelli of Reelviews said that the film is "suave and sophisticated", and Barbara Bach proves to be an ideal Bond girl – "attractive, smart, sexy, and dangerous". Brian Webster stated the special effects were "good for a 1979 [sic] film", and Marvin Hamlisch's music, "memorable". Danny Peary described "The Spy Who Loved Me" as "exceptional ... For once, the
The Spy Who Loved Me (novel) "as silly as it is unpleasant". What aggrieved him most, however, was that "the worst thing about it is that it really is so unremittingly, so grindingly boring." The critic for "Time" lamented the fact that "unaccountably lacking in "The Spy Who Loved Me" are the High-Stake Gambling Scene, the Meal-Ordering Scene, the Torture Scene, the battleship-grey Bentley, and Blades Club." The critic also bemoaned the fact that "among the shocks and disappointments 1962 still has in store ... is the discovery that the cruel, handsome, scarred face of James Bond does not turn up until more than halfway through