Fan Reviews (Moonraker)
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"Moonraker" by NicNac
For James Bond to be up against a madman intent on destroying
the world and starting mankind over, seems to me to be the main
reason Bond had aged so much in two years. After all, Karl Stromberg
had much the same idea, so two similar madmen in two years would
age the best of us. And the strain was certainly showing on Roger
Moore.
Moonraker, the 11th Bond movie suffers most from wanting so much
to be TSWLM, right down to bringing back the imposing giant henchman,
Jaws. Ideas were re-jigged and repeated, and the light hearted
appeal of Spy upped even more.
As was noticeable in a few of the Bond movies, Ian Fleming's source
material was unceremoniously dumped in favour of a grander, more
fanciful plot. Fleming's cute little rocket replaced by fancy
shuttles, a wondrous space station, and a threat not just to London,
but to the world!
Moonraker was indeed the end of an era. The laugh-a-minute Bonds
were all set to bow out with the 1970s, and although Roger Moore's
Bonds would still maintain a certain level of comical high jinx,
they would never again reach the dizzying heights of Moonraker,
James Bond's comedic zenith.
So, is it any good? A quarter of a century on,
we can finally look at MR and appraise it with sober judgment.
We don't have
to hold grudges against it for the crumby one-liners, the forced
and fake set-ups to the major action scenes, the 'funny' punch
lines to every single action sequence, Bond's journey into space,
and most of all, Bond's never ending insistence on punching
Jaws
in the mouth (will he ever stop doing that?)
We can look at the positives.
The opening half hour is quite excellent, full of drama, brilliant
dialogue, lots of real spying, and genuine suspense and action.
Plus a beautiful, haunting theme song performed by Shirley Bassey.All
as good as if not better than anything TSWLM had to offer.
Even after that, we are treated to wonderful locations, more real
spying (in Vienna), a terrific fight in a glass factory, and the
eerie beauty of the Amazonian siren sequence.
But all of this is offset by some of the series most ludicrous
scenes.
Dolly!
Jaws becomes a wimp!
Funny little spacemen shooting lasers!
The cable car fight!
That Bondola!
And so on.
Every step Moonraker takes forward, it seems to take two back.
Lewis Gilbert the director and Christopher Wood the writer very
nearly went too far (indeed Gilbert is still very proud of the
film!). Somehow though, they just pulled back from giving us Carry
On 007, and we are left with a true curiosity. A film in which
so much is done so very well. In fact there may never be such
a frustrating Bond film to sit through.
And if we take the Bond films from 1969 (OHMSS), 1979 (MR), 1989
(LTK) and 1999 (TWINE) we can truly put to bed the argument from
non-Bond fans that all Bond films are the same!
So where does it rank? It can't rank as highly as the genre saving
epic TSWLM. That one made Moonraker possible. But it is certainly
more entertaining than Golden Gun or Diamonds. Part of me wishes
the darned film had never existed, but equally, a part of me looks
back at it and grudgingly accepts that Moonraker, made when Bond
films knew how to have fun, was a neat slice of perfectly well
made hokum
Rating
"Moonraker" by Luds
Following the humongous financial success of the original Star
Wars movie in 1977 and of the tenth Bond movie (The Spy Who Loved
Me, 1977), producer Cubby Broccoli and returning director Lewis
Gilbert could only see one way to continue the Bond saga in order
to ensure larger revenue for the eleventh Bond outing: By sending
James Bond in outer space!
Clearly listening to their fans who loved gigantic henchman Jaws
from the previous movie, Gilbert and script writer Christopher
Wood had to bring back the popular character. However, Wood basically
ignored everything from Ian Fleming’s third novel written
in 1955. Moonraker is the story of how megalomaniac Hugo Drax
(Michael Lonsdale) plans to create a master race of superior human
specimens in outer space on his space station while wiping out
the entire world population using a toxic nerve gas. Drax then
plans for future generations to return to Earth and re-populate
it, as his toxin would not have armed any animal or plant.
With Moonraker, James Bond became science fiction, to many people’s
chagrin. Fortunately, Bond would return to the spy thriller genre
for the next film (For Your Eyes Only, 1981). Many fans feel that
Moonraker went too far! Others feel that original story from the
Fleming novel is far superior and more interesting than the unbelievable
storyline in outer space. Does James Bond belong in a laser gun
fight? Nevertheless, Roger Moore’s fourth outing as James
Bond is certainly one of his funniest, with a script packed with
humour and play on words.
The first half of the movie is very similar
to any typical Bond adventure. Bond has to travel to Hugo Drax’s
residence to investigate the disappearance of a Moonraker shuttle.
Bond seduces
Drax assistant Corinne Dufour (Corrine Clery), and goes through
Drax’s safe, finding blueprints for glassware made by
Venini Glass. Escaping from two attempts on his life, Bond
leaves Drax
and henchman Chang (Toshiro Suga) for Venice, where he follows
Drax employee Dr. Holly Goodhead (Lois Chiles) to Venini Glass.
Bond later finds a secret laboratory where the glassware is being
used to store a deadly chemical. Bond attempts to inform M,
but
Drax manages to move his laboratory before Bond can show any
incriminating evidence to his superior. Bond is now left with
two clues: a packaging
slip from C&W, and a phial containing the deadly chemical.
Teaming up with Holly Goodhead who reveals herself as a CIA
agent,
Bond travels to Rio de Janeiro where he finds an empty C&W
warehouse. Q informs Bond that the chemical is a black orchid
from the upper reaches of the Amazon. Bond makes his way to a
hidden base in the Amazon, where Drax is launching various Moonraker
shuttles in space.
Up to this point, the storyline makes perfect sense, as Bond
finds clues which leads him to different locations. He also uncovers
that Holly Goodhead is a CIA agent, and finally ends in a typical
situation: having to save the world from a villain wanting its
destruction. For the second time, Bond finds his way into an astronaut
uniform, but this time, he does travel to space (as opposed to
You Only Live Twice in 1965 where 007 is identified as an intruder
and removed from the shuttle).
If viewers can accept the unbelievable storyline in the last
quarter of the movie, that their favourite spy finds his way in
a Moonraker shuttle, having to team up with Jaws to battle Drax’s
army in a laser gun fight and having to destroy globes carrying
the deadly chemical before they reach the Earth’s atmosphere,
the movie can be quite enjoyable.
Learning from past mistakes, such as casting a dreadful actress
for an important role (such as the awful Barbara Bach as secret
agent Triple X in The Spy Who Loved Me), Gilbert and Broccoli
chose an actress who could be believable as a CIA agent in Lois
Chiles. Not being the most beautiful or talented actress, Chiles
still delivered a convincing performance as Holly Goodhead. The
returning Jaws and the fight between 007 and henchman Chang in
the Venini Glass store were quite entertaining. Jaws was unfortunately
not much of a threat to Bond, being used as comic relief throughout
the movie and probably turned as a “good guy” due
to his popularity with the younger audience.
In conclusion, this critic feels that Moonraker is undeservingly
overly criticized. The thirty silly minutes in space and having
Frederick Gray & M go on the field to see the Drax laboratory
(why would they ever do this?) isn’t enough to tarnish a
very good film. Moonraker is one of Roger Moore’s best Bond,
and easily better than The Spy Who Loved Me.
Rating
"Moonraker" by Amandeep Puni
The words that echoed through the world in the late 70's. The
impact of the new Star Wars series by George Lucas was felt by
everybody. One man felt the force and his name was Albert R. Broccoli.
Yes it was that time again, another Bond picture was being planned.
The film entitled 'Moonraker' sees the now iconic James Bond going
where no man has been before...space.
The film takes little from the book it's based upon, just a couple
of names and the title. Though some may be against it, I have
always liked the loose adaptations of the books. It always ensures
something new when reading the book for the first time.
The 11th Bond film once again supports a great cast. Moore, plays
the role once again for laughs but still I respect him highly
for it. It's always nice to see a change from the hard nosed Connery
type. Lois Chiles, the new incarnation of the infamous 'Bond Girl'
is more or less one of the films let downs. She gives a weak portrayal
and in my opinion is unable to live up to other 007 equal's for
instance, Anya Amasova. Michael Lonsdale, gives yet another boring
and dull performance as villain Hugo Drax, the life seems to have
been sucked out of him to degree that it may not even be watchable.
Though the return of Jaws is well received in my book. Richard
Kiel once again 'steels' the show as the henchman we all love
to hate.
Though most I meet have huge problems with Moonraker. I though
have nothing against. What more can you ask for? Thrilling jumps
from airplanes, boat chases, a gondola chase, a shootout in space
and all this in a bond film, why is everyone complaining?
There has to be those fun films in the series. We're had the
series, why not have that bit of comic relief? If it wasn't for
films like You Only Live Twice and Moonraker the Bond series would
not be so sought after today.
Though I may be shot for this, I believe that the Space showdown
is the highlight of the film, it's fun to watch and let's us slip
into the fantasy of the world of 007.
Moonraker is a true gem in the series, like other Bond of course
it has it's let downs but also has it's peaks. The force is strong
here.
Rating
"Moonraker" by Overkill
OK, so it all starts fine. We get a very exciting pre-credits
sequence and Bond finds himself in the middle of a potentially
exciting espionage plot. This means he actually has to do some
spying and detective work for a change. He teams up with a glamorous
female CIA agent to take on the villain (whose villainy is revealed
far too early). But after an entertaining first half an hour or
so, the whole thing collapses in a flood of crude one liners and
over the top special effects which seem awfully out of place in
the world of Bond. In fact Bond himself seems to simply drift
from one action spectacular to another with no thought to plot,
logic or audience patience.
For our younger readers I should point out that I’m NOT
referring to Die Another Day, but its older brother in arms, Moonraker.
The similarities are glaring though (not least the fact that DAD
borrows liberally from Fleming’s original novel, whilst
MR the movie chucks it all away save for the villain’s name
and a throwaway line about his hobby of Bridge).
As I suggested in my review of TSWLM, Bond had found himself
resurrected in a cinema world where he was no longer top dog.
In fact he now found himself playing second fiddle to multiplexes
overrun with FX-filled extravaganzas, mostly released in the wake
of the phenomenal success of Star Wars. (In the UK, Bond was also
in competition with a rash of ‘sex’ comedies, many
written by Christopher Wood, who, coincidentally, scripted MR
and TSWLM, but that’s another story.)
As had depressingly become the norm, Cubby took a ‘if you
can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em’ attitude, and
thusly MR would take Bond beyond the final frontier and into outer
space. Oh dear.
The plot, for what it’s worth, concerns Bond’s attempts
to track down a missing space shuttle which has been hijacked
during a transfer from the States to the UK. This is IMMEDIATELY
forgotten as Bond locks horns with Hugo Drax (of Drax Industries,
the manufacturer of the shuttle). He then proceeds to shag his
way through Drax’s staff, shoot another one and defy death
at the hands of his Chinese henchman, whilst Drax himself skulks
around delivering dry one liners obviously written for James Mason
(who declined the opportunity to play the role).
Bond then departs for Venice on the back of something he found
in Drax’s safe, and because a Bond movie had never really
utilised the location before (save the end of FRWL, and that was
only stock footage). Here Bond is pursued in a ludicrous boat
chase and … zzzz… I’m dropping off just writing
about it.
Moore is actually very good here, playing to his strengths in
light comedy, and coming off well in the few serious moments.
His reaction to his attempted murder on the centrifuge is superb,
as are his few scenes with the ill-fated Corrine.
His chemistry with Lois Chiles, playing the NASA-trained CIA agent
Holly Goodhead (fnarr, fnarr) is less impressive, though Chiles
equips herself well and is far more integral to the plot than
usual. She only has to be rescued once and actually assists Bond
in the finale, rather than just lolling around in a bikini waiting
to be saved.
Michael Lonsdale is great with the material he has. A softly spoken
villain he is quite obviously mental, but his plan to destroy
the world from Space and then re-populate with his own Master
Race is rather reminiscent of Stromberg’s in TSWLM. Though
he does get some of the best villainous lines since Goldfinger
(personal favourite: “Mr Bond. You return with all the inevitability
of an unloved season”).
A sign of MR’s desperation is the return of Richard Kiel
as Jaws. I’ve nothing against Kiel, but the character ran
his course even before the end of TSWLM, so to bring him back
(all be it wittily, with Drax presumably contacting a henchmen
temp agency) is almost a dictionary definition of scraping the
barrel. Here, he is reduced from a towering menace to just a farcical
pain in the bum. His attempts to eliminate Bond all lead to disaster,
so how can he be perceived as a threat? (And why does Bond STILL
insist on punching him in the mouth. Even Jaws shakes his head
in disbelief in a funny shot from the trailer that wasn't in the
final cut...!)
One thing MR does have going for it is some astonishing stunt
work and some of the best special effects in the whole series
(sadly overlooked at the Oscars in favour of Star Trek: The Motion
Picture). Now, everyone remembers the terrible back projection
in the cable car fight sequence, but few people ever comment on
the fact that there really were stunt people fighting on top of
that cable car, 2000 feet in the air with no safety cables!
The pre-credits sequence tries to top TSWLM’s ski jump,
with Bond freefalling from a plane without a parachute. An outstanding
achievement undermined (again!) by the unnecessary addition of
Jaws.
And finally there are the space sequences. Now these may seem
a tad hackneyed by today’s standards, but for those old
enough (or enthusiastic enough) to remember the days when FX were
created by humans rather than computers, these scenes are fantastic.
Derek Meddings and his team do an admiral job with a fraction
of the resources of the beardy weirdies at ILM.
But what do I know? The public adored it. MR remained the biggest
grossing Bond movie for 16 years until the release of Goldeneye,
taking over $300 million for a then astonishing outlay of $35
million (Cubby’s response? “Yeah, that is a lot of
money. But if you want the best you have to pay for it”).
For brain dead entertainment MR is up there with GF and TSWLM.
It looks expensive and is rarely dull, but it does become relentless
in the same way many blockbusters today try to cram in too much
into two hours, so maybe it was ahead of its time? No. MR is definitely
of its time, it hasn’t aged at all well and, dammit, it
doesn’t feel like a Bond movie. About the only thing that
reminds you that it is a Bond movie is Barry’s excellent
score, one of his best.
For all those Bond fans who criticised DAD for its over reliance
on CGI, the desecration of the Bond character and the lack of
a coherent plot, just remember that it wasn’t the first
Bond film to commit those sins…
Rating
"Moonraker" by Count Chocula
The posters proudly proclaimed that "outer space now [belonged]
to 007", and they weren't lying. 1979's "Moonraker" saw
Bond travel to just about the one place he had never ventured
to before: outer Space. Despite being a financial hit on its
release, the film's quality has been endlessly disputed among
fans for the past thirty years with some claiming that its childlike,
OTT fun factor makes it the ultimate "feel good" Bond,
while others claim that it is a dire addition to the franchise
for the very same reasons.
However, I'm going with the former.
"Moonraker" successfully managed to do something that
the previous Bonds of the '70s failed to do: it managed to make
us laugh with it, not at it. The idea of comedy Bond had first
been tested with "Diamonds are Forever", but the balding
Connery and lame villains made it feel contrived and out of place;
the idea was attempted again throughout the decade, but the critics'
favourite "The Spy Who Loved Me", intermingled the
comedy with too much drama to be believable. "Moonraker",
on the other hand, successfully moulded itself as a laugh along,
lighthearted 007 adventure.
It was this film, where Roger Moore really appeared as Bond:
his ease at pulling off the quips and the trademark eyebrow raise
would be remembered for years to come, and who didn't laugh when
he cheekily smiled back at Jaws? Combined with this rather obvious
humour, he also managed to bring a more sinister edge to the
role, with the way he ruthlessly shoots down Drax's assassin
with a shotgun.
The antagonist of Drax has all the trademarks of a comic book
Bond villain, from the diabolical plans (I mean, come on, he
wants to take over the world) to the menacing quotes ("see
that some harm comes to him"); the character is simply the
epitome of the OTT adversary. Lonsdale plays the role expertly,
with the perfectly menacing pronunciation of words to simply
looking the part (which is surprising as he could have just as
easily played Father Christmas).
Unfortunately, the Bond girls let the film down a bit. While
Lois Chiles does a fine job playing Holly Goodhead, there is
a distinct "by the numbers" feel to it... especially
when in comparison to the performances by Moore and Lonsdale.
The 2nd Bond girl of Corine Dufour is a nice, although unspectacular,
addition who unfortunately was not granted enough screen time
to really develop the part. To briefly stray off on a tangent,
her death is easily one of the most chilling sequences in the
entire series.
When you look at "Moonraker", you can see all of the
traditional elements you would expect from a Bond movie: larger
than life villains, elaborate sets, gorgeous girls, a powerful
score, unrealistic gadgets, menacing henchman... the list goes
on and on, and "Moonraker" has it all!
"Moonraker" is the perfect (that's right, I said "perfect")
Bond for a bank holiday or Christmas afternoon: whenever I sit
down and pop the film into my DVD player, I know I'm in for two
hours of pure entertainment. And that's all it is: entertainment.
Pure, fun entertainment that never fails to deliver the goods.
From the initial skydive (where Bond momentarily turns into Superman)
to the superbly bad ending ("I think he's attempting reentry,
Sir"), "Moonraker" is a cavalcade of Bondian adventure.
And even now, 30 years on, nobody can deny the fact that outer
space, certainly did belong to 007.
Rating
"Moonraker" by Sisillius
James Bond movie producer Cubby Broccoli had originally slated
For Your Eyes Only as the eleventh official Bond outing, although
after the success of George Lucas’ Star Wars in 1977, Broccoli
insisted that it would be a good idea to turn Bond into Luke
Skywalker and send him into space. The result was Moonraker (1979),
which borrowed its title and villain’s surname from Fleming’s
novel, but very little else. Moonraker’s predecessor, The
Spy Who Loved Me, had been a success with its big themes, its
world domination plot, its obvious allusions to multiple Oscar-winning
Jaws, and its larger than life characters. Broccoli decided to
dish up more of the same in Moonraker, except this time the plot – cloned
from The Spy Who Loved Me – would be about space, rather
than the ocean.
And it worked! Audiences flocked to see Moonraker, making it
the highest grossing 007 movie before Goldeneye in 1995. The
mixture of escapist action and space shoot-em-ups found favour
with audiences in spite of the movie’s innate silliness.
Audiences of the day were under a lot of very serious pressures
from the outside world at this time and this movie gave them
the release from this that they so badly needed. However, most
rational observers looking back with hindsight agree that Moonraker
is without a doubt the most absurd James Bond movie – definitely
of the Roger Moore era, and possibly of all time. Ironically,
it's exactly that ridiculousness that makes it so enjoyable to
many – especially younger viewers. In this respect, MR
is the sort of movie that you once enjoyed as a child, but look
back on many years later and wonder what the hell you ever saw
in it. Either that, or it will bring back those halcyon days
in ways that no other movie ever can.
So what makes up this spoofy soup? Well, we
have the villain, Drax, (who seems to command the sort of wealth
that would make
Bill Gates’ fortune look like loose change), building a
fleet of space shuttles and orbital satellites with the goal
of living in his secret space station while he poisons all humans
back on earth. His ultimate goal, of course, is to create a perfect
society, who will eventually repopulate the Earth. It looks more
like a job for Flash Gordon than James Bond, if you ask me.
Then there are such overt burlesques as Bond driving round Venice’s
St Mark's Square in a gondola-cum-hovercraft, a winking pigeon,
a ridiculously unexciting space battle using Star Wars-like laser
blasters, loads of cringe-inducing dialogue, a very clichéd
script and plenty of hammy acting. Along with this, Moonraker
crams in as many stunts, gadgets, and exotic locations as possible.
Even before setting foot into space, much is made of its Venice,
Rio, and rainforest set-pieces. The stunts are all set to “kill” with
the parachute sequence before the titles looking to out-do its
predecessor’s parachute ski-jump off a cliff. All this
boils down to a very comedic action adventure, with Drax's failed
efforts to have Bond killed providing most of the gags.
And the acting? Lois Chiles as Holly Goodhead gives a performance
so wooden you almost expect a lumberjack to come along and start
hewing away at her with his axe. Whereas most Bond films set
up some sort of romantic chemistry between Bond and his leading
lady, the chemistry is absent here. Moore and Chiles just don’t
work together, and Chiles delivers her lines with competence,
but very little enthusiasm, turning every romantic scene into
a waste of everyone’s time. However, it’s obvious
that Moore himself had tremendous fun making this movie. His
pantomime approach to the role of Bond didn’t really damage
the franchise much, although the producers clearly had to admit
later that it would have been in danger if they had let it slip
any further down the slippery slope into self-parody with the
next movie. But despite this, Moore gets away with his usual
play-it-for-laughs-and-you-can’t-go-wrong approach.
Setting inanities aside, it is also obvious that Moonraker is
really a remake of its predecessor, The Spy Who Loved Me. The
storylines are basically the same, as are the villains; and the
conquest of space has replaced an obsession with a brave new
world beneath the sea. In this sense, we are being very unscrupulously
short-changed by screenwriter Christopher Wood, also partly responsible
for The Spy Who Loved Me, who seemed to be satirising his previous
work – and the Bond formula in general – with an
almost sadistic glee.
It must be said that Moonraker does have its more serious moments
though. The death of Corinne Dufour at the jaws of Drax’s
dogs bring us down to earth with a bump, as does Bond’s
escape from a centrifuge that nearly crushes him wafer-thin.
However, these moments are few and far-between and are really
a “seasoning of seriousness” in what is really a
movie not intended to take itself seriously at all.
One other redeeming feature of MR is John Barry's score, which
I think was his best since On Her Majesty's Secret Service. He
weaves the familiar "James Bond Theme" into a rich
musical tapestry using the MR title melody as a recurring leitmotif
treated in lots of interesting ways.
Despite its financial successes, MR fails as a “Bond film”.
While the character of Bond has always been a fantasy figure,
he should never have been turned into a farcical character. If
Fleming had been alive to see this excuse for an “official” Bond
movie, I’m sure he would have been horrified.
Despite this though, the movie is an entertaining romp for all
ages that is ideally suited to a rainy Bank Holiday afternoon.
It has a camp nonsense about it that never fails to make me smile,
and as spoofs go, it is far more Bondian than the 1967 movie
version of Casino Royale.
Rating
"Moonraker" by Mr Brown
“Moonraker” brings the fantasy of the James Bond
films to a whole different level … a level that I don’t
care much for.
The film’s story hardly resembles Fleming’s classic
novel. As a matter of fact, it’s simply another lame rehashing
of the story from “The Spy Who Loved Me” (courtesy
of Christopher Wood) … which was essentially a rehashing
of Roald Dahl’s story for “You Only Live Twice” – quite
original, eh?
The characters don’t have much going for them. The most
complex character of the film is probably James Bond, which is
really no surprise. Roger Moore portrays him elegantly and humorously
as he did in the past three films. Lois Chiles’ character,
Dr. Holly Goodhead, is quite bland, to say the least. Michael
Lonsdale portrays Hugo Drax in an interesting fashion, but hardly
comes off as menacing or diabolical; he’s more or less
a wealthy and extravagant nut case. “Jaws” unfortunately
returns in this film and adds more ridiculous nonsense, also.
However, this time around, the ingenious writer had the audacity
to incorporate a half-witted love story amongst the metal-mouthed
henchman and a petite, pig-tailed blonde named Dolly. By the
end of the film, Jaws realizes that the odd couple isn’t
fit for Drax’s superior race and rebels. This would’ve
been a nice cash-in, made-for-TV, spin-off flick.
The greatest aspect of this James Bond film has to be John Barry’s
score. If there’s one man behind-the-scenes of a Bond film
who always does his job well, it’s John Barry. Somehow,
Barry was able to add some sort of redeeming quality to even
the cheesiest scenes of the film. One of his best pieces of music
for the film is “Corinne Put Down”, which is played
during Corinne’s death. The strings and winds really add
emotion and depth to the scene. Shirley Bassey’s title
track for the film was also great although it was wasted on such
a shameful Bond film. The mellow and lovely style of the track
really didn’t fit the style of the film. The locations
of the film were admirable, also. Bond travels to California,
Rio de Janeiro, Venice, and Brazil. The only undesirable location
was outer space.
Overall, I think that “Moonraker” starts off just
like the previous Moore films, however, it gets out of control
as it moves on. It’s obvious that the success of George
Lucas’ “Star Wars” films helped to blast this
Bond film into outer space. However, while “Star Wars” succeeded
as a science-fiction/action/adventure film, “Moonraker” failed
as a science-fiction/action/adventure film. Actually, I’m
not even quite sure what genre “Moonraker” falls
under, as it’s more like a science fiction/action/adventure/espionage/comedy.
I think Bond films like this took the main character off of
the path of “secret agent”, and took him onto the
path of “generic action hero”. While a Bond film
should have a sufficient amount of action, the character must
never enter the realm of “generic action hero”. Bond
is a trend-setter, not a trend-follower. Bond’s an elegant
secret agent, but also a cold killer, if need be. James Bond
isn’t a man who flies around outer space and blasts poison
pods with lasers, as one would in a Space Invaders video game.
I think it’s safe to say that James Bond should wield
his Walther PPK on planet Earth, rather than wielding a laser
gun in outer space.
James Bond - Astronaut? I don't think so.
Rating
"Moonraker" by NicNac
No way on this Earth (punny-tastic) was Producer Cubby Broccoli
going to make his Moonraker with what he described as a ‘piddling
rocket’ (from Ian Fleming’s 1954 novel). In the cinematic
version he intended to give the audience rockets, shuttles, space
stations and glamorous astronauts. So with Star Wars and Close
Encounters fresh in the memory, James Bond was about to enter
the space race.
So instead we had mega-rich industrialist Hugo Drax creating
an Aryan race to replace the 6 or 7 billion people he intended
to destroy from space. (We can only assume the gloomy fate of
all the technicians, scientists, biologists, engineers and dinner
ladies he had employed to help create his dream).
James Bond -
A man of action who can sky dive, wrestle giant snakes and wind
surf with ease. He is fluent in Spanish, is very partial to
Bollinger 69 and wears tailor made clothes.
Worryingly, all he knows about the Moonraker project is what
he has read in the papers. And worse still he is rather too nervous
about trying out the centrifuge (‘trouble is there’s
never a 70 year old around when you need one”)
Babes -
Too many to name check, but there are various apparent aristocratic
lady friends of Drax, many shapely astronauts, the lovely Corine
and wise cracking CIA gal Holly Goodhead. And of course Dolly,
Jaws’ busty, miniature girlfriend.
Villains
Millionaire industrialist Hugo Drax, a man of great refinement
(he plays piano, bridge – with M no less, enjoys a pheasant
shoot and of course, cucumber sandwiches). Top marks for the
best Bond villain of the 70s.
Chang is Drax’s silent side kick, dressed and ready for
a good fight. Not bad at all, but loses marks for the haircut.
And Jaws, steel toothed killer from The Spy Who Loved Me. As
impressive looking as ever, but used here for comic effect, which
dilutes him to such an extent that he truly belongs in the circus
that he gate-crashed during the pre-credit sky dive sequence.
Humour -
The visual humour such as the Bondola scene with double taking
pigeons and comedy drunks, as well as Jaws’ clumsy attempts
to kill Bond, his romance with Dolly and the sci-fi musical
gags, are all at odds with the crackling and razor sharp dialogue.The
one liners make Moonraker one of the most quotable of all Bond
films.
Sadism -
Tough one, unless you count the scene where Corrine gets killed
by Drax’s dogs. An ethereal moment not only at odds with
the rest of the film, but at odds with the whole series. Beautiful
and well made, if slightly uncomfortable viewing.
Snobbery -
Plenty. Drax and Bond seem intent on trying to out do one another.
Drax’s penchant for afternoon tea and cucumber sandwiches
is like a bad smell to Bond, who non too politely refuses everything.
Bond finds the shooting of pheasant for sport unpleasant, but
will
only drink the best champagne, and wears a tuxedo to blend
in at the Rio carnival!
Action - Disappointing on the whole. We
expect better than the crumby back projection work on the cable
cars.
The sky dive stunt is excellent, but spoilt by the stilted build
up in the aeroplane. The Bondola is what it purports to be- a
joke. And the finale in space with funny little spacemen shooting
lasers is at best ok, at worst, rather risible.
And Bond’s never ending insistence on punching Jaws in
the mouth. Will he ever stop doing that? Thankfully the fight in
the glass factory, the centrifuge and the boat chase in the jungle
work on most levels.
Gadgets -
The wrist gun, safe cracking equipment, fully equipped Bondola
and speed boat are typical late 70s excess.
Holly’s standard CIA equipment is worth a laugh as Bond
tries them out, and best of all is Bond’s mini camera he
uses to photograph Drax’s plans. It has a 007 logo, because
as we know, no British spy would go out without his secret service
number emblazoned on his field equipment.
Rating
"Moonraker" by James Clark
After the superb showcase of the Bond formula from the series’ newly
appointed sole producer, Cubby, for The Spy Who Loved Me, the
decision to take Bond “beyond” was met with trepidation
by ardent fans of Fleming’s gritty novels. Would Bond make
a mistake by entering the newly world-popular sci-fi genre? Alternatively,
would Moonraker exemplify the big budget, escapist fantasy adventure
ethos that audiences have come to expect with each new Bond release?
The answer proved to be a little of both.
Having shown sparing regard for Bond’s 11th mission in
the past, it was somewhat refreshing to return to ‘that
one where Bond goes to space and Jaws becomes a goodie!’ The
film was never going to get awards for Christopher Wood’s
often disjointed screenplay but it deservedly received an award
for the special effects, which, contrary to Associate Producer
William Cartlidge’s views on the DVD commentary, look tremendously
advanced even now.
Moore, in his 4th appearance as Bond, is now perfectly at home
in the role, providing just the right tongue in cheek comments
without going overboard. He is also clearly the best character
in Moonraker. Bond’s conquests total 4 in this film, if
you count space in that equation! The ladies themselves are one
of the weakest sets up to this point in the series. Lois Chiles
commits herself well to the role even if her character’s
persona completely works against her outrageous name, Holly Goodhead.
Corinne is also played well by Corinne Clery; the death sequence
by Drax’s Dobermans in the forest a very dramatic and uncommonly
dark demise for a Bond character. It is Manuela who gets my vote
as Best Bond girl though, played by the beautiful Emily Bolton.
Bond (7/10), Bond girls (4/10)
The villain of the piece, Hugo Drax, played as straight as can
be by character actor Michael Lonsdale, is a rather weak antagonist
for Bond. Chang is far more effective and physical in his attempts
to “see that some harm comes to [Bond]” – in
the glass sequence and the terrific Centrifuge sequence. Villains
(6/10).
As one of the most quotable films in the Bond canon, I give
the film a humour rating of 9/10. “The trouble is there’s
never a 70 year old around when you need one” is one of
Moore’s great lines this time around. Sadism and snobbery
(including Bond’s shock at discovering that Dr Goodhead
is actually a woman) warrant 7/10, action, in particular the
often thrilling climax, gets an 8/10, locations are very vast
and luxurious – particularly the French chateau interiors
and Venice so I give that an 8/10, gadgets are few and far between
but that wrist dart gun comes in very handy – 6/10.
If, like me, you have your misgivings about Moonraker, pop the
DVD in the machine and watch it with little analysis for what
the film is – escapist fantasy. You may be swayed as I
have been. It is definitely not Moore’s weakest Bond film
but it’s also not the best. That accolade goes to the preceding
and the following film. After 30 years – incidentally celebrated
on my birthday, June 26 – this is still hard to beat for
entertainment value. Let Bond “take you round the world
one more time”. You never know, you might just enjoy it!
Rating
"Moonraker" by w7
At first, when it came out in 1979, I didn't like Moonraker.
I was a die-hard James Bond fan back then and additionally, I
sure was into Science Fiction. But combining Bond and Star Wars?
My favourite secret agent in a space suit, fighting villains
with sizzling lasers? No way! Bond to me was a very down-to-Earth
man, wearing lounge suit and tie, experiencing fantastic adventures
in a slightly futuristic world, but no forays into space. In
addition, it seemed Moonraker's story wasn't constructed very
well, with Bond moving from A to B to C, making silly jokes,
bedding the ladies and keeping punching Jaws into the face. This
was as far away from spy thrillers like Dr. No and From Russia
from Love as you can get, wasn't it?
But then I realized that I made a capital mistake: I was expecting
something else, something that Moonraker is not. What was wrong
was not the film in question but my approach to it. And then,
I discovered the joy of watching Moonraker. Now it's one of my
favourite entries of the series, a highly entertaining joyride
with a tongue-in-cheek attitude, breathtaking action sequences
(the pre title skydiving stunt!), a beautiful score by John Barry,
wonderful sets by Ken Adam and excellent dialogue and one-liners,
a film which always puts me in a good mood.
Sure, Moonraker is "kid's entertainment" as opposed
to Ian Fleming's "adult entertainment". But it's kid's
entertainment done extraordinarily well. And it even has its "Fleming
moments", namely the scene where Corinne is slain by the
villain's dogs and the scene where Bond is almost killed by a
g-force simulator and reacts really shattered and hurt afterwards,
without a quip remark, only gently declining the girl's help.
Great acting by Roger Moore there, in arguably one of the best
scenes of the entire series! But let's have a look at the often
criticised silliness of the general plot and individual scenes:
A space shuttle disappeared on the transport to Britain, and
the secret service is sending their best man (Bond) to investigate
the case. Bond first visits the factory where the shuttle was
built, and he finds out that the owner of that factory (Drax),
is about to destroy mankind from a space station he secretly
put into orbit. Moreover, it was Drax himself who hijacked his
own vehicle because he "needed it" for his plans. Well
OK, that's a thin story. Why would anyone start an investigation
about a missing rocket at the rocket's factory? And how could
Drax be so stupid as to calling the attention of British intelligence
by stealing his own rocket in the first place? Alright, all of
that is implausible. But the point is: Who cares? The hijacking
of the space shuttle sets the story in motion and leads Bond
to ultimately foil Drax's plans. While we're watching him doing
this, Moonraker delivers so many beautiful moments throughout
that we don't really care about plot holes. At least I don't.
My prime example for how Moonraker works is the gas mask scene:
Bond, who had discovered Drax's secret laboratory in Venice the
day before, is visiting the place again together with his boss
M and minister Frederick Gray. To avoid a possible contamination,
they're all wearing gas masks, only to find Drax receiving them: "You
must excuse me. Not being English, I sometimes find your sense
of humour difficult to follow." Alright, that is a highly
implausible situation again: Why would the head of British secret
service and one of Her Majesty's ministers venture into potentially
dangerous territory in another country, wearing gas masks? But,
what a wonderful scene! It gives Drax a great opportunity to
mock the British, and it really serves a function in the film's
narrative: The scene shows Drax's great power (having been able
to remove all signs of the secret laboratory overnight), just
like an earlier scene where Drax demonstrates to Bond his great
command over his dogs. So, like the whole film, this scene is
inherently ridiculous, but simply great stuff!
So overall, for me, Moonraker is an always entertaining magical
film which contrary to expectation is mostly not set in space
but succeeds to take us 'round the world one more time.
Rating
"Moonraker" by FieldsMan
After the incredible success of The Spy Who Loved Me (1977),
sole producer Albert R. Broccoli followed in the same direction
and created the spy’s most unrealistic adventure. But,
it is nonetheless, memorable and incredibly fun.
It kicks off with a breath taking stunt which involves one of
Bond’s famous adversaries, the steel-toothed Jaws, and
Bond free falling and fighting. The film then intercuts into
one of Maurice Binder’s best titles sequences, and one
of the better theme songs sung by the infamous and talented,
Shirley Bassey.
It has everything a Bond film should have. One of the sexiest
bunches of Bond babes, threatening and menacing villains, stunts
and a bit of humour. One may say it has too much humour, but
it’s what makes this film unique. The score is brilliant – beautiful
where it should be, and suspenseful when it should be.
The cinematography is excellent in the marvelous
locales that were chosen; California, Venice and Rio de Janeiro,
but it also
features a very unique location. Let’s just say, it’s
out of this world – and it gets criticised because of it.
However, up until Bond goes to “that location” it
is a very typical Bond film. The plot seems fairly feasible,
Bond beds many beautiful girls, has his martini, is involved
in many action sequences that are full of genuine suspense and
excitement, is in many beautiful sets and locations and introduces
himself with the renowned ‘Bond, James Bond.’ The
protagonist even does some genuine spying, which is what
a spy does. But once Bond gets into space, that’s where
the main flaws come into effect.
Moonraker is nonetheless a very enjoyable flick, despite its
few flaws. It is recommended to anyone, from the average movie
goer, to the most avid and newest Bond aficionados
Rating
"Moonraker" by Shadowonthesun
Moonraker is perhaps best-described as being
just like The Spy Who Loved Me, minus, of course, the Russians,
the underwater
lair, the submersible Lotus and the close proximity of Egypt.
Roger Moore invariably falls out of an aeroplane sans parachute,
pilots a space shuttle as if you and I could do it, and comes
up with an imaginative way of dispatching the resident Big Bad;
but before that, there’s a lot of other things that have
to happen first. Hugo Drax, philanthropist and conqueror of space,
has discovered one of his space shuttles has developed laryngitis
in the fuel system which has apparently turned it into a Volkswagen,
and so he takes the rather unusual step of hijacking one of his
own shuttles in mid-flight. One wonders why he doesn’t
just build one in secret as he has already made six of them;
it would certainly spare him the trouble of getting Roger Moore
and his Eyebrow involved.
Drax naturally takes exception to Moore’s presence and
shows remarkable foresight in arranging for a series of highly-suspicious
accidents to befall him, but given that his people failed to
put all the nuts on the right bolts for his space shuttle program,
Moore simply waltzes through. In between surviving creative attempts
on his life, Moore works his charms on Corinne Dufour, who unfortunately
for her is the kind of girl who needs to get into trouble before
she believes that you can, in fact, get pregnant standing up,
and commits the fairly large oversight of betraying her boss
and he sets the hounds on her. From here on, it’s a by-the-numbers
affair, with Moore playing havoc with everyone’s no-claims
bonuses everywhere he goes. Drax runs his empire with all the
trappings of a military operation, though no-one is entirely
sure which military operation. Given the performance of his staff
in killing Moore, it might have been Arnhem. Meanwhile, Moore
has his usual way with Holly Goodhead, CIA agent and astronaut;
in layman’s terms, Barbra Bach with a different accent
and wardrobe.
Finally, we Go Where No Bond Film Has Gone Before; outer space.
And it is here that the plot decides to go sideways, opening
itself to holes large enough to drive the aforementioned space
shuttle-turned-Volkswagen through. Drax is looking to conquer
the world from afar for no good reason other than to see if he
can; essentially, the same ambitions as Karl Stromberg, but evidently
without having checked the obituaries column two years earlier.
Despite displaying an IQ of nine thousand in successfully flying
a space shuttle first time out, Moore is at a loss for a solution
to the problem that is Drax and so decides to blow things up
and see what survives. Not to be outdone, a group of Marines
show up to shoot whatever Moore misses.
And so Moonraker ends on the same note on which it started;
ambitions a mile wide but only an inch deep, happy to imitate
its predecessor rather than think for itself.
Rating
"Moonraker" by 007calbrit
After the success of Moore’s third adventure as the charming
English spy, Cubby Broccoli had much to live up to in the eleventh
installment. And looking at the impact of 1977’s Star Wars
it was easy to see why Moonraker was chosen for the task.
All right, to start it off, it has little connection to Fleming’s
original novel. In fact, looking at it, it really only shares
the same title and a few of the characters. It comes across as
more of a mix between The Spy Who Loved Me in terms of plot and
You Only Live Twice. The character of Drax, the main villain,
doesn’t have the same effect he did in the book, the Bond
Girl Holly Goodhead is charming, but nowhere near strong enough
to have that much an impact and Jaws returns for his second run,
though this time he seems to have become slightly more comic
even taking in his first performance. Plot is a little far fetched
as well, and there is some complete nonsense one might have a
hard time getting around. But before you skip ahead right here
to the low score I’ve given it and maybe glance at me bashing
Moore’s acting, there are some charms of Moonraker.
Yes, Drax isn’t the same as the novel, but Lonsdale is
brilliant and gives the character the right menace and fear factor.
This even helps to make the plot more serious. Nonsense is guaranteed,
but apart from Jaws falling in love or someone looking at their
wine bottle in disbelief at a chase in Venice, it features one
of the darkest scenes of the series and fates of a Bond Girl;
being mauled by the villain’s dogs. Even the final moments
of Bond in space are quite tense and spectacular, maybe even
to people who might not like the film and a fight with a henchman
and some scenes with Bond snooping around the villain’s
home and bases is enough to equal out some of the silly parts.
Along with this, the film features fantastic cinematography
and Barry’s score is up to his usual standards. Bassy also
gives a memorable song, and it features some of the most memorable
sequences of the series. Moore is at his best as James Bond,
and helps keep the overall tone of the film and his presence
is strong enough to make the audience accept him as England’s
favourite spy.
All in all, an enjoyable flick which at times may take itself
too seriously for its own good, but it is a must-see for any
Bond fan. Memorable performances and moments are in there, even
if one may find them good or bad. Perfect for a popcorn movie.
And some might even be able to be taken in by the magic of the
plot and stunts, all the nonsense may become fairly minor. But
for others the faults become so large they can’t enjoy
the rest of Moonraker. Whatever way, it showed us Bond in a place
we never saw him before, and it was out of this world!
Rating
"Moonraker" by Lazenby.
The Spy Who Loved Me may have had audiences enthralled with
it's rich blend of larger-than-life, big-budget summer blockbuster
spectacle, but there was one key ingredient unfortunately absent
to further enrich this heady brew: John Barry. From the very
moment Roger Moore strides across screen in the opening gunbarrel
sequence of his 1979 Bond epic, we know we're back in the hands
of musical greatness as Barry's unmistakably superior soundscape
ushers in quite possibly the most spectacular Bond adventure
of them all.
Moonraker opens with a truly irresistible scenario: James Bond
is exposed by the enemy on a plane thousands of feet above the
ground below. After disposing of his enemy through the open door
of the plane, the coast seems clear. Until Bond himself is pushed
from the plane, leaving a disbelieving audience to question the
fate of our man as he freefalls towards almost certain oblivion.
Oblivion, that is, until that man Barry re-emerges to offer
the possibility that all is not lost as his Bond theme begins
to build up. We know we're in for something special. In one of
the most jaw-droppingly spectacular action sequences of the series,
Bond adjusts his body to navigate his freefall towards his parachuted
would-be assailant below. Our man wrestles the villain's parachute
away to make his safe escape and the audience can finally stop
to draw breath as the subtle, ethereal tones of Shirley Bassey's
most beautiful Bond song to date takes us once again into the
wonderful world of Maurice Binder's title designs. James Bond
has lived to fight another day, and in truly spectacular fashion.
Can the rest of the film live up to such a grand opening?
The film continues to score highly shortly afterwards, as the
benefits of the film's inspired France co-production begin to
reveal themselves. At one of the grandest, most elegant residences
afforded to a Bond villain (and the first signs of Jean Tournier's
wonderfully lavish location photography) we meet Bond's nemesis
Hugo Drax, played with seemingly effortless and commanding distinction
by French actor Michael Lonsdale. Drax scores highly immediately
in an introduction absolutely packed with elegance, wealth, authority,
faux-co-operation and a wonderfully sly undercurrent of villainy
as Lonsdale delivers each utterance of "Mister Bond" with
understated yet authoritive relish.
An introduction to our man's leading lady follows in the shape
of the par-for-the-course suggestively-named Dr Holly Goodhead
(efficiently played with just the right balance of feisty-yet-likeable
by Lois Chiles), whose allegiance initially seems welcomely unclear
as she appears to be solely in the employ of Drax. We're also
introduced to Drax's henchman Chang, who will spend the first
half of the film lurking quietly (yet menacingly) waiting for
the perfect moment to dispatch our hero.
Drax's deliciously delivered "Take care of Mister Bond...
see that some harm comes to him" leads us into one of the
film's most successful and suspenseful sequences, as Roger Moore's
Bond emerges noticeably shaken from being subjected to Drax's
centrifuge (an admirable and convincing moment of unusual yet
very welcome vulnerability from Moore's Bond) in the first of
many attempts on his life at the hands of Drax.
Moore the smooth seducer emerges in his absolute element shortly
thereafter, as Drax's ravishing aide Corrine Dufour (another
welcome benefit of the France co-production) has the whereabouts
and contents of Drax's safe charmed out of her by our man. Little
does she know that doing such will result in her chillingly-executed
death (another superb and suspenseful sequence) shortly afterwards.
John Barry's scoring of these sequences not only puts the lovely
romantic melody of the film's title track to excellent use, but
also offers a chillingly ominous cue to mark the end of Corinne
at the hands of Drax's dogs.
The film moves on to Venice, with a well-staged though overtly "humorous" boat
chase, with Barry again in full flow as the Bond theme tracks
our man's escape from a variety of obstacles such as a faux-Dracula
emerging knife-in-hand from a coffin, a shower of gunfire and
even a double-taking pigeon. It's at this point we know for certain
that we're having everything and the kitchen sink thrown our
way in the name of a good show.
Through the film's underrated Bond-as-detective thread, our
man follows the clues to reveal the potential devastation Drax
could be about to unearth as Bond discovers Drax's lethal nerve
gas in a cleverly-disguised laboratory. Bond also finds time
to dispatch of Chang in a well-staged fight sequence in which
Bond fortunately manages to keep a glass sample of the nerve
gas intact in his pocket throughout.
The humiliating aftermath of our man's subsequent confrontation
with Drax results in Bond being ordered off the case by the Minister
Of Defence, which leads to a wonderfully understated show of
trust from Bernard Lee in his final appearance as M, condoning
Bond's disguising of two weeks' leave as actually a trip to Rio
to further his investigations.
In one of the film's best humorous scenes, Drax makes a telephone
call to replace the murdered Chang with The Spy Who Loved Me's
surviving henchman Jaws (the imposing Richard Kiel) in a scene
more reminiscent of a man ordering a takeaway.
Moore the seducer re-emerges triumphantly as he marks his arrival
in Rio with probably the quickest seduction in Bond movie history,
as his beautiful aide Manuela (played with likeable enthusiasm
by Emily Bolton) is out of her clothes within seconds of introduction.
A couple of hair-raising confrontations with Jaws follow shortly
thereafter, with Bond escaping the henchman in the crowded streets
of Rio before narrowly surviving a duel with the steel-toothed
giant atop a cable car, the aftermath of which sees Jaws finding
love at first sight with a vertically-challenged female suitor
and Dr Goodhead being captured and taken away by Drax's men.
In the meantime, armed with the latest boat
from gadget-master Q (again likeably portrayed by Desmond Llewelyn),
Bond heads
upriver to locate the deadly flower used in the creation of Drax's
lethal nerve gas. But again Jaws turns up, leaving Bond to narrowly
escape the rapids via hang-glider. One of John Barry's most luxurious
Bond cues tracks our man's landing at a mysterious pyramid where
a bevy of Drax beauties lead Bond to another near death experience,
this time at the hands of Drax's pet python. Bond is subsequently
captured by Drax and is left with Dr Goodhead to face another
near-death scenario as the two narrowly escape the furnace of
Drax's shuttle exhaust as the villain heads off into space.
Bond and Dr Goodhead disguise themselves as Drax crew members
in order to follow the villain, at which point Drax's plot begins
to reveal itself: Drax has selected only the most perfect physical
specimens to accompany him in his giant space centre, from which
he plans to destroy all life on Earth via his lethal nerve gas
and rule the heavens as leader of his new master race.
At this point in the film, the special effects
and John Barry's majestic score reach their absolute peak as
Derek Meddings' incredible
model work on Drax's space station is revealed to the strains
of Barry's majestically epic "Flight Into Space" cue.
The Bond films have seldom been as full-scale ambitious and beautifully
scored as they are here.
Bond and Dr Goodhead board the space station and make it's presence
known to the authorities on Earth, but are captured shortly afterwards
by Drax. In the ensuing discussion, Drax loses the services of
Jaws when it becomes apparent that Jaws' female companion doesn't
fit the physical criteria to remain aboard the station. Jaws
teams up with Bond in a full-scale laser-gun space battle to
overthrow the station with the aid of arriving British troops.
Bond dispatches Drax through the station's air lock chamber
and destroys the nerve gas containers headed towards Earth. Jaws
and his girlfriend also survive the explosion of the space station
and are reported as safely arriving back on Earth.
Bond and Dr Goodhead spend the trip home to Earth getting to
know each other better in the physical sense, but are unaware
that the authorities below are watching them via an onboard TV
camera. Q gets the memorable closing line of "I think he's
attempting re-entry, Sir" before a rousing disco rendition
of the title song wraps up one of the most lavish, well-produced,
brilliantly staged and beautifully scored entries in the Bond
series, a film which continues to deliver in all of it's spectacular
globe-hopping glory thirty years on.
Everyone involved in the immense and enduring production of
Moonraker has more than earned the right to raise a glass and
say "Well... here's to us".
If a Bond film has to be big, enjoyable, action-packed spectacle,
then this is the way to do it - a big, often beautiful production
with every single penny and then some up there on the screen.
Rating
"Moonraker" by Fairbairn-Sykes
Moonraker was the eleventh James Bond film made
by EON Productions and the fourth to star Roger Moore as the
superspy. It carries
on many similar elements from the previous installment, The Spy
Who Loved Me, including large over-the-top action set pieces,
the direction of Lewis Gilbert, the presence of (in)famous henchman
Jaws, and having only the title in common with the Ian Fleming
novel.
What's interesting is that Spy is one of the generally best
liked films from the Roger Moore era, but Moonraker is almost
universally
reviled. Ignoring the obvious, the main difference between Moonraker
and The Spy Who Loved Me is one of mood -- despite a few chilling
moments, Moonraker is clearly a comedy. From the circus gag in
the PTS, to the use of gag music like the main theme from The
Magnificent Seven, the existence of films like Austin Powers
becomes almost redundant when the Bond series does a fine job
of parodying itself in this entry.
Of course, it would be irresponsible for me not to mention
that Moonraker is Bond's entry into science fiction. Now, while
the
original novel had perhaps the most over-the-top plot Fleming
had used to that point, it has nothing on this film, which includes
Bond going into space and fighting with lasers (though it is
worth mentioning Bond himself never wields one). Moonraker was
made in 1979, however, during the era of such blockbuster science-fiction
films as Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind (also
referenced in a gag in the film), and Alien.
The movie's "original" plotline is formulaic to the
point of boredom, it really is cut and paste from the previous
film only drop the interesting subplot of co-operating with a
Russian agent and add space travel. It's taken me this long to
review the film because I got bored often watching it and shut
it off, and kept putting off finishing it.
One of the few saving graces is the score from John Barry,
which often manages to take moments that are campy or stupid
and give
them at least some sense of grandeur and respectability.
I said I found the film boring -- this even
applies for me to it's uninspired and bland title song. Everything
in this film
just suggests to me that no one was really trying and that everything
done in comes from two directives: copy The Spy Who Loved Me
and cash in on Star Wars.
Obviously someone at EON must have released how far gone the
series was when it was actively making fun of itself, and decided
to
tone back for the next film, For Your Eyes Only, thank heavens.
In Fleming's largely ignored
original novel, Bond is captured and tortured by Drax. Growing
largely irritated
at having to
hear Drax talk ad nauseam about himself and his brilliant plan,
Bond mocks him and his plan, and says "Now let's get on
with this farce, you great hairy-faced lunatic." And that
is what Moonraker is -- a farce, of James Bond in particular and
action
films in general.
Rating
"Moonraker" by DOUBLE-O-NOEL
The greatest Bond villain in its 47 year film history isn't
your Blofeld or Goldfinger but the audience's flipflop attitude
as to what they want their Bond movies to be. Too fantastical
and they want it back to basics. Back to basics and they want
it to be light hearted again. You can't win. Back in the late
'70's, audiences were flocking to see fantasy come to life on
the cinema screen. If Bond was ever going to blast off into outer
space then 1979 was his last chance to do it.
I have a real fondness for Moonraker and not just as a Bond
movie. In its own right it's a fantastic concoction of elements
that shouldn't work. A dapper British secret agent's search for
a space shuttle leads him across the globe from Venice to the
Amazon. Along the way he escapes death and danger with outlandish
gadgets and a quip whilst staying clear of a giant with metal
teeth and braces. Finally he makes the discovery that a madman's
dream lies in the darkness of outer space where a battle for
the Earth will take place. Now that's a movie I want to see!
Yes it's lavish, overblown, spectacular, with a huge amount of
money thrown at the screen but that's exactly why I love this
film. I detest vacuous movies and that is a criticism I would
aim at the Brosnan period (the dark times..) but this film is
genuinely trying to engage the audience by its scale and ambition
and despite a flimsy plot I think it succeeds.
But there is also an ominous, sinister tone to the film which
I love as 007 follows a trail which leads him to Drax's super
race nightmare. Civility and death usually go hand in hand in
a Bond film but in Moonraker it's beauty and death. The beauty
of Drax's women, the beauty of the locations, even the beauty
of the music all mask a sense of the sinister and ultimately
death. Corrine being hunted by the dogs is a perfect example.
The shafts of sunlight cutting through the trees of the misty
forest accompanied by John Barry's strings makes it a beautiful
piece of cinema. The much maligned python scene has a disturbing
element to it as the pretty smiling girls enjoy watching Bond
die. So despite the fantasy tones, the film does have a vicious
streak to it. Even the scene when the laser battle is raging
in space, the screams of the warring factions as they are shot
dead and fall away into blackness is strong stuff.
A word on John Barry's score, by this stage of his career he
had dumped the more surreal aspects to his music in favour of
a grander approach. Space music and Barry seemed to be made for
each other. He captures that deep rooted feeling of mankind going
beyond itself. When Moonraker 6 rises above the Earth and the "Flight
into Space" theme begins, that's a moment I always look
forward to. Although listening to it on the soundtrack it does
sound like the horn section had a bit too much vin rouge the
night before.
As the film came to its end, Bond looks
down at Holly and said "I think it may be time to go home".
He was really talking to us, the audience. I've always found
this line to be quite a warm moment in the Bond movies. That
such
a huge sum of money was spent to create a piece of cinema to
simply entertain people, to make them happy is something I find
rather touching. Thankfully though Bond came to his senses, realising
that he was floating in bed with a beautiful woman and flew off
around the world one more time, bringing a smile to Holly's face
and to ours.
Rating
