Review of Moonraker (1979) by Mitchell Z — 19 Oct 2015

Can we all be honest and just admit that 80 percent of the Bond villains to this point are pretty much the same in motivations, setting, and their presence. I don't know why it took this long for me to be bothered by this. Perhaps because Moonraker to be begin with isn't all that fun. After all, you can only get away with normalcy and cliches if you have a great movie around them. Moonraker just didn't do enough for me to be distracted by the same old Bond story.

The 4th and least interesting Roger Moore Bond film was fast tracked after the success of 1977's Star Wars. It's pretty crazy that the day after the Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer releases I find out that Moonraker was made early due to capitalize on the success of the first film in the Star Wars franchise. They even had a scene in which an MI6 agent shoots a gun that resembles a stormtrooper's. Which is later shown at its full potential later on as each astronaut have these said guns. Most of the film doesn't take place in space at all, in fact, the opening sequence before the credits is nothing short of magnificent film making. I'm amazed they were able to pull off the stunts and special effects needed to make that plane scene work so well. I immediately thought of Mission Impossible when I saw what they were able to accomplish with what looked like minimal CGI.

Sadly, that's about as good as the film gets. We do however get another go around with a fan favorite villain, Jaws. If it wasn't clear in the first film, Jaws is virtually indestructible. He literally survives anything thrown at him. I'm honestly surprised they didn't drop him out of a spaceship at the end of Moonraker only to show up in For Your Eyes Only. But there comes a point when he's so unrealistic that you're taken out of the film by him. Although, I do like where his character ends up in this film. The villain we really focus on here is named Drax. He doesn't particularly standout at all. In fact, he's overshadowed by his own henchman, Jaws, for a good portion of this film. It's quite puzzling why a guy like Drax who wants to create a perfect race would target someones like Jaws to be one of it's members.

The film comes off as boring and dull which is surprisingly for a plot that includes Bond going to outer space. It's so outrageous of a plot on its own, but there is nothing special at all about its characters, plot, or execution. Lois Chiles' 'Holly Goodhead' seemed to be a rehash of Barbara Bach's Anya, and really a far less interesting or polished character I may add. I love Roger Moore's Bond and I love watching Jaws, but I'm getting tired of those Bond villains and girls that do nothing but spill exposition and give us eye candy respectively. Moonraker contains better special effects, better action, but a far less interesting story and characters. But I will say it was entertaining to watch actors try and exhibit zero gravity by moving in slow motion. So bad it's good.

+Jaws is back and better than ever.

+Opening sequence.

+Star Wars nods.

-Same old same old villain.

-Why Bond in space, why.

-For a different setting, everything plays out exactly the way you'd expect.

4.8/10.