Review of Moonraker (1979) by Sean B — 23 Oct 2012

The Roger Moore era relied heavily on stunt work to avoid putting him in many action scenes that showed his face, so it's no surprise that as a response to the success of "Star Wars" the producers went with this "Bond in space" entry.

What's funny, though, is that the vast majority of the film is pretty much like every other Bond, with him snooping around and engaging in various chase scenes (And who could forget the "double-take pigeon"?).

This one loses points for the big cheesy space action climax, a lackluster "evil plan" for the villain, and the unceremonious way in which famous villain "Jaws" is reduced to comic relief.

I still can't explain who thought the love story with Jaws and a random "nerdy" girl was a good idea. It's not a total loss though, and though I can't quite explain it, "Moonraker" is more fun to watch than it should have been given its premise.

The villain himself provides some effective moments of monologue and there are a few fun scenes that don't take themselves too seriously. There's even an objectively well-directed sequence when Bond first enters outer space that serves as a nod to "2001: A Space Odyssey", and who'd have expected that?