Review of Moonraker (1979) by Filipeneto — 18 Feb 2018

Directed by Lewis Gilbert and produced by Albert Broccoli, has script by Christopher Wood and is the eleventh film in the franchise. Its definitely the great Bond film about the conquest of space, topic that other films had approached. For Brazilians, its a special film because it was partially filmed in Brazil.

In this film, James Bond investigates the disappearance of a space shuttle belonging to Drax Industries, which largely finance the aerospace project. He begins with a visit to the headquarters of the firm, in United States, staying at the château of Mr. Drax, a man fascinated with the conquest of space. After several dangers, the trail leads Bond to Venice and Brazil, where he discovers the frightening plans of the villain.

To some extent, Drax is like Stromberg, the villain of the film that preceded it. Both feel a fascination for environments that aren't naturally theirs, and both despise humanity and are ready to make it disappear. However, the decision to make the film an authentic space odyssey was, probably, a response to the increasing popularity of science fiction films due to the Star Wars trilogy. One of the most famous scene in the movie is the approach to the space station built by Stromberg in Earth orbit. Equally famous is the scene where Jaws (who returns in this film and gradually turns into an good guy) finds love after the famous fight scene in the Corcovado's cable car. To date, its the only villain in the franchise that redeems and presumably becomes good. Machines and inventions also continue to be part of the Bond films, which a famous Venetian gondola who turns into an hovercraft.

In this film, apart from central casting inherited from the previous films, Lois Chiles gave life to the bond-girl Holly Goodhead, Corinne Clery played Corinne Dufour, Michael Lonsdale was the villain, Drax, Richard Kiel returned to the role of Jaws and Bernard Lee plays, for the last time, Bond's boss, M. The actor would die shortly after.