Moonraker

Roger Moore's entry in which faces dangerous adventures around the world . Moore's outing with overwhelming action and spectacular scenarios , the film teams Bond with an American agent (gorgeous Lois Chiles) in an effort to stop an industrialist from destroying the surface world so he can rule an outland kingdom . After his first introduction in ¨Live and let die¨ as tough and attractive James Bond of the Ian Fleming's famous creation , Roger Moore went on playing various 007 , and ¨Moonraker¨ is one of the best . The picture starts with an overblown free-fall opening , the best part of this film and introducing a giant villain (Richard Kiel who will repeat in subsequent entry). This Bond film deals about seductive James Bond OO7 as the ultimate spy hero who is assigned by MI6 a dangerous mission pursuing an intergalactic mad man (Michael Lonsdale in a potentially sinister presence as the head baddie) . Meanwhile , Bond goes to Venice there happens a high-octane race and Bond discovers clues in Rio De Janeiro. James is double-crossed and continues to follow the lead , deciding to investigate in Amazonas . Following the tracks all lead a nasty billionaire , a maniacal villain who schemes a world conspiracy.

Roger Moore as James Bond is cool , he does remarkably well , he earns in irony, suavity and sympathy, however also has coldness ,cunning , intelligence and toughness . Here Bond is an efficient , relentless agent trying to chase obstinately the criminals , traveling around the world as always , as this globe-trotting story is set in England ,America, Venice, Amazonas , Rio De Janeiro and exterior space . Bond to achieve his aims , along the way uses violent means even pulling off brutal killings against enemies who wreak all sorts of havoc . As always Bond will use gadgets provided by ¨Q¨ (Desmond Llewelyn) . In addition , there appears the usual as Lois Maxwell, ¨MoneyPenny¨ , Sir Gray as Geoffrey Keen , Walter Goetell as Russian general and Bernard Lee's last appearance as ¨M¨ .

The picture contains comic-strip adventure , sensational pursuits , silly set pieces, great stunts, tongue-in check humor, frantic action packed , amazing gimmicks and stimulating images like are the happenings on the spectacular races, the breathtaking aerial scenes, and the spacial fights . As is like a roller-coaster , as is fast-paced, light, excitement, funny and entertaining ; it's a winner for oo7 fans and non-fans alike . The chase and suspense formula wears strong in this entry .Enjoyable title song by Shirley Bassey and stirring musical score fitting to action by the usual composer, the classic John Barry . Riveting and fancy main titles by habitual Maurice Binder , furthermore eye-popping production design by Ken Adam . It's brimming with colorful and fascinating cinematography by cameraman Jean Tournier. The motion picture produced by habitual producers, Albert R Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson , being professionally directed by Lewis Gilbert who directed various outings though with no originality . Director Gilbert keeps this moving at an incredibly fast pace and this story about every's favorite super-spy falling in love with a CIA agent is one of author Ian Fleming's best . The film will appeal to James Bond series's buffs but good for fans only ; because this one goes on far too long . Rating : 6'5 , well worth watching .

Considered almost unanimously as one of the worst films in James Bond series, it is time for Moonraker to have a defender. On my opinion, this is Moore's best fourth outing as 007(may be not saying too much, but there are three films left), and a very entertaining sci-fi film. Critics argue that humor plays a strong hand in this movie-strong to such a degree that Bond character loses all personality, becoming blurred in an impressive set of FX and stunt men. I reply: certainly there are flaws, some of them (particularly Jaws conversion towards the end) very ridiculous. But there are good points, too. Remember that pre-credit scene, which was ACTUALLY shot in the air, the motorboat chase or the final space battle, one of the most spectacular moments of the entire series, (yeah, it was unrealistic, OK, but tell me how much realism you can find watching other Bond movies which are frequently referred to as" the best". Think of Goldfinger or You only live twice)

However, Moonraker does not compare to Octopussy or TSWLM, because of a sometimes plodding pacing, due to the addition of unnecessary scenes, especially during the first half, when James is Drax's guest in California. The love story is a mere and inferior copy of TSWLM. And, while in other Moore's films the blend of humor and Bond's trademark coolness worked smoothly, here Bond is not given a scene to show, not necessarily ruthlessness, but a bit of harshness, as we could see in FYEO or Octopussy.

Following Moore's outings will feature Cold War elements which seem to fit more with the character, and better screenplays from Richard Maibaum,the series' screenwriter who was mysteriously absent here.

But action remains mostly exciting, sometimes brilliant, and highlights what could have been a mediocre entry.

Moonraker is directed by Lewis Gilbert and adapted to screenplay by Christopher Wood from the novel written by Ian Fleming. It stars Roger Moore, Lois Chiles, Michael Lonsdale, Richard Kiel and Corinne Dufour. Music is scored by John Barry and cinematography by Jean Tournier.

Bond 11 and 007 is tasked with finding out what happened to the Moonraker space shuttle that mysteriously disappeared up in space. His investigation takes him to the billionaire builder of the craft, Hugo Drax, where Bond discovers a fiendish plot to start a new world of perfect human beings.

At the end of The Spy Who Loved Me we were told that James Bond would return in For Your Eyes Only, but the gargantuan success of Star Wars and a rekindling of all things sci-fi led Albert Broccoli to send 007 out into space! Armed with a $30 million budget and using only the core base plotting of Fleming's novel, the makers crafted what many feel is the runt of the James Bond litter. The money "is" up there on the screen, it's excess overdrive, outlandish from start to finish and actually is very very entertaining. The problem is that in James Bond terms it barely feels like a Bond movie, it actually could be any bloke propelling the story, this is a guy reliant on gadgets and not his brain or brawn, quipping away purely for the sake of a cheap laugh. Ultimately it's a cash in, both in terms of the sci-fi boom hitting the late 70s and of the James Bond name.

If judged away from the Bond universe on its own popcorn terms, film is a blast, literally. As a whole it's a bit choppy, but many of the parts desperately trying to make up a cohesive blockbuster are great entertainment. Mid air scrap for a parachute, a cable car sequence brilliantly realised, centrifuge chamber peril, boat chase, laser fight and much space age malarkey, the film is chocked full of crowd pleasing moments. In fact it's often mistaken as being a film set in space, when in fact the action doesn't move up there until the last half hour, the previous hour and a half is spread out over France, Italy, Brazil, USA, Gutemala and of course England. The score and the title song, however, are very much Bond. With Barry and Bassey back respectively, film is filled with appropriate atmospheric space strains and a hauntingly emotive theme song.

Charaterisations are a mixed bag. Lonsdale's Hugo Drax is one of the better Bond villains, dignified, well educated and wallowing in a life of luxury, he's perfectly understated in Lonsdale's hands and in fact steals every scene he shares with Moore's Bond. Holly Goodhead (Chiles) is a bold Bond girl with many skills, she's a scientist and an astronaut, attractive and decently played by Chiles, if a touch unmemorable in the Bond girl universe. Kiel is back as Jaws, with the makers choosing to make him some love sick puppy dog, where once was a unique villain, now is cypher for slapstick and a crappy flip-flop of plotting, while the "love interest" for Jaws, Dolly (Blanche Ravalec), is cringe worthy. Sadly this would be the last appearance of Bernard Lee as M, but he leaves a favourable mark, as does Desomond Llewelyn as Q, but once again Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell) is all too brief, the flirt and banter she used to share with Bond now seems long gone.

With a committed Bond fan base trudging through the turnstiles to see the latest instalment, the sci-fi fans intrigued by the themes of the story, and the general blockbuster loving crowd, Moonraker made a colossal $203 million at the worldwide box office. Making it the highest grossing Bond film so far, a record that would stick until Brosnan's debut in 1995. While critical notices were not as bad as some would have you believe, the critics clearly judging it on non Bond terms. Broccoli took notice of the fans, though, who were upset by the lack of respect to the serious side of Bond. He promised things would be different for Bond 12. 7/10

"Moonraker" was the most expensive Bond ever, but after the success of "The Spy Who Loved Me", the producers were confident enough to take a step into the top budgets, also contemplating that after the blockbuster hit "Star Wars", a technical show up in space would sell. The movie was an immediate success, but apparently didn't become one of the most popular for the fans in long term, admittedly it has a few ups and downs. A very silly bit is the gondola, driving on land in Venice. The centrifuge, on the other hand, was a terrific idea. The opening sequence is a classic again: Bond falls out of a plane without a parachute, so he has to get one on the way down! The duel between Bond and Jaws (returned from "The Spy Who Loved Me") in the dizzying height of the cable railway is breathtaking. So is the beauty of Corinne Clery; not easy for Lois Chiles afterwards to get Bond's attention, but "take me around the world one more time" is a beautiful line. We get a Goldfinger type of villain again, a more sophisticated person though: Drax meets Bond early on, we know he's the bad guy, but we don't know what his plan is. The musical score of "Moonraker" includes quite a few ironic comments, but the western reference was a bit too obvious. The set design for Drax' base is remarkably different from the rocket base in "You Only Live Twice". While the latter was covering a huge round crater, Drax' controls in "Moonraker" are crammed in a rather narrow triangle room, but with a hundred screens nonetheless.

My Take: The comedy is occasionally off, but the special effects and action sequences are terrific.

Why do some viewers think this entry in the series is by far the weakest of Bond. I beg to differ, I actually think this is one of the better Bonds with Roger Moore. Despite its occasional decline to over-silliness (even for Bond standards), I actually find it more entertaining than Roger Moore's early entry "The Man with the Golden Gun".

The plot, which is more like a variation of THE SPY WHO LOVED ME and YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (only a little sillier), involves the theft of the Moonraker space shuttles. 007 is sent to Drax Industries, the manufacturers or these shuttles. He soon discovers that the owner, Hugo Drax (Michael Lonsdale) uses this rockets to fulfill his dastardly plans to create another civilization.

One of the main reasons that critics mistreat this Bond entry is because it doesn't go with the trend of the other Bonds. MOONRAKER tries to be more faithful to the then-popular trend of science fiction movies (after the enduring success of such classic as STAR WARS and CLOSE ENCOUNTERS). Another would be its occasion to go beyond the level of silliness and not knowing when to stop. A humorous moment where Bond drives a gondola with wheels is OK, but it's other scenes like Jaws (Richard Kiel) finding a girlfriend are just too silly. More extreme silliness ensues (there are moments of true high-camp standards here), but as long as the sharp wit, the panache and style made famous by many other Bond films are there, there's no real harm in trying something else to go along with it.

Rating: ***1/2 out of 5.