Moonraker (1979)
Synopsis
Bond does a Star War. (I have little else to say about the plot of this film.)
Particulars
Director: Lewis Gilbert
Writer/s: Christopher Wood
Producers: Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli
Stars: Roger Moore as James Bond, Lois Chiles as Holly Goodhead, Michael Lonsdale as Hugo Drax, Richard Kiel as Jaws, Bernard Lee (for the final time, RIP) as M, Desmond Llewelyn as Q and Lois Maxwell as Moneypenny
Budget: $34 million
Shot: Some lush chateaux in France, London, Paris, California, Florida and Rio de Janeiro, Pinewood Studios, Epinay and Billancourt Studios
Based on: Moonraker, the 10th book in Ian Fleming’s James Bond series
Ground control to Commander Bond
At the end of The Spy Who Loved Me, the credits promised “James Bond will return in For Your Eyes Only.” But then Star Wars came out and the folks at Bond Inc. wanted to get in on all that sci-fi buzz, so they escalated Moonraker and pretty much overhauled the whole plot of the book.
Steven Spielberg even offered to direct the film (he’d just released Close Encounters, contributing to late 70s sci-fi popularity) but Cubby Broccoli said “nah, we’re good.” Methinks they just wanted to spend the budget (which, while being a massive jump from the $13.5 million for Spy, still would’ve been lean for a space adventure) on the pew pews instead of the director, a choice that really shows in the end product. Behold, my noticings and problems with Moonraker.
I’m not even sure who this is meant to be
The stunts get bigger and sloppier
The opening of Moonraker excited me — until it didn’t. Bond and Jaws (Richard Kiel, returning from the previous film) jump out of a plane. Cool! Except it’s filmed in a way that makes it super obvious to the audience that it’s not Moore or Kiel but stunt guys (Jake Lombard and B.J. Worth), who look nothing like the performers. You can also tell they’re wearing chutes under their oddly shaped suits. This will continue throughout the film.
Oh, it’s a cartoon
The James Bond Theme plays and it’s not brassy enough for my liking. It also punctuates moments of cartoonish cringe, like a pigeon double take and not-Richard Kiel falling into a circus tent, where an extended drum roll then leads us unwillingly to the opening credits.
A forgettable main song and titles
Through this cringiest of transitions we see women’s silhouettes bounce on trampolines out of sight and up towards the moon. Shirley Bassey sings the title song, her voice as beautiful as ever and the tune, kind of dreamy and fantasy inspired. But it’s not enough to stop it from being one of the more forgettable Bond songs and for a film with space opera aspirations, I’m not sure it’s enough.
Awwww cute practical effects
Since the Space Shuttle had not launched yet, the miniatures team had no reference for their wee little rockets, which look very silly and Thunderbirds-like. I’ve grown tired of the lair sets and this one’s got a fake giant python in it, which Bond manages to overcome simply because it’s made of rubber. Later, in space, everyone just moves real slow to emulate being in zero gravity. It’s cute but I think I’ve had enough cuteness in Moore’s era.
Is Rog a bit old for this shit?
Roger Moore was 44 when he finally got to play Bond three films ago. In Moonraker he’s 51, which in the 70s means he looks more like 61. This is especially evident in the scene where Bond is in the centrifuge and his face pretty much comes off. This poor man suffered from recurrent kidney stones and a host of other health issues, and I just think maybe they should’ve forced him into retirement after this one rather than squeeze another three films out of him.
Have the writers lost the plot?
What I liked about Live and Let Die was its risk-taking and boldness to do something a bit different. By the time we get to Moonraker, the Moore era has dabbled in untethered silliness and homage for the sake of being topical. I normally have a pretty high tolerance for this, but Moonraker winks at the audience so often it should probably get its eyes checked.
Among its sci-fi thefts are a horn playing the first three brass notes from ‘Also sprach Zarathustra’ (Space Odyssey), a door keypad playing the tune from Close Encounters of the Third Kind and obviously, its myriad laser guns and all out space battles.
Goodnight, and Goodhead
Lois Chiles is actually pretty decent as Dr. Holly Goodhead, a CIA operative who is intelligent, competent and does indeed have a good head of hair (obviously that’s not what Chris Wood meant when he named her in the script.) I just don’t think she and Moore have any chemistry, which isn’t helped by the fact that their scenes together are so awkwardly silent.
Moonraker is big and dumb and often doesn’t work, but it’s at the very least more memorable than some of the other films that preceded it. Michael Lonsdale looks and sounds so much like Peter Dinklage that it adds a layer of richness to Drax, a villain with actual nasty worldviews rather than pure megalomania (even if his motivations are a carbon copy of The Spy Who Loved Me’s villain).
While I hated the recurrence of the Sheriff in The Man with the Golden Gun, I liked Jaws’ reappearance; it makes sense with his cockroach-like survival skills, just like it makes sense that he swaps allegiances upon realising that Drax only likes blond humans who aren’t giants with metal teeth. And it’s a small thing but I REALLY like Dr. Goodhead’s Christian Dior flamethrower perfume as a gendered gadget, even if it ushered in the heavy-handed product placement that was to come.
RANKING CATEGORIES (70%)
Bond execution = 7
Villain = 7
Bond girl(s) = 6
Song = 4
Opening titles = 4
Plot/action/gadgets = 5
Franchise identity = 6
PERSONAL ENJOYMENT (30%)
4/10