The Best Of Roger Moore... Moonraker

Below is my guest post / write-up which will be appearing over at GROOVERS AND MOBSTERS PRESENT: BOND, JAMES BOND event today, check that out for the others reviews on their best of Connery, Lazenby, Dalton and Craig film.

You can also check out my original Moonraker review HERE and my Moonraker Secret File review HERE for more on the film...

There are two types of Bond fans, those who enjoy the hard knocks “devil may care” Bond (Connery, Dalton & Craig) and those who enjoy Mr. Fancy Pants, the more lover than fighter (Lazenby, Moore & Brosnan). I’ve always been more partial to the rough and tumble version of the British super spy, but there are a few Bond films from the other side of the coin I don’t mind admitting I enjoy. Moonraker is one of those films, a sorely underrated outing that in my opinion is the best Bond film of the Roger Moore era.

 

A recently commissioned Moonraker space shuttle has mysteriously vanished and Bond is sent on a mission to investigate. He begins at the manufacturer of the shuttles Hugo Drax. After an attempt is made on his life rather quickly Bond figures Drax is definitely up to something and his continuing investigation leads him to exotic locales, faces him against an old nemesis named Jaws and sees Bond go where no Bond has gone before… space!

Out of all the Roger Moore adventures I chose Moonraker for two reasons. One it’s my favorite Roger Moore Bond films, both in terms of entertainment and quality; and two Moonraker is a film that surprisingly takes an incredibly heavy beating from people, for which I do not understand. For it’s time Moonraker was highly popular and until Goldeneye was the highest grossing Bond film of all-time, but nowadays a lot of people call Moonraker extremely campy and to that I say have you seen any of the other Moore Bonds? The Roger Moore films are some of the campiest in the franchise, Moonraker is no more camp than any of the others, and definitely less campy than some of Moore’s final outings.

For me Moonraker is Roger Moore’s Goldfinger, it’s the film where Moore finally seems to hit his stride in his portrayal of Bond. In addition the film boasts one of the best introductions in the franchise with Bond battling in mid air while plummeting to the ground without a parachute, a very catchy theme song sung by Shirley Bassey (who also sung Goldfinger) and a very excellent supporting cast of some of the franchises better Bond girls and villains. Richard Kiel even makes a return as Jaws, one of the franchises most well known henchmen and this time around I felt he got a better opportunity to truly shine.

So why is Moonraker an important part of the Bond franchise and the Roger Moore era? When it’s all said and done Moonraker offers the widest variety out of all the Bond films and does a nice job of balancing it all out. You’ll get an incredibly sombre scene such as Corinne Dufour being chased through to woods by two blood thirsty dogs who eventually maul her to death, offset against some of the films more humorous scenes such as the look on Bond’s face as he’s stuck in a zero gravity machine that’s been set to spin him around until he dies. It’s a film that broke records in it’s time, as one of the most popular Bond films and also became Moore’s highest grossing Bond achievement. In the end it’s an all around roller coaster of a good time, never once getting too cheesy as some of Moore’s later films.