Moonraker

As I move through these Bond films around the same time that I'm prepping the Rath Awards, you'll have to forgive me if some are shorter than those that I'm either deeply passionate about or are cringe-worthy. 

Moonraker falls in the category of "the middle". It's got a special place in Bond lore as the-one-that-went-to-space and that sticks with it, for better or worse. 

While watching it, there were many elements I loved, but many I didn't and there are some strikingly odd creative decisions made along the way that take this one a substantial notch down from the "10/10 Instant Classic" review I gave to The Spy Who Loved Me. Where that film felt almost effortless in creating iconic moments and scenes, Moonraker feels like it's trying way too hard - and pulling from too many Bond sources - giving it a rather disjointed outcome with a tepid response from me (and many other Bond filmgoers) in terms of overall placement within the franchise.

There's enough that Moonraker does well that makes it stand out against the other Moore films, not to mention it's never as bad as something like Diamonds Are Forever. For starters, it's a globe-trotting adventure, probably more than any Bond film before it. Take space out of the equation and you still have exotic locales like Italy, Brazil, and California (ok, maybe that's a reach) that come and go with ease. Italy and Brazil are particularly striking because of the cinematography and vantage points in Brazil that capture Rio de Janeiro in all its glory while Italy matches the future location of Casino Royale which I found to be a fun connection. There's no shortage of scene-stealing background in Moonraker, whether it be in space or on land. 

I also have to consider that The Spy Who Loved Me is probably peak Roger Moore Bond and while I can expect these films to strive for that, I have to remember the okay/good films on the other side of it, Live and Let Die and The Man with the Golden Gun. Both of those suggest a quality more appropriate for Moonraker to get close to, and with that in mind, I found it better than those. Even with that in mind, it's clear that Moonraker feels like it's - almost desperately - trying to capture lightning in a bottle again. Not all that dissimilar to the Connery era trying to get another Goldfinger. The action here is too big for the time, resulting in a lot of God-awful green screen and stilted choreography. Jaws is back and, where I found him menacing in the first film, he feels about as scary as the Wile. E. Coyote vs. the roadrunner here. In fact, the film pretty much makes him a running joke, not to mention a cringe-worthy "love at first sight" scene that's one of the worst things I've seen in a Bond film yet. And at the end of the day, this is just a more boring film than The Spy Who Loved Me. There's nothing that comes close to the pyramids spy tailing or the cliffside Lotus vs. helicopter chase. Here we're given some boat chases that have cool gadgets but ultimately feel like rehashes of stuff we've seen before. And the movie's most thrilling scene on cable cars in Rio, while exciting, is marred by the previous stuff I mentioned like green screen, awkward fights, and Jaws being a complete joke. 

Space, but make it fashunnnnnn

But that's about the worst of it and the remainder of the film is an intriguing story that builds the mystery well. Moore does more sleuthing in this one than others and I enjoyed the plot beats, even if they were far-fetched. Hugo Drax is a villain that leaves something to be desired, but I didn't find that a huge deal. Moore, coming off the energy of Spy Who Loved Me is now 4 films deep here and the confidence shows. Lois Chiles as the quite-on-the-nose Dr. Goodhead (pretty much only outdone by Pussy Galore there, huh?) is a solid Bond woman and really only feels "less" because she's in the shadow of Anya Amasova. 

I also noticed a decrease in the filmmaking quality of Moonraker that was disappointing. The original score is rarely used and there are scenes you'd expect to have background music with none. Additionally, the scene transitions can be awkward and some character reactions (don't even get me started on Jaws' shocked face) are laughable. If I was none the wiser, I would have guessed that Moonraker was older than The Spy Who Loved Me as it felt like a step backwards and doesn't age nearly as gracefully as its predecessor. 

I'll be interested to see how Moonraker ends up ranking for me when I eventually look back through all of these. It currently lives too much in the shadow of the first 10/10 I gave to this franchise but once I see them all the way through I could see it ending above the midway point for ambition alone. 

CONS

• Dull ending. The space stuff didn't really land for me
• Jaws is turned into a joke and is more cringe than anything. His facial reactions are horrendous
• His "love" scene is Top 3 for worst overall moment in Bond at this point
• Too much green screen
• Action that feels repetitive and like we've done it all before
• Awkward choreography
• Poor scene transitions and lower quality filmmaking all around
• Includes awkward non-use of the original score too

PROS

• Moore is still great as Bond and continues to fill the role well
• Lois Chiles Dr. Goodhead is an excellent Bond girl and equal to James
• Some fun action throughout. Despite suffering from many of the bullets above, the cable car scene is a highlight
• Location hopping adds a lot. Going to space, California, Italy, and Brazil (all with gorgeous scenery to chew on) is probably the film's "best" thing
• Solid mystery and I found the plot interesting. No complaints there

Retro Rath's Review Score | 7/10