Moonraker is in the books. This has gradually gone up in my estimations viewings in recent years - I'm rating a 7. It'd be higher if it were not for the final space scenes - they're just a bit too 'out there', so to speak.
It is essentially a retread of The Spy Who Loved Me, but I think the characters here are a bit stronger. Michael Lonsdale is brilliant as Drax. He emanates evil - he just has a wonderfully sinister quality, even when he's trying to appear civil. It makes up for the comic relief that Jaws is relegated to, although I have to commened Richard Kiel for how expressive he is without words. Lois Chiles as the unfortunately named Dr Goodhead is one of the best Bond girls at this point - she feels essential to the success of the mission, and I think there's a great chemistry between her and Bond. There's also some superb stunts (the sky diving sequence in particular), and a lot of the humour hits the mark. "You missed Mr Bond" ... "did I?" is perhaps my favourite Bond joke. I'm also a fan of the double taking pigeon, who gets a bad rep.
Musically, I found it to be a mixed bag. There's some good stuff here (some of it made me think of the romantic scenes between Indy and Marion in Raiders of the Lost Ark, which was to come a few years later), but like TSWLM before, I think some of it is ill fitting (eg the boat chase sequence near the end). The theme song is also completely forgettable - I can't recall a note and I watched it last night. This, along with the aforementioned retread of familiar plot structure, is what has knocked this down a little. Still, this is always an enjoyable film to watch.
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