The James Bond Rewatch: Current Movie - SPECTRE

[Doc755]

Moonraker was one of my absolute favorites as a child (space battle!) however it’s clearly earned its reputation as one of the lesser Bond films since its initial release. Pushed forward following the success of Star Wars, Bond takes the action to outer space regardless of how little sense that makes. With a plot lifted almost directly from The Spy Who Loved Me and one that spins its wheels for the majority of a two hour plus film, Moonraker consistently ranks at the bottom of most Bond rankings for good reason.

The really sad part is that it starts off promisingly with the hijack of a space shuttle and one of my picks for all time best stunts: the free fall parachute theft. Indicative of what’s to come, Jaws is illogically inserted into the proceedings and his comical defeat which should result in death but doesn’t leads into the main title sequence. Bond receives one of my favorite gadgets in this film as well, the wrist dart gun which is used sparingly but to great effect. Another highlight is the G-Force simulator. Moore’s reaction upon his escape shows Bond as vulnerable as he’s ever been since Dr. No and the tarantula as he collapses against the wall and can barely bring himself to stand. Compared to the increasingly ludicrous way Jaws survives certain death in every other scene, this was a high point of realism in both this film and the Moore era.

The plot is exceedingly redundant. Bond shows up at an exotic location, tangles with a henchman, romances a woman and then finds a clue that leads him to his next location. This arguably could be said about any Bond film however the plot is so lazy and sparse here, it barely qualifies as an actual story which again is a retread of the megalomaniac who wants to kill off the entire population to raise his own society. Michael Lonsdale is very droll as Drax and while he does gets some good one liners, his performance is so dry, it’s forgettable.

The ending is really where the film falls apart. Launching six space shuttles in rapid succession to a space station secretly built in orbit seems even more ridiculous now having come off the 50th anniversary of the moon landing. The model work however is really well done as is Ken Adams’ multilevel design of the space station control center. There are elements here that could have worked if the film hadn’t been completed as an obvious cash grab but sadly it is what it is.

A quick moment to honor Bernard Lee who made his final appearance as M in this film. This would also be his final theatrical role although he made two television appearances before his death. Lee provided a real gravitas to the potentially thankless role as Bond’s superior. What could have been little more than an obligatory exposition dump, Lee was able to infuse it with his own touch and it felt as if there were real history between Bond and M regardless who was in the former role. His loss was a profound one for the series.

I’m going to give Moonraker a 5/10. I was tempted to put it below Diamonds are Forever however I think there were enough good facets to push it out of the bottom spot. I wish I could enjoy it on the level as I did as a child however the plot elements you can overlook in youth stick out so sorely as an adult.

Current Rankings:
1) On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
2) From Russia with Love
3) Goldfinger
4) The Spy Who Loved Me
5) Thunderball
6) Dr. No
7) Live and Let Die
8) You Only Live Twice
9) The Man with the Golden Gun
10) Moonraker
11) Diamonds are Forever