Rating: Summary: Loved the opening sequence. The rest was just awful Review: The thrilling opening stunt and Shirley Bassey title song get you revved up. You expect a good story, with the old James Bond, plus girls, thrills and gimmicks. Instead, you're subjected to a rehash of a plot that echoes OHMSS, You Only Live Twice, and Diamonds are Forever, a wimpy villain, and the return of Jaws, who in this film becomes a good guy and dates a woman who appears like a mountain maid. If you had never seen a movie before (not just a Bond movie) you might like this crud. Only "A View to a Kill" is worse. Devoid of excitement and story.
Rating: Summary: Not even hilariously bad Review: As I popped Moonraker into my VCR, I expected a sidesplittingly hilarious action movie (you know, so inept its funny), but ended up with the exact opposite. I figured Bond traveling into space would be funny, kind of like Battlefield Earth or even End of Days. Moonraker, as it turned out was by far the most boring Bond movie and by the time he made it into space I didn't care anymore.
Rating: Summary: Not bad but needs work Review: After the Moore's breakthrough film, The Spy who Loved Me comes the out of this world Moonraker. Though it was a smash at th box office, the visual effects were honored with an Oscar nomination, (it lost to Alien) and a few renegades consider it one of their favorites, it is normally regarded as one of Moore's worse films. Moore gives an okay performance, and Lois Chiles is attractive yet doesn't at all seem like a CIA agent, is somewhat bland, and is outshined by Corrine Clery as Drax's personal assistant Corinne Dufour. I like Michael Lonsdale's cold, witty, sophisticated, and fairly menacing portrayal of Hugo Drax, a powerful tycoon who plans to wipe out the human race from outer space with a highly toxic nerve gas that does not affect plants or animals. He is my tenth favorite villain. Richard Kiel is more of a comedic character as Jaws than in The Spy who Loved Me, which slightly hurts the film. The opening pre-title is chocked full of stunts with a plane jump and midair duel between Jaws and OO7 and is certainly one of the best. Also very memorable is the cable car scene with Jaws and Bond duking it out on top of the car and that leads to Bond and Dr.Goodhead going down by a chain being pursued by Jaws in the car and it climaxes with Jaws' cable car crashing into the lower station. The action is a laser duel at Drax's space station (huh?), a boat chase through Venice, a boat chase through the Amazon (very entertaining) that climaxes with Jaws going off a waterfall, and a destructive fight between Bond and Drax's other henchman, Chang. I like John Barry's score and the title song by Shirley Bassey, and the gadgets include a wrist dart shooter, a hang glider, and a land-compatible Venetian gondola. Overall, Moonraker is enjoyable and very entertaining and must be respected for its creativity and ingenuity. However, if you you want better Roger Moore, I strongly recommend The Spy who Loved Me, For Your Eyes Only, and Octopussy.
Rating: Summary: A bond movie that has everything that you want. Review: In 1979 , it was the year of Alien , Star Trek and Bond in his most entusiastic film ever this movie has everything alluring women increadible gadgets and any type of action you want land , sea , air battles and what else as the title suggests, space battles because of the popularity of Star Wars and Bonds abiltity to adapt with the times Moonraker is good enough to please any Star Wars fan with great acting and incredible action sequences after 21 years this movie is still one of the most awsome bond movies next to Thunderball and Goldeneye with was the only movie to dethrone the susscess of this gigantic specatcular film if you love James Bond then you will definately love the almost 10 minute space war , visully stunning this DVD takes you into the backbreaking tasks it took to make this film come to life and previews. A great addition to the the already most succesful and longest running film franchise in history with Jhon Barrys dark and riviting score Moonraker is a hit you should own in your DVD collection a truly awsome film.
Rating: Summary: Houston, We Have a Problem and Its Name is James Bond Review: This is in all aspects the worst 007 movie ever. It was right when Roger Moore was getting used to his role as Bond, when the series was at its hottest financially, and when the franchise was booming with popularity. At the end of '77s the Spy Who Loved Me, it had said, "JAMES BOND WILL RETURN IN FOR YOUR EYES ONLY." Only after the success of Star Wars, as the DVD's documentary will tell you, did they decide to go with Ian Fleming's 1950-something novel based on that success. Right on to Cubby because he was right, the Bond series hit the peak with this absolute dud, "raking" (haha) in the most money ever. The problem is that the wit of Fleming was taken out from its book and used for pure sensationalism because of what was popular at the moment.I am a James Bond enthusiast. I own all of the 007 films and am re-buying some on the new DVD editions. It actually offends me to see people complimenting this film because this movie goes against every thing that is about the series. Anyone who has carefully watched the films over and over again like myself who has realized there are certain things that must be and absolutely cannot be in a James Bond movie must conclude that this film breaks all of the rules...for all of the worst reasons. I'm glad that the series bounced back in '81 with For Your Eyes Only, otherwise who knows where the series would be today. The reason I gave this movie two stars instead of one is because the film has two really good things about it, all in the first fifteen minutes: the parachute chase before the credits and the theme song. After then turn the film off because you aren't missing anything and then watch the extras because no matter how dumb the movie is the extras are always interesting, despite the fact that this film is the least features-laden disc of the 5-DVD set.
Rating: Summary: Close Encounters Of A Bond Kind! Review: It is very easy to dismiss "Moonraker" as being nothing more than a hocus-pocus attempt to blend James Bond with science-fiction. And to a large extent, it is. Yet for some reason, I still like it. Granted, its plot and premise are by far the most outrageously ludicrous of the entire series. But at least it's done well. Quite well, for that matter. Unlike "The Man With The Golden Gun" and "Live And Let Die," "Moonraker" actually looks like a Bond film, and in fact is one of the most lavishly produced of all 007 epics, scoring highly on all aspects of glamour. Its locations are among the most breathtaking and beautiful in the franchise's history, ranging from the canals of Venice, to the vistas of Rio, including the spectacular Iguasu falls on the Argentinian border. The film's one truly phenomenal moment is its mid-air parachute fight during the opening. Few stunts in the series have equalled it. And as you learn in the DVD documentary, it was done for real! Of course, once the science-fiction really kicks in, you can't help but wish you were back on earth. A bad Bond girl (Lois Chilles) also hurts the film, and Jaws's encore appearance isn't as effective as in "The Spy Who Loved Me." But hey, at least John Barry did the music, and you'll find that the film is surprisingly witty, more often than not.
Rating: Summary: Chads DVD Moonraker Review Review: I just recently purchased Moonraker on DVD because to me this was one of the best 007 movies of all time. Even though the movie was enough for what I payed for it, they had a ton of extras. Commentary, Theatrical Trailer, Photo Gallery, Behind the Scenes showing special effects, and Interviews. If you are thinking of getting the movie I highly recommend it. Thanks for your time.
Rating: Summary: Nobody Does It Worse, than Roger Moore in Moonraker. Review: I will start off by saying that this is one of the worst Bond films ever. Only License To Kill and A View To A Kill make me want to puke more than this disgracefully misguided piece of Bond trash. The only reason I own it is because I wish to have all 19 Bond films on DVD. I am not saying the movie is a total loss. I would have Moonraker three stars if it were not for the last 20 minute of the movie itself. Anyone who has seen Moonraker will know what I am talking about. James Bond hijacks a space shuttle and flys into space-BAD IDEA. And that is not even what offends me. What makes this movie so bad is one thing; and that is that James Bond fights on a space station and (it gets better) starts to shoot bad guys with lasers, thats right, you heard me- LASERS. I am conviced that the late Ian Fleming heard what went on in Moonraker, he'd do a 360 in his grave. He would not spin, he'd do a complete 360. OR, if Ian Fleming were still alive in 1979, he would not let this movie be made the way it was made. He would have made it more like the book, which was about an ICBM launched at London(by Drax). Anyway, they should have stuck to plan and made the delightful For Your Eyes Only after the good The Spy Who Loved Me unstead of Moonraker, or as I call it "Muckraker".
Rating: Summary: Lighten Up and have a martini! Review: Yes, MOONRAKER is an over-the-top way out there Bond adventure with gadgets and girls, and little coherence -- why does the villan Drax do any of what he does(? ). But exactly why do you like James Bond in the first place? This was basically a fun romp, and I hardly think it qualifies as THE WORST of the series. The score is up to par, the locations are great, and Lois Chiles heads up the bevy of babes! 007 adventures always mirror the times, and this one is the high tech salute to CLOSE ENCOUNTERS and STAR WARS! I say lighten up on the criticism and come along for a ride on the MOONRAKER. And besides it was MAJOR source material for the moon sequence in THE SPY WHO SHAGGED ME, so you have to see MOONRAKER to get some of the jokes in that movie.
Rating: Summary: Where's James Bond in this Cinematic Mess Review: Lewis Gilbert's Moonraker is a depressing high budget Sci/Fi action film that contradcits all that James Bond is inherantly supposed to represent. By trying to manipulate Bond into other cultural fads, they've cheapened the sophistication and style that made Bond the name that it is today. With the gargantuan success of George Lucas's Sci/Fi epic Star Wars, Albert "Cubby" Brocoli decided what better way to capitalize on this widening public awareness of science fiction than to put James Bond into space. This task would become easier said than done. The story takes James Bond (Roger Moore) on a mission to recover a missing space shuttle nicknamed Moonraker. On the way he meets gorgeous Dr. Holly Goodhead (Lois Chiles) and wealthy Avionic mongul Hugo Drax (Micheal Lonsdale). Budgeted at an extremely high (1979 standards) budget of 32 million dollars and shot on three large French film studios in Paris, France, Moonraker had exceptionally high production values that allowed Moonraker to become a visually impressive epic of death-defying stunts, impressive world-wide locales, drop-dead beauties, and oscar nominated special effects. Sadily dsepite all its impressive trappings, Moonraker lacks any emotional heart to make this journey worth taking. The addition of the vastly popular Jaws (Richard Kiel) becomes nothing more than mere comic relief this time around. Roger Moore hams up his one-liners, and the addition of fine Ken Adams sets does nothing more than furnish a stellar looking shell of film. Moonraker remains an example of lost oppurtunities within a project that foresakes its strengths for a new product. I'd rather watch home movies than watch the looney tune antics displayed in Moonraker. As for the DVD features, all are top-notch but why bother.
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