Moonraker

Rating:
Summary: The Worst Bond Film
Review: Moonraker starts off very good. Moore again easily slips into Bond's shoes... Q has crazier gadgets than ever... there's a good strong plot... but around the last 45 minutes or so, it begins to try to destroy itself in every way possible.

It begins to try and turn itself into an Airplane!-like spoof and almost completely jeopardizes all the Bond films that came before it. It waters down all the action and love sequences with goofball slapstick and has a happily-ever-after ending that would make even Walt Disney cringe: Jaws decides he should become a good guy in the name of his girlfriend.

Also, in these last 45 minutes, there are many ripoffs to other better films. Like, for example, Mr. Trolly Does Time, a terrific film, is where Moonraker gets much of its milage (The whole scelevator scene was done earlier and better in MTDT). Also Moonraker borrows heavily from Ardy in the Hood, that excellent blaxploitation film starring a talking aardvark, in all of its chases.

The film's plot: a US space shuttle named Moonraker vanishes while transported by RAF. 007 is sent to question the builder of the shuttle, Hugo Drax. Bond suspects Drax more and more as he teams up with CIA agent Holly. Then he discovers a hokey conspiracy involving poison gas.

I give the first two thirds of the film 4 stars, but I give the repulsive last third one star. Overall, two lonely stars.

Rating:
Summary: Leave this film alone!
Review: I wish people would stop crticising this film. There is nothing wrong with it. But no matter how loudly I scream from the rooftops, people just wont accept that this is a good film. Oh well, if you dont like this film then it's your loss.

Rating:
Summary: By far the worst Bond film.
Review: Watching this movie is a very sad experience. Why?

1) The Fleming novel was one of the best. The one similarity this movie has with the novel is the character's names, and the title. The filmmakers ignored a good story just to cash in on 'Star Wars'.

2) Bond is no longer Fleming's character. How can riding around St, Mark's Square in Venice, in an amphibious gondola be considered 'secret agent'? The double-taking pigeon alone makes this entire film terrible.

3) In the mid-60's, the Bond movies inspired a host of copies - Matt Helm, and Flint being the most famous. Now, it's Bond who is being the copy-cat, doing a bad Star Wars copy, with bad effects. (Explosions in zero-gravity space where the smoke and debris falls down; and visible strings that hold up Bond and Goodhead at the end to name 2.)

4) Idiotic one-liners that are totally unfunny to anyone over the age of 12.

This movie removes Bond from the 'spy thriller' category of movies, and puts Bond into 'camp comedy', such as the later Pink Panther movies. By making this the way the fimmakers did, they destroyed the concept of 'Bond', and what made the series famous in the first place. Compare 'From Russia With Love' with this one. Or better still, compare 'The Spy Who Came In From The Cold' to 'Moonraker'. Which is the 'Spy Thriller'?

Rating:
Summary: moore got better
Review: I am tired of the reviewers and other bond fanatics missing the main and most important fact about bond other movie franchises. The first fact being A. Roger Moore git better in the role. Notice in the scene where he is spun around the gravity chamber, he says nothing after stopping the machine, no puns , no qurky looks just raectung emptionally to nearly being killed. The film is too corny by far and bringing back jaws was a mistake. Moore still looks good as bond, This was the lsat film he looked younger than he was (52). Lois chiles is the perfect idependent woman agent, After the spy who loved me and BARBRA bACH WELL.. Roger moore worked for twenty five years as an actor and model before he became James Bond. He earned that role.. Show some more respect fellow movie fans

Rating:
Summary: Below par for Roger Moore
Review: Live and Let Die had a thin story that served as an excuse to film wildly entertaining chase sequences, and it came off suprisingly well. The Man With The Golden Gun was entertaining also, with a great villain, ingenious sets and great car stunts. The Spy Who Loved Me was a visual feast, with spectacular stunts, terrific locations, and great action. Moonraker is Roger Moore's second worst film next to the awful A View To A Kill. It has several good things but the cons outweigh the pros. Moore gives a one-note, wooden performance as Agent OO7 and Lois Chiles isn't any better as CIA Agent Holly Goodhead. Michael Lonsdale is good in a sophisticated performance as Hugo Drax, a tycoon who hatches a diabolical scheme to wipe out the human race with nerve gas that does not affect plants or animals, and then repopulate the earth with his own "perfect" specimens. Corrine Clery shines in the supporting role as Drax's assistant Corrine Dufour. At the helm directing is Lewis Gilbert (Alfie, You Only Live Twice, The Spy Who Loved Me), and he does a decent job by keeping the action moving at a fast pace but never fleshes out the characters or story well. The script is not anything special, but the cinematography is well done, and the locations are indeed spectacular (Venice, Brazil, Outer Space). The stunts and action are first-rate, especially the eye-popping pre-title. Only the climax fails to hit the mark. Also, the dazzling special effects earned an Oscar nomination and the title song is great. But then there are the cons. The biggest problem is the plot is ludicrous, the film was made just to capitalize on the success of Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Also, the idea of James Bond in outer space is ridiculous. But worst of all, the filmakers overload you with high-tech gadgetry, and forget its OO7 and the story that fuel the series. Overall, Moonraker is good but could be much better.

Rating:
Summary: HIGHLY UNDERATED!
Review: I don't know why everybody ridicules MOONRAKER just for doing something different and litterally out-of-this-world. It's the most underated James Bond movie (along with A VIEW TO A KILL!)! Roger Moore is just as good as ever,the Bond girl isn't that bad,and it's the return of Jaws. If you liked other films like GOLDFINGER and THE SPY WHO LOVED ME, I would think you would like MOONRAKER. The only problems I have with this movie is that the villain,Drax, isn't, in my opinion one of the better villains in the series and the plot is very similar to TSWLM. Other than that, MOONRAKER is a pretty good movie!

Rating:
Summary: "Out of this world"
Review: This film did not do well with movie critics and Bond fans in general,because most think that Bond and Sci-fi dont mix, but I enjoy it very much and here's why. 1.Hugo Drax is probably the most sinister villian of all the Bond films, he tries to destroy the entire human race and start a society of physicaly pefect human beings. 2. Jaws is back after his apperance in "The spy who loved me", and he is probably the most famous of all Bond henchmen. I love the way Bond always gives him a smile when he see's him, I cant help but laugh. 3. This film has the best location scenery ever in Rio...simply breath-taking. 4. This is the last film in the collection where we see the original "M" (Bernard Lee) 5. Great fight scenes 6. Lots of laughs. This movie is very underated, check it out and enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best!
Review: This movie is great. Many people ridicule it because of its special affects. If it was remade now it would be even better (not that it wasn't already excellent) In my opinion it is only beaten by two films; The Living Daylights and Goldeneye, and its a close one. Get it, its really good... Classic quotes too- "Take care of Mr.Bond. See that some harm comes to him" -Hugo Drax "His names Jaws. He kills people." -James Bond

Rating:
Summary: One of Moore's best
Review: Now, a lot of Bond fans will tell you that The Spy Who Loved Me was Moore's best. I do somewhat agree with them on that. I think TSWLM was one of the best Bonds in the series. However, I think this is Moore's best, by far, though The Spy Who Loved Me is a close second for me. Because, by the time Moonraker was made, Moore had been in four Bond films, and he had made a more believeable Bond (sort of like now, with Brosnan, who's also getting better with each Bond). Sure, Moonraker was cheesy at times (like the fight between Bond and the Samurai in the Italian glass museum, and the gondola chase through downtown Venice), and some of the one-liners were expected, but overall, it was one of the better 007 outings, especially after some of the worst ones, like The Man With The Golden Gun.

This one involves Bond's rendevous with Hugo Drax, the man in charge of building space shuttles for NASA. When one of them is hijacked, Bond is called in to investigate. I know what you're thinking, "What the hell is a British spy doing being called in to investigate a stolen American shuttle?" The answer is, I don't know, either. Anyway, what he's found is that Drax is actually in charge of building a secret space staion and plans on wiping out the human race with a deadly toxin, so he can start over with his plans for a "master race". Sounds a little far-fetched, doesn't it? Actually, this is one of the more original villains in 007 history. This time Bond travels to Rio, Venice, Los Angeles, and even outer space to bring down Drax and his little operation.

My only complaint with this DVD is, despite a nice transfer, both video and sound, there's very little extras. MGM didn't do as much with this one as they have with the previous Bond discs. There's only one commentary, there's two documentaries, one on Moonraker, and one on Bond's special effects. Both aren't really interesting, and I don't think they'll hold your attention too long. There's also the trailer and a gallery of pictures. Again, not much there, either. Other than that, I think this is one of the best Bond outings, and this should be in your collection, whether you enjoy Bond, or great action films.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best Bond movies
Review: A lot of people ridicule this movie, but it is one of the best Bond movies. Why? Because it has what you want in an action/adventure movie: a good, solid story from start to end, a little bit of a mystery, some good detective work, suspense and fantastic action scenes.

There are some downsides to the movie that prevent it from being the best Bond ever. It is cartoonish in parts, Moore is too nonchalant, and the female lead is very flat (in acting).

This movie has some of the best action scenes ever made. The opening sequence of Bond being kicked out of an airplane and fighting for a parachute is simply spectacular. Moonraker came out at the same time as Superman-the Movie. The hype in Superman was "You will believe a man can fly". The Superman flight scenes don't come anywhere close to Moonraker.

The fight scenes are perfectly choreographed and have a wonderful flow to them. Compare this to the choppy fight scenes in other Bond movies. In the underwater scene in For Your Eyes Only, Bond is trapped by the man in the diving suite. But after a bad edit, Bond just slips away with no understanding on how he did it.

The climatic outspace battle is great. Sure it is sci-fi, but the scene is better than what you find in most sci-fi movies.

This movie has a tight story from start to finish. A space shuttle is stolen, and everything in the movie builds up to resolving this issue. In some Bond movies, (such as Diamonds Are Forever or Man With A Golden Gun) you have no idea of what the story is about until near the end of the movie.

The storyline of Moonraker has a very good progression as Bond moves from one clue to the next. This keeps the tension and suspense at a high level throughout the film. Some of the other Bond movies are more episodic (even some of the best like From Russia With Love) rather than being a complete story. Most important, the story never lags.