Following my first review of Goldeneye, I decided to review one of my least favoured films in the Bond series and one of Roger Moores worst outings as Bond in Moonraker
As the credits roll at the end of The Spy who loved me, the tenth film in the Bond series; viewers were promised that ‘James Bond will return in For Your Eyes Only’ however a short while after the release of the movie, George Lucas released a film by the name of Star Wars. Following the unprecedented success of the film, movie makers were keen to cash in on the space craze and decided that Bond needed his very own space adventure. I for one, wish they hadn’t.
Moonraker is one of the worst films in the Bond series. The film was effectively the Spy who loved me in Space, only with Jaws behaving like a big softie, one of the most boring Bond villains ever in the form of Hugo Drax and some of the most ridiculously stupid action sequences in the history of Bond.
The film is not all bad, the special effects were some of the best seen to this point in the Bond series, the gadgets were enough to please most fans and the sets were very impressive but other than that the film has no selling points what so ever.
What makes this film even more unbearable is the fact that the Bond of the Sean Connery era looked well and truly lost for good; he was no longer the witty suave secret agent that we all knew and loved but rather a camped up incarnation of his old self, making cheesy one liners whilst performing stupidly over the top stunts. Roger Moore was quickly making James Bond into a slapstick hero.
The final nail in the coffin is the scene where Jaws meets his lover, a unattractive small German girl who helps him see the light and transforms him from a menacing villain to a comedic sidekick for Bond. This really was a bleak time for Mr Bond.
Overall this is one of the worst Bond films in the series, unnecessary cash in on the Star wars craze and a film which is best forgotten. Stay away.
Film Rating: * (out of five)
How they rank:
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4) Goldeneye (****)
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10)
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20)
21) Moonraker (*)
22)