Moonraker is kind of a mixed bag in my opinion. On the one hand, there’s a few parts that are really great. Like the line “I think he’s attempting re-entry…” That’s a 007 double entendre that can only be used in a space-type situation. And then, on the other hand, there’s some parts that are done really poorly. Like a few of the special effects in the movie, I’m not going to name names, but a few of the special effects aren’t exactly top notch. And I understand that it’s 1979 and everything. And people were still doing things practically. But this is James Bond we’re talking about here. This movie had a huge budget. If anybody could afford special effects in 1979, Eon Productions could.
But despite its bigger budget, it still recieved mixed reviews when it came out in the box office. Even though it had a lot of popular themes in common with other movies that were on top at the time. Star Wars was in its heyday when Moonraker came out. Space movies were all the rage. Science fiction was a huge demographic. Putting Bond in space seemed like a logical move. Although, ironically enough, the novel that the film was based on came out in 1954, back before man even walked on the moon.
I will say though, it did start to get a little campy, almost like the 60s Batman TV show, when Bond was fighting that guy in the glass store. It reminded me of a scene in the Simpsons where Homer and this other guy fight their way into a gift shop, and the other guy pokes his head out of the front door, and you can still hear Homer in the background. And they show Homer behind the other guy just standing in the gift shop, smashing things on the floor and yelling for no reason.
Jaws was another thing about this movie that I wasn’t a big fan of. They took what could’ve been a really good villain and turned him into comic relief. They took this indestructible ginormous man and gave him this little girlfriend with pigtails, and it completely changes his character. Jaws tries to kill Bond for what is essentially two straight movies, and then he more or less just disappears.
So, yeah. Go and see Moonraker. It’s not at the top of my Bond list of movies. But in all fairness, it’s not at the bottom of my Bond list of movies, either. So, there’s that. It’s a little campy. And the effects are a little cheesy at points. But it’s still Bond. And there is always that obligatory 70s chase scene to look forward to. And as always, keep on watching, with a smile on your face…
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