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Moonraker- Why the hate?
honestly i think Moonraker is one of the best bond films i dont understand all the hate
it has the most visually striking of the roger films, it has Jaws, Roger Moore at his finest, a bond girl that wasnt eye candy and John Barry's epic score and Shirley Basseys final and great theme song
so what if it has too much ott humour id rather have that than the Daniel Craig humourless "so abysmal that i would rather stick broken glass up my bottom and sit in a tub of tabasco sauce" Qantum of Solace
it has the most visually striking of the roger films, it has Jaws, Roger Moore at his finest, a bond girl that wasnt eye candy and John Barry's epic score and Shirley Basseys final and great theme song
so what if it has too much ott humour id rather have that than the Daniel Craig humourless "so abysmal that i would rather stick broken glass up my bottom and sit in a tub of tabasco sauce" Qantum of Solace
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Comments
There are two problems right off the bat. Throw in double-taking pigeons, Dolly, a performance from Lonsdale slightly more compelling than watching paint dry, and Space Marines, and you have a mess. A mess scored beautifully by Barry.
Now that would have been legitimately funny-- instead of 'so bad it becomes funny'
true words right there. That sums it up
it's storyarch is essentially a rehash of TSWLM... not to mention the plausibility of the plot and it's climactic ending are too much, even for a Bond film - not in the same yard as DAD, but definitely on the same street...
plus i never liked Drax's explanation for hijacking back his own shuttle - he needed it because one of his other ones developed a problem during production... okay... THEN BUILD ANOTHER ONE!.. why steal it back, and alert MI6 who will no doubt send their best agent to investigate.. all of that could've been avoided had he simply just built another one - not to mention, when first meeting Bond, he already starts to have him assaulted.. FOR NO REASON YET!!.. i could see if Bond had discovered something against Drax, but he had just arrived, and hadn't had time to formulate who would be a suspect yet... and again, because of his stupid actions, Drax made himself suspect #1..... he's easily the most careless villain in the entire franchise.... usually villains don't want Bond to figure out what they are doing - it seems Drax was all too eager to let the cat out of the bag.... what an idiot.
yeah, it does have Jaws - except they turned him into a colossal joke...
none of it's action scenes can be taken seriously - meaning that usually after a big action battle or sequence, there is usually some dumb joke that robs any tension built up.... more often than not, it was with Jaws...
Michael Lonsdale could put you to sleep faster than NASCAR and a glass of warm milk...
A Leading lady - who might not have been A typical eye candy.. but who came across as a strong man hating muff diver, and one who did very little to actually make me like her.. actually, had she died in the film - i think it would've been better off.... more likability and charisma was shown by the girl who got eaten by dogs (in her brief screen time) than "our leading lady"
What utter bollocks. Lonsdale gives of the most menacing performance in any Bond flick (not to mention with some of the cleverest lines), and manage to inject every exchange with dry Gallic wit. Unlike Kurt Jurgens, he looks like he's having fun. Lonsdale manages to bring conviction and gravitas to a role that is essentially Space Hitler.
And not forgetting the incredibly sexy Corrine Dufour, Moore's most convenient turn, Jean Tournier's sublime cinematography (easily outdoing Claude Renoir's work for THE SPY WHO LOVED ME, or virtually anything since), John Barry's celestial score, Ken Adam's prophetic sets (the "Mondrian Room" is one giant iPhone), some amazing stuntwork, Derek Medding's out-of-this-world model work (still holds up better than any CGI I've seen in the last 2 and a half decade), and Christopher Wood's incredibly sharp (and off the wall) screenplay.
Sure it's a flawed, and one or two moments make me cringe (i.e. The Magnificent Seven shtick or Dolly meets Jaws), but then what Bond films aren't?
And to everyone else: grow a sense of humour please. Stop taking Bond so damn seriously. It's not Brecht, it's not The Bard, and ain't Beckett either.
MOONRAKER is pure swashbuckling, Boy's Own, old fashioned entertainment. Nothing more, nothing less.
how do any of those help a severely flawed story, with enough plot holes that you could fly one of those Moonrakers through it.... it's a good laugh for sure - but there is a difference between laughing at, and laughing with... and every time i see this movie, I can't help but to laugh at it's shear absurdity - not along with it's juvenile attempts... it's a film that tries a little too hard to be funny, when it shouldn't... so in the end, all you get is a sad tired old clown that begs you to laugh at the same joke he's told for the 20th straight time..
Moonraker was considered to be one of Fleming's best Bond novels - what they turned it into for the big screen was a Star Wars cash in, laser light show for kiddies with the humor of a tired standup comedy routine that constantly tries to pass itself off as ingenious..... why didn't just go and urinate on Fleming's grave after completing this mess.
Whenever I saw a Moore film on TV I just couldn't get into it - largely because Moore seemed like an imposter pretending to be Bond (he wasn't as cool, or manly, or had as much presence as Connery). But also I would have to turn the films off after watching say 20 minutes or so because I found them embarassingly juvenile - and this is when I was 13!
I've not watched MR (or TMWTGG or AVTAK) but I've seen bits and pieces of it and my initial reaction as a kid still stands. I may watch it one day but I'm certainly in no rush to see it.
I agree. I've always loved MR and find it the most underrated by Bond fans if not the general public. The comedic and outer space elements have never bothered me. It's a light, fast moving film that never pretends to be anything more than a fun "summer movie" escape for viewers who just wish to relax for a couple of hours. It's my favorite Moore film and my favorite of the Bond films that aren't faithful to their titular Fleming sources.
And Jaws had no part in this movie. I feel like his character in MR made his character in TSWLM less scary (upon re-watching).
plus after Jaws helps Bond and Goodhead escape in their shuttle, Bond's line of "Don't worry, they'll be safe - it's only a 100 miles to earth." ... he could not have sounded anymore nonchalant about them possibly falling back into the earth's atmosphere, possibly burning alive during reentry, and then becoming nothing more than a smoking crater in the earth once they finally "land"...... so whats the alternative if he didn't mean that?... then they just spin around in space for the rest of their lives, sucking up remaining oxygen left in what will become their space tomb, until they eventually suffocate and die....... such lousy dialog.....
and remember, this before any word about the 2 being rescued by the US space mariners is made aware..
IMO, it has the best score of all the Roger Moore-movies, the most memorable and wellwritten villain, fantastic use of locations, and Roger Moore in his absolute prime.
TSWLM is definitely my top Moore movie. As for Barry's music, OHMSS can't be beaten. MR did have decent stunts, though.
I totally agree with this comment- it really is @FromCanadaWithLove's top Moore movie. :D ;) Likewise, TSWLM is also my favourite Moore movie. Then FYEO, closely followed by LALD and MR coming in at 3rd place for a tie. OP close 4th, TMWTGG a bit behind at 5th place, with AVTAK in the distance, barely finishing the race. But it still gets cheers from the crowd. =D>
Anyway I'm Surprised @DaltonCraig HASN'T popped up and given us how MR is better CR
The villian Chang was very menacing and good but after he was killed off, the movie continued the downward spiral. All the slapstick was way too much.
Holly Goodhead and Hugo Draz were the most boring girl and villian ever to show up in a Bond movie. Graves was awful but at least he wasn't as boring as Drax. Tanya Roberts was a pretty bad Bond girl as was Denise Richards but at least they were pleasing to the eye. Lois Chiles brought nothing except bad dialogue. That final line rivals Jinx's final line as total horseshytt.
Unlike the previous film TSWLM that movie seemed to have a good balance of the humor and action. Also Jaws was more menacing his first time around and the plot was stronger. All the outer space and lasers firing and the battle on the space station was just so disgusting.
This is one movie I have never watched again. At least I can partially stomach DAF but Moonraker is just plain old bad. It resembles a bad Matt helm movie.
Well... certainly top notch acting from Moore here (4.25>):
So how do you really feel about the movie? ;)
By the way I think you are wrong. It is one of the better RM vehicles, has its plotproblems as have most 007 movies. Was an excellent choice of EON to make this film when they did because it fitted well commercialy at those times. The movie had its darker moments with the dead of Corinne Dufour and those folks in the lab with immiadetely after the visit of 007 with superiours and a flippant Drax. Who was perhaps the best baddie of the RM series imho. The music was beautifull and haunting, the last time we got the 007 theme =(( (too bad we don't get that quality these days with the "better" 007 movies :)) ).
The movie really has great speed and spends little time with navelgazing. It is one big fun spectacle in the style only James Bond could deliver and many have tried to do the same and failed miserably. And Roger Moore just is Saintly and brilliant. Don't like him? tough on you...........
Traditionalists who love Connery and now Craig hate it, others don't.
Pesonally, when I'm asked which Bond film I'd like to see at the cinema again I always choose Moonraker, not because its my favourite (far from it as that would be the 60's Bonds), but in my opinion its a stunning looking film. Its also the first one I saw in the old Odeon cinemas (stalls/circle) without my parents.
Every penny spent is up there on the screen, France, Venice, Rio (ok space too, but we can't have it all).
Ken Adams beautiful sets.
Derek Meddings (as already mentioned) stunning models.
Add a great score by John Barry and its pure cinematic gold.
Now compare it to Goldeneye (also a film I really like) when there are a lot of scenes that are either bad models or Leavesden backlot and don't even get me started on the soundtrack.
We all get our jollies, one way or another. ;)
Yes! All of these posts are like music to my ears. Moore took the comfort and confidence he obtained under Lewis Gilbert's direction in TSWLM and improved upon it even more superconfidence in MR. It's Moore's TB and I mean that as a compliment. Holly's the best female agent in the series by far and Drax is one of the greatest megalomaniac supervillains. The film is probably the best looking film made post-YOLT. Gilbert had a knack for picking the best DPs for his films. I also like how unlike some Bond films, Bond meets the two most important supporting characters(the leading lady and the villain) early on in the story and they're involved for the majority of the film.