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Comments
#1 It has an outstanding Pre Credits Sequence
#2 The background score at times fits the sequences perfectly, haunting and atmospheric, almost perfect at times
#3 It has the G-force simulator sequence
#4 It has Bond getting in a tangle with a giant snake in a rock pool
#5 It has Michael Lonsdale, who gives some of the best lines of any character in the whole of the series
#6 It has Corrine Clery, such an intelligent and beautiful actress
#7 It has double taking pigeons
#8 It has Drax taking 'One giant step for Mankind'
#9 It has a worthwhile pheasant shooting scene
#10 The wrist dart gadget wasn't a bad idea
#11 Bassey does an adequate job with the music, better than Goldfinger or Diamonds even
#12 The actual launching into space for the first time is actually very well done and believable, quite an epic set of sequences, amid all the overall nonsense of it (James Bond goes into space)
#13 Q gives us one of the most famous lines in the history of James Bond
#14 It was the great Bernard Lee's last appearance as M
#15 It has some stunning shots of Rio De Janeiro
#16 It has some good views of Venice, Italy
#17 Bond gets to talk an array of different languages
#18 We hear the theme from Close Encounters Of The Third Kind
#19 There is genuine humor to be had
#20 Whatever your age, - men, women, young and old will find it a good watch
that's about the size of it
Dr No 5/6
FRWL 6/6
GF 4.5/6 (imo it gets too much praise)
TB 5/6 (underwater scenes can drag at times , still classic 007 though)
YOLT 4.5/6
DAF 3/6 (unfortunately last time I watched it I felt cheated after OHMSS......but if you're in the mood for OTT shenanigans you might get a chuckle out of it. It should've been a serious revenge thriller though)
Moore :
LALD 4/6 (more about action than plot , still I kinda dig it)
TMWTGG 1/6 (this , TWINE & DAD I watch the least)
TSWLM 5/6 (really not the best plot but it's so damn stylish lol)
MR 4/6 (despite the sillyness I kinda enjoy it)
FYEO 5/6 (imo this could very well be Moores best acting as 007)
OP 5/6
AVTAK 4.5/6 (I think it's all right , Walken and the realistic plot helps imo)
Even though I feel Conners era was superior I still enjoy Moores era.
Apparently you have no real argument and instead you mock people that actually try.
O:-)
Sorry, but things that make a good film for me are, plot, character, acting, suspense, I don't consider double-taking pigeons and lifting a five note sequence from another film things that make it good. Some of the effects in MR are good, and still hold up today, the rubber snake does not! Jaws becoming friends with Bond is total tosh (as is his escape at the end of TSWLM, this really was a let down for me which at the time - aged 16 - was probably my favourite Bond, the shark really should have finished off Jaws).
You like MR, you prefer Moore to all other Bonds - that's cool, that's your choice and no-one should make you change that. My favourite is Dalton, closely followed by Connery. We all like different things, and long may it be that way, for it would be boring if we all liked the same - plus there'd be no point in having these forums! We are all here because we love Bond and we will all keep watching. Bond is Best - whoever he is: Connery, Lazenby, Moore, Dalton, Brosnan or Craig. Long live Bond.
You see how easy it is. O:-)
Each to his own indeed. that said I found the Jaws vs Jaws at the end of TSWLM very fitting. And Jaws turned out to be a smart baddie who knew which side to be on in order to survive Drax & Co. I do not think he was friends with 007 but found he had similar interests.
And in such a movie like MR recognizing some greatness in recognisable scifi is rather fitting for this particular adventure.
It would be a total cop out on the part of the filmmakers if they did anything else. A scrap in the launch base would simply be YOLT again and Lewis Gilbert had already remade YOLT with the previous film.
Also the public have seen Star Wars a couple of years earlier, the space shuttle programme is just about to launch so they are gagging for anything space related. Had MR not gone into space then there would be a lot of people coming out of the cinema saying it was the same as TSWLM and feeling short changed.
Also it showed a lot of bottle from Cubby to go toe to toe with Star Wars after Lucas had redefined special effects and I think the scenes of the shuttles launching stands up against anything in Star Wars.
MR is an over the top Rog romp at its finest and so therefore has no option to end up in space.
'Other films promise you the moon - Moonraker delivers.' Cubbys maxim of every penny up on the screen at its finest. Whatever your opinion MR is a superlative example of blockbuster popcorn entertainment.
I'm as die hard a Fleming purist as the next man but if you cant sit down and enjoy MR for all its faults then you really must be someone I really hope I never get stuck in a lift with.
I do enjoy Moonraker, but simply given the choice, wish they had stayed on the ground. I haven't read all the novel, but know this never happened in the book. Yes, it was a blatant cash in on the Star Wars theme of the time, Fleming may not have approved of having his creation doing laser battles in the heavens, it was simply to compete or replicate of the boom of the time and to put butts on seats, and it didn't disappoint. Each time I watch it I can't help but feel a bit irritated at seeing James Bond blasting off into the stratosphere, knowing full well it wasn't that far back when Bond was keeping his feet on the ground, and going about his business in a plausible and professional manner (Connery), but it was after all, for above all else, entertainment purposes. The idea that Fleming may have hated it, or it was just damn outright inappropriate seems to matter little. All about the big bucks for some rather than common sense or tradition.. :-<
just love that moment
Moore is on great form on this film. In fact probably one of my three favourite of his 007 appearances (TSWLM is up there and FYEO not far off). His silent refusal of Holly's help after the centrifugal sabotage really stands out. His fight with Chang in the glass factory is great and both his chemistry with Holly and his sparring with Drax is classic Moore.
Drax is also my favourite Moore era villain. (Scaramanga and Zorin a close second).
Drax's death is memorable and ive always liked the exchange 'Desolated Mr Bond.' *dart shoot hits Drax* 'Heartbroken Mr Drax.'
Holly is a far better Bond girl than the overrated XXX in TSWLM. And Lois chiles a better actress than barbara Bach.
And on a silly note It has the classic Q line 'he's attempting re-entry!'
Moonraker really only fatally falls down with the humanising of Jaws and the ridiculousness of the space scenes. A big part of the story but in actual screen time it's less than half an hour. so aside from that and the gondola sequence and lame anaconda fight it's actually a very well shot, pretty well acted, cohesive story with some real stand out Bond moments. I'm always surprised by the MWTGG love on this forum - for me that's the worst and I'd put DAD and DAF down there with it. Hell, I'll even go out on a limb and say that I prefer MR to OP! Which is a real turn around because i had such dislike for MR for so long.
But some of the location filming was quite spectacular. It has the best background scores of any other Bond movie I truly feel. (for example, Corrine with Drax dobermans, free fall sequence at the very beginning, the discovery of the Drax spacestation and the speedboat chase), which was NOT the traditional Bond theme as one above reply put it, but the very same theme from From Russia With Love with an almost identical sequence with Bond being chased by enemy boats
Strange how Bond's cyanide tipped wrist darts appear at the very end of the movie, despite being lost throughout since the G-Force simulator sequence, right up until that moment. 'Where did they come from'. Sure that Bond wasn't equipped when he took off into space with Goodhead before that, but we'll let it lie
But minor issues aside, it's a very good Bond release and on the edge or thereabouts of my top five favorite Bond movies of the series
Here Here @DarthDimi! Moonraker is also one of my favorite Guilty Pleasure Bond films. ;)
Barry is his usual magnificent self here, probably why I listen to that far more than once a year in comparison.
*resists with all might*
That was work enough.
Well that's just as nice. ;)
It still has probably the most cringe-worthy moments of terribleness from the entire series (the Bondola, Jaws falling in love, eugh), but at the same time it also had a LOT of really awesome things going on in between the crap. Michael Lonsdale was great as Drax, I loved the mild-mannered menace he exuded. The scene where Corrine is mauled to death by dogs was beautifully shot and quite harrowing, the locations were awesome, and no matter how daft it was for Bond to go into space, I thought the actual sequence where he goes into orbit was incredibly well done, helped in no small part by John Barry's haunting score and some superb model effects that still stand up today.
There was some neat dialogue too. Bond's quip of, "Bang on time" always gets me sniggering, and how can you not love, "I think he's attempting re-entry, sir." Probably the best double-entendre ever.
It's still a very uneven film, and certainly not among the best in the franchise, but I really enjoyed watching it again and was pleasantly surprised by how good it is in places.