Moonraker is the eleventh in the James Bond series, and the fourth to star Roger Moore and the third and final film in the series to be directed by Lewis Gilbert. In the film, Bond investigates the vanishing of a Space Shuttle. At the Drax Industries spaceplane-manufacturing complex in California, Bond meets the owner of the company, Hugo Drax, and his henchman Chang. Bond also meets Dr. Holly Goodhead, an astronaut associated with the program. In Venice, Bond again encounters Goodhead at a glass factory in Venice and discover a secret biological laboratory where they learn that the glass vials are to hold a nerve gas deadly to humans, but harmless to plants and animals. Bond finds evidence that Drax is moving his operation to Rio de Janeiro. Rejoining Goodhead, he deduces that she is a CIA agent spying on Drax. In Rio, Bond survives an attack by Jaws during Rio Carnival on the Sugarloaf Cable Car at Sugarloaf Mountain. After Jaws’ cable car crashes, he is rescued from the rubble by Dolly, a young woman, and the two fall in love. Drax’s forces capture Goodhead, but Bond escapes; he learns that the nerve gas comes from a rare orchid indigenous to the Amazon jungle. Captured by Jaws, Bond is taken to Drax, and Bond and Goodhead are locked in a room under the launch platform, and narrowly escape being incinerated by the exhausts of Moonraker 5, which is carrying Drax, and then pose as pilots on Moonraker 6. Drax reveals his plan to destroy humanity by launching fifty globes that would disperse the nerve gas into Earth’s atmosphere. Drax had transported several dozen genetically perfect young men and women of varying races to the space station in the Moonraker shuttles. They would live there until Earth was safe again for human life, with their descendants being a “new master race”. Bond persuades Jaws to switch his allegiance by getting Drax to admit that anyone not measuring up to his physical standards, including Jaws and Dolly, would be exterminated. Jaws attacks Drax’s guards, and a laser battle ensues between Drax’s forces and Bond, Jaws, and the Marines. Drax’a plan is foiled and Drax is ejected into space. Jaws and Dolly, who ejected themselves in one of Drax’s escape pods, are recovered by the Marines. Bond’s superiors get a video feed of Moonraker 5 and are shocked to see Bond and Goodhead making love in zero gravity.
OK, on to the ratings;
Bond; 82 out of 100. Not his best, not his worst. Moore’s lack of physicality is evident and the action scenes are even less convincing than most.
Villain; 81 out of 100 Michael Lonsdale is a great actor, but in this he just seems odd, not dangerous, crazy or megalomaniacal.
Bond Girls; 68 out of 100 Lois Chiles as Holly Goodhead, Great name, but not much else going on. Chiles is a capable actress, not really doesn’t establish much with Moore’s Bond. Corinne Cléry as Corinne Dufour, Drax’s personal pilot, actually starred in “The Story of O” in 1975, but we don’t see much of that, or her, in this. And the love story between Jaws and Blanche Ravalec’s Dolly? It is to laugh…
Bond theme; 29 out of 75. They brought in Shirley Bassey at the last minute after Johnny Mathis bailed at the last minute. It shows.
Henchman; 39 out of 50. Trying to expand the character of Jaws, and giving him a love interest? Clean miss. Richard Kiel was never an actor, and Blanche Ravalec made him look like Gielgud.
M, Q, Moneypenny & misc; 15 out of 25 The trinity of Lois Maxwell as Miss Moneypenny, Bernard Lee as “M” and Desmond Llewelyn as “Q” are solid and strong as ever. But there’s not much else going on.
Total; 315
Scoreboard;
- Diamonds are Forever- 428
- Goldfinger- 419
- The Spy Who Loved Me.- 410
- Goldeneye- 407
- Spectre-397
- Live and Let Die- 396
- Thunderball- 393
- Skyfall- 383
- Casino Royale / Die Another Day / Skyfall- 382
- Tomorrow Never Dies- 377
- The World is not Enough- 367
- A View to a Kill- 359
- No Time to Die- 355
- Dr. No- 346
- The Man with the Golden Gun. 331
- License to Kill- 321
- Moonraker- 315
- Octopussy- 255
- The Living Daylights- 228
- On Her Majesty’s Secret Service- 201
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