THE EXPLOSIVE REVIEW

Starring: Roger Moore, Michael Lonsdale, Lois Chiles, Toshiro Suga, Richard Kiel, Corinne Clery, Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell, Desmond Llewelyn, Geoffrey Keen, Walter Gotell, Emily Bolton, and Blanche Ravalec.

Directed by: Lewis Gilbert.

Story:
In “Moonraker”, Bond must stop the billionaire owner of a space shuttle-manufacturing company, Hugo Drax, from proceeding with his plot to wipe out the whole world via nerve gas and re-create mankind in the form of a master race. Aiding him this time is Bond girl Holly Goodhead, who turns out to be a CIA agent who is also trying to foil Drax’s genocidal plans.

Characters:
*James Bond (Roger Moore): M16 agent 007 investigating theft of a missing space shuttle, Moonraker.
*Sir Hugo Drax (Michael Lonsdale): A villainous industrialist intent on poisoning all of mankind so that he can begin civilization anew in space.
*Jaws (Richard Kiel): Now Drax’s right hand man, afflicted with gigantism.
*Holly Goodhead (Lois Chiles): CIA agent working undercover for Drax, ends up joining 007.
*Chang (Toshiro Suga): Drax’s bodyguard and martial arts expert.
*M (Bernard Lee): Head of M16 Secret Service.
*Miss Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell): M’s secretary.
*Q (Desmond Llewelyn): Bond’s master of gadgets.

Overall:
At this point in the Bond franchise, it seemed as if each and every film was tailored for a certain style or theme rather - Caribbean Bond (”Dr. No”), Railroad Train Bond (”From Russia With Love”), Gold Bond (”Goldfinger”), Aquatic Bond (”Thunderball”, “The Spy Who Loved Me”), Asian Bond (”You Only Live Twice”), Swiss Alps Bond (”On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”), Las Vegas Bond (”Diamonds Are Forever”), Voodoo Bond (”Live And Let Die”), Midget Bond (”The Man With The Golden Gun”), and now we have Space Age Bond - “Moonraker” - the eleventh film in the series and the fourth time with Roger Moore as 007.

At the end of the previous film, “The Spy Who Loved Me”, the credits stated that James Bond will be back for “For Your Eyes Only”. However, after the success of “Star Wars” in 1977, “For Your Eyes Only” was delayed so that the sci-fi space-tailored Bond adventure “Moonraker” could cash in on the whole “Star Wars” craze which consisted of green-lighting every sci-fi script on the studio desk at the time, from “Alien” to “Star Trek: The Motion Picture”.

“Moonraker” comes off a bit silly in some parts and many people (and fans alike) will tell you this, however, the film itself has more than enough exciting and exhilarating moments to make it very redeemable and enjoyable. It doesn’t hold up to “The Spy Who Loved Me”, which is one of the best, but it certainly is no “The Man With The Golden Gun”. One big plus is the return of the 7 ft. tall henchman from the last film, “Jaws”, who later sides with Bond in the film’s climax (don’t worry, it’s rather clever how this was pulled off in the script). “Moonraker” has more than enough memorable action sequences in it, ranging from an opening skydive battle from an airplane to the huge laser battle on Drax’s space station which happens to hold the world record for the largest number of zero gravity wires in a single scene. Cringe at the silliness if you must, but whatever you do, don’t skip “Moonraker”.

Rating: ***1/2

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