Where do I start? Well, Roger Moore's fourth 007 epic is indeed a poor affair to say the least. After the success of previous Bond movie 'The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)' the Bond franchisers lose the plot completely with this entry in the long-running series. I'm a die hard Bond fan, I love the films and find it difficult to find fault in them. However, whilst the film has certain redeeming features, in general this is bad!! Moonraker contains the lowest point in which the 007 movies have sunk too - steel toothed villain Jaws falling in love!! Its all too formulaic and is no more than Bond by the numbers. Released in 1979 and the first not to be made at Pinewood studios in England, it cashed in on the space craze which hit the silver screen at the end of the seventies (predominately due to the success of Star Wars). At the time the most expensive Bond film ever made, its not difficult to see that the majority of the alloted budget went to special effects rather than to that of the script! The character of 007 has never been so diminished then it is here in this movie. Bond is now merely a tool that demonstrates gadgets and not quick wits. The film can be entertaining if you can over look previous great 007 films such as 'From Russia With Love' and 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service'. For its when you compare this offering to those movies you realise how far off the rails the series has gone. Shirley Bassey provides the theme song for the third and final time, its nice enough but not particularly memorable. Bernard Lee makes his final appearance as 'M'. If you're a 12 year-old and you like mindless sci-fi movies that require little attention span, then this is the Bond for you! Sorry to stereotype, but in actual fact most people I've chatted with who like this movie fall into this category. Bond films always provide a sense of deja vu. That's fine by me, its part of the charm of the series, in essence all (bar one or two) follow the same winning story line and it works well. Moonraker stretches credibility way too far without success. Thankfully producer Albert R. Broccoli took heed of this and returned the good commander to earth in 'For Your Eyes Only (1981).
Review of Moonraker
