More Female Bonding
Miranda Wilding checks in with another Bond review, this time for Roger Moore’s Moonraker (1979).
The first James Bond movie I ever saw in a theater was The Spy Who Loved Me. My older brothers had seen it first and I remember them chattering excitedly about the ski jump and the submarine car and this crazy character with metal teeth named Jaws and of course beautiful Agent XXX. Naturally, the movie knocked my young socks off and when Moonraker came along a few years later, I was primed for excitement.
First of all, Jaws was back. Better still to my 10-year-old mind: lasers and spaceships. Yes, I was still pretty juiced from Star Wars so Moonraker sounded perfect.
Roger Moore was still my favorite James Bond at this point so for me the movie was a big hit. However, in later years I’m afraid it hasn’t aged so well for me. There’s too much unwanted humor, particularly with the once scary Jaws, and my jaded eyes now only see the space theme as a crass attempt to capitalize on a trend. My how times and perceptions change. The very things that drew me to the movie as a little kid now turn me off as a big kid.
Ah well, in a series that’s been going on longer than I have, we take the good with the bad.
Filed under: Blog-a-thons
Tags: James Bond
Related Posts: - Quantum of Winehouse
- ‘Quantum’ of Bond
- Not everyone sad to see Winehouse off ‘Solace’
- Taking Stock of Bond
- Another Day, Another Bond
The Spy Who Loved Me = awesomest Bond opening sequence ever. That and the theme song bumps that movie up many notches. When Moonraker came out I was so excited, especially since Jaws was back. I’m afraid it did not measure up however. I didn’t like the villain at all, and the Bond girl was just not memorable or striking in any way.
Roger Moore was a fun Bond but Sean Connery remains the one true Bond in my humble opinion. And he always had a hat on in the opening bullseye shot.
I was just saying it’s funny how there seems to be a Bond for everyone and no clear consensus on the best or worst.
I actually watched Moonraker earlier this week, for a Yesterday’s Hits double-header of this and Thunderball. The impetus was Connery’s biggest 007 hit, followed by Moore’s. Like you said, Moonraker just doesn’t hold up. Unlike you though, I still like Jaws, in large part because unlike most 007 henchmen, he actually seems to enjoy the work he does, and this comes through particularly well here. Also, I like Lonsdale as Drax, but mostly because I’m a Lonsdale fan. Anyway, the piece will run on Friday afternoon over at Screengrab.
Oh, and count me in as missing Bond’s hat-wearing days. I still think that if the producers ever make a retro-feeling Bond, they need to bring the hat back. I guarantee that fedora sales would skyrocket, and not just among hipster douches either.
Do hipster douches with bad head gear choices infect your neck of the woods too? If I see another clown with a porkpie hat…
I think what bugged me the most about the Moonraker Jaws was that he went soft.
Well, I sport a fedora sometimes, but usually only when I’m wearing a coat of some kind.
And I don’t mind that Jaws went soft. Love does funny things to a guy, after all. Supposedly Jaws turning good was a sop to younger fans of the series , who enjoyed the character so much that they wanted him to be on Bond’s side instead of fighting him. But I think the movie makes it work, unlike most of the other things it tries.
Love. Yeah, that’s a good point.