For Fresh Eyes Only: Moonraker (1979)
Just as the upcoming James Bond film No Time To Die has been plagued with constant production issues, so has this column. I even thought long and hard about quitting and just watching the movies for fun like a normal person, but then I thought: What would my hero James Bond do? Would he quit? Would he surrender in the face of adversity? No, I do not think he would. Or maybe he would, he doesn’t seem to care much about anything really. But nevertheless, I decided not to quit, and to make up for lost time I will be releasing these on a regular basis leading up to the next film. More like ‘No Time To Finish This Series’ am I right? So I got on my little space suit with my little space booties, sat in the pilot’s seat of my little rocket ship, flipped all the dials and pressed the launch button, popped the next Blu-ray disc into my little Xbox, and said “let’s go to the moon and rake it.”
I didn’t know what to expect before seeing Moonraker. I’ve long heard that it’s where the series 'jumped the shark' in a desperate attempt to cash in on the popularity of Star Wars and other such space films, and that it was another mildly embarrassing, trend-chasing blemish on the James Bond timeline. I’m surprised and happy to report that while it is all of those cynical things, I actually enjoyed it a lot. It has more fun humor than any other Bond film yet, some good set-pieces, and a bit of heart, which to this point, has been all too rare for this franchise. For what seems like such a throwaway entry on paper, it even has great character development.
Moonraker is funny! The peak of humor in every other Bond film has been those god awful one-liners that Bond spits out constantly. I get it, they are easy enough little lines to insert and they add just a little bit of levity to often tense situations. Nearly every modern blockbuster does it and plenty of them do it well. But there’s something different about these. They’re smarmy, pompous, annoying. Easily one of my least favorite aspects of the Bond character. But Moonraker does something different. The one-liners are there for sure, but they aren’t the entire extent of the film’s attempt at jokes. They are surrounded by some genuinely good bits that had me laughing all throughout the movie. Like the gondola that turns into a hover boat in Venice! It’s a fun little meta joke at the series’ expense and a really good visual gag.
The thing that surprised me the most about the film was its portrayal of Jaws. Richard Kiel’s metal-teethed character was a frightening giant in The Spy Who Loved Me; a towering, seemingly unstoppable beastly figure. He’s just as big and intimidating here, of course, but he’s presented in a more nuanced way. He’s a real person. He’s got feelings and a mind of his own. He’s even given a romantic storyline with a woman named Dolly, who is ultimately the reason that Jaws switches allegiances and teams with James Bond to shut down the evil space station and save the earth. His affection for her is oddly touching, which is the last thing I expected to say about any element of Moonraker going in. It’s the highlight of this movie that I already liked a lot.
I’m finding Roger Moore’s Bond very interesting so far. Not necessarily what he is doing with the character performance-wise, but the places that he has taken the character is fascinating. Four films deep and we’ve had a Blaxploitation film, an underwater movie, and now a space adventure film. It’s highly possible that the motivation may have come from a cynical place, but the formula is indeed being played with in fresh ways and I hope that that continues.
In conclusion: James Bond never actually raked the moon. He didn’t even step foot on the damned thing. 0/10.
Marcus Irving will return in For Fresh Eyes Only: For Your Eyes Only.
