Bond is assigned a new mission to investigate the possible hijacking of the Moonraker, a space shuttle developed by Drax Industries. Travelling to California, he meets up with Hugo Drax, played by Michael Lonsdale, at his French château in California (Yes, he is said to have had the building transported brick by brick from France). After surviving an assassination attempt involving a centrifuge, Bond follows a series of clues that lead from Venice to Rio de Janeiro, to outer space, where Drax is planning to eradicate mankind with a nerve agent while creating a master race from those with physical perfection.
You'd think something with an elevator pitch like 'James Bond in Space' would be a neat idea. Unfortunately, I don't think it delivers. Once they go up into space and have a zero-gravity laser battle, the film loses all credibility. Drax seems like a rehash of Carl Stromberg from the previous film, Jaws makes a return but has gone from menacing henchman to Wile E. Coyote, and good God there are some really stupid moments. That state-of-the-art gondola was impressive though, even though it's not very subtle. It even causes a pigeon to do a double take.
OK, I've been a bit harsh. There are still some good set pieces on Earth, like another boat chase and fight on top of a cable car. And I would also like to give credit to Lois Chiles as the girl of the week Dr Holly Goodhead. She's an astronaut working as a trainer for Drax, but is secretly monitoring him on behalf of the CIA. While the gadgets she seems to have don't get used (except for pen with a poisoned needle), she is still a capable fighter and effective as a shuttle pilot.
People either love or hate this movie. Personally, I don't think it works despite being one of the highest grossing Bond films of the time. It should be more spy opera and less space opera.
That's about it. But on a final note, this film was Bernard Lee's last appearance as M. The actor was diagnosed with stomach cancer not long after the film's release, and died as they began shooting the next one.
Well, I'll be back next time with a film that is wisely down to earth.
No comments:
Post a Comment