Moonraker

Moonraker

Damn it, James Bond, this is the second time you've done this to me.  In 1967, Eon Productions came out with Thunderball, one of the best of the series, only to follow it up with the ridiculous You Only Live Twice.  It took awhile for the series to fully recover, but they finally did with The Spy Who Loved Me, the best film of the Roger Moore era and another true highlight of the franchise.

The future looked bright.

And then that future gave us Moonraker.

The Spy Who Loved Me was a big hit, so Bond producer Cubby Broccoli decided to make pretty much the same movie...in space!  There is no denying the similarities between Moonraker and The Spy Who Loved Me.  Only instead of secret underwater lairs, we get to now visit the villain's secret space station.  And instead of Karl Stromberg stealing nuclear submarines as part of a nefarious plan to resettle the future of humanity on the ocean floor, we now have Hugo Drax stealing space shuttles as part of a nefarious plan to resettle the future of humanity in space.

What the hell, Bond?!  What. The. Hell.

So if you can't tell already, I really don't like this film.  It pretty much encapsulates everything people did not like about the Roger Moore era - bad puns, ridiculous gadgets, slapstick comedy.  Originally, Cubby Broccoli had wanted to make For Your Eyes Only, but the franchise's longevity has always been in large part because of its flexibility to adapt to the popular trends of the day.  Star Wars was the biggest hit of all time. Therefore, James Bond had to go to space and have a laser gun fight.  The strategy worked like a charm. Moonraker, inexplicably, was a monster hit, and made even more money than its better predecessor.

This movie is just a stinker.  I don't even know where to start.  How about with the fact that it makes no sense?  Hugo Drax is one of the wealthiest men alive and among his many business ventures is the design and construction of space shuttles.  If he has a space shuttle factory, why does he feel the need to steal space shuttles from the American government??  And why would James Bond suspect Drax of stealing the shuttles, which he automatically does without any evidence?  And when he visits Drax's mansion, why does Drax decide to just try and kill him for no reason?  The answer is "because this is what happens in James Bond movies" whether it makes sense or not.  More than any other film, Moonraker lines up the formula in a bullet point list and literally just checks the boxes without any sort of rhyme or reason or connective tissue.

It doesn't help that Hugo Drax is lame.  Lame, lame, lame.  He is easily one of the dumbest Bond villains, which is a shame because Michael Lonsdale is terrific actor.  We also have a bland Bond girl (the solid Lois Chiles is also wasted here), and the return of fan favorite Jaws.  Everything cool about Jaws is completely undone with this movie, where he is basically reduced to Wile E. Coyote. In the film's opening fight, the super villain ends up falling out of a plane without a parachute and flaps his arms like a bird, trying to stay afloat. Seriously. Jaws is just ridiculous in this movie, and it is no wonder the character never made a third appearance. 

Later, a gondola sprouts wheels and pops out of the water to drive across St. Mark's Square in Venice, and a pigeon does a double take. I'll say that again. A pigeon does a double take.

So do I like anything about Moonraker?  Well, I still like Roger Moore.  And I suppose there are moments that are good.  A horrific dog attack in the beginning of the film is effectively terrifying - even if the entire scene is undercut by the fact that the victim could have easily just gotten back into a car and driven away instead of running into the woods to get hunted in the first place. 

There is one thing I like a lot - John Barry's music. The Spy Who Loved Me sorely missed Barry's artistry, and the producers did not make that mistake this time around. Barry is back in full force, producing arguably the best score of the Roger Moore years.

I have to give credit to Moonraker for one other thing, and this is an important point.  The movie is like a gateway drug for the franchise. When we showed the Bond films to the young son of a friend, he was sort of ambivalent towards the Connery films.  He just wasn't old enough to enjoy them.  But Moonraker...now, Moonraker, he understood, and he loved every minute of it.  And when that stupid pigeon did that stupid double take, this kid started laughing so hard that he fell off the couch.  It was impossible not to enjoy the film a little bit when I could see it through his eyes.  And it reminded me that I liked the movie when I was his age, too. Moonraker probably contributed to my love of the franchise, even if I am trying to turn my back on it now.

So there you go.  This movie is a turd, but I guess I can't completely hate it.  Meh.


RANKINGS:

Technically, Moonraker is probably the worst Bond film so far, but I can't bring myself to put it at the bottom of the list.  Not after I saw it with that 8-year old.  It changed my perspective on the movie. Granted, it doesn't move it that far up the list, but it definitely keeps it from being at the complete bottom of the barrel.

1. Thunderball
2. From Russia With Love
3. Goldfinger
4. The Spy Who Loved Me
5. Dr. No
6. Live and Let Die
7. Man with the Golden Gun
8. Diamonds are Forever
9. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
10. Moonraker
11. You Only Live Twice

BEST LINE:

Minister of Defense: What's Bond doing?!
Q: I think he's attempting re-entry, sir.

TRIVIA:

Moonraker was the first film to feature the modern space shuttle.  In fact, the release of the film was going to coincide with NASA's first use of the shuttle.  But unfortunately, the launch was delayed for two years.

MVP:

This one is easy.  John Barry wins hands down.  It's not even a contest.  And despite the fact that Moonraker is horrible, it does have the most awe-inspiring musical moment of the franchise.  What I love about film is that it is multiple different arts all working in synch to create one single piece of art.  And there are rare moments in moviemaking when all of these elements merge so seamlessly, so perfectly, that is creates something truly sublime, sending chills down your spine.  This doesn't happen often.  John Williams has a few of these moments - the Map Room in Raiders of the Lost Ark and the final light saber duel in Return of the Jedi come to mind.  John Barry gives me one of those moments in Moonraker as the shuttle nears Drax's space station.  The score in this sequence is stunning, but then Barry ratchets it up another notch, cranking up the organ as the space station makes its first appearance, slowly appearing out of the blackness as the sun comes over the Earth.  It's a BEAUTIFUL shot, and Barry's score just rocks the moment. This moment is a masterpiece in film composing.  It's just the best moment of what is already a terrific score.  So Barry wins the MVP hands down.

The Spy Who Loved Me

The Spy Who Loved Me

Following the financial and critical drubbing of Man With the Golden Gun, the James Bond franchise was in dire straits. Many were calling for the franchise to call it a day. After all, nine films wasn't so bad a run, right?  Perhaps now was the time to get out.  Deeply in debt, one of the original partners Harry Saltzman did just that, selling his stake in the series and leaving Cubby Broccoli on his own.   Broccoli had a decision to make, and it is to his great credit that he stayed stubborn in his faith in the character. Instead of ending the series and salvaging what money he could, he doubled down and went out to make the biggest James Bond film ever.

The gamble worked.  The result was The Spy Who Loved Me and it ranks among the best of the franchise, and is easily the best film of the Roger Moore years.  For the director, Broccoli turned back to Lewis Gilbert, who had directed an earlier Bond smash hit, You Only Live Twice.  Personally, I don't think that was a particularly good movie, and I have to wonder if deep down Gilbert agreed.  Perhaps he realized the missed potential of the storyline and set about doing it the right way, because The Spy Who Loved Me has a lot of similarities. The plot is very similar - only this time instead of stealing space shuttles, the villains are stealing nuclear submarines.  The producers even wanted Blofeld back as the villain behind the nefarious plot; alas, that character and his organization SPECTRE were tied up in legal battles with Kevin McClory (see why in my Thunderball review), so instead of Blofeld we are given Karl Stromberg (who I personally think is a much stronger villain than Blofeld, anyway).

Nuclear submarines are disappearing out of the ocean.  Nobody knows what is happening, but both American and Soviet vessels have been targeted so the world's two super powers decide to work together to solve the mystery.  They order their top spies, England's James Bond and Russia's Anya Amasova (Agent Triple X) to work together. Unfortunately, the partnership is destined to be a bit of a rocky one since Bond had killed Amasova's Soviet assassin boyfriend in the film's intro.  Oops. Together, the two must take on Stromberg and his ultimate henchman, Jaws, a near invincible giant with metal teeth.

I'm not going to lie.  The Spy Who Loved Me has its share of problems, but for the most part, it's good.  It's very, very good.  After experimenting with Live and Let Die and Man with the Golden Gun, the production team finally finds the right way to use Roger Moore.  Every actor playing Bond has to walk that delicate balance between humor and danger, and The Spy Who Loved Me finds the formula that works best for Roger Moore.  He will save the day because of his deep sense of duty, but you get the sense that he would much rather charm the ladies or make a bad pun to taunt his enemies than actually throw a punch.  Which is not to say Moore's Bond isn't dangerous.  The ruthlessness with which he pushes one of Stromberg's henchmen off a roof in Cairo might be the most badass thing Moore did during his entire run as the character.  But this Bond doesn't seem to enjoy violence.  It's just a means to an end (which is usually in the lead Bond girl's bedroom!).  Most of the rest of the cast is also quite good, with acclaimed German actor Curd Jurgens starring as the admirably menacing megalomaniacal Stromberg and Richard Kiel's Jaws is a fan favorite for a reason, even if his metal teeth are a bit silly.  Even the crew of the American submarine is full of interesting faces and cool character actors (most of whom you would recognize from other films in the 1970s and 1980s).

The production design is also terrific, from the underwater car (the Lotus Esprit replacing the Aston Martin) to the super tanker to Stromberg's ocean headquarters - the Bond team, led once again by the legendary Ken Adam, really came through for Broccoli on this one, delivering spectacular work. I also have to mention the opening scene, which features an amazing cliff jump which ranks easily as the most famous Bond stunt ever - and possibly one of the most famous stunts in movie history.

All in all, Broccoli set out to make the biggest Bond film of all time, and he succeeded with flying colors.

So what's not to like?

Well, a couple of things.  Despite my earlier praise of the cast, I have to say that Barbara Bach is a bit of a weak link.  She isn't bad (and oh, there are some really bad Bond girls out there) and she certainly looks the part of a glamorous Russian spy, but her presence sort of flatlines whenever she has to speak any dialogue.  I don't know if the script or director let her down or if she was just really tired during the entire production, but she doesn't make the strong impression that a character as tough as Triple X should.

I am also a bit disappointed by the score, by Oscar-winning composer Marvin Hamlisch.  While his title song and love theme are quite good, he also felt the need to update Bond for the new era and litters disco tones throughout the soundtrack.  While not an abomination like Bill Conti's For Your Eyes Only, The Spy Who Loved Me just really disappoints and makes me miss John Barry - especially for a movie this good.  And the real shocker that The Spy Who Loved Me was the first Bond score to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Score!.  Huh?!?

The Spy Who Loved Me also foreshadows some of the silliness to come in future films.  We are far removed from the serious Bond of Dr. No and From Russia With Love.  Here, some of the humor is cartoonish, several puns don't work, and while the balance is struck well, it is clearly a sign of things to come - it is this childish humor that gives the Moore films such a bad reputation today (undeserved, I think).

All in all, this is a terrific film, and a great entry into the franchise.  Broccoli's gamble worked.

Shame he had to follow it up with Moonraker.

RANKINGS:

This is a tough one.  The Spy Who Loved Me earns its spot among the top films, but it is crowded up there with Connery's best.  I think I would put it in the #4 spot, after the Thunderball, From Russia With Love and Goldfinger set.

Here are how the rankings are coming together:

1. Thunderball
2. From Russia With Love
3. Goldfinger
4. The Spy Who Loved Me
5. Dr. No
6. Live and Let Die
7. Man with the Golden Gun
8. Diamonds Are Forever
9. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
10. You Only Live Twice


BEST LINE:

Again, it's all in the delivery.

Stromberg: Well, well, a British agent in love with a Russian agent.  Detente, indeed.


TRIVIA: 

As part of his "spare no expense" philosophy for this film, Cubby Broccoli hired esteemed director of photography Claude Renoir.  Renoir did great work on this film, but unfortunately his eyesight was failing him.  When it came time to work in the massive super tanker set, he was unable to light the film properly.  Desperate, production designer Ken Adam turned to one his best friends, legendary director Stanley Kubrick.  On the condition that his involvement would be kept absolutely secret Kubrick came to the set and supervised the look of those scenes, and the result is pretty remarkable.  The lighting, the use of symmetry...several of these scenes just have the look and feel of a Kubrick film.  That's a pretty cool bit of trivia, I think!  Also, Kubrick's stepdaughter Katherine created the metal dentures that Richard Kiel had to wear as Jaws.  So that's kinda neat, too.

MVP:

Ken Adam.  It's a no brainer.  Many thought he could not top his volcano set in You Only Live Twice, but Ken Adam did it twice in The Spy Who Loved Me.  First, Stromberg's ocean headquarters is a superb set - ranking as one of my favorite secret lairs ever.  And I have to go back to that sprawling super tanker set - the location of one of the most exciting climactic battles of the franchise as the escaped submarine crews and Bond try to defeat Stromberg's army and dismantle the nuclear weapons.  The battle is choreographed to take advantage of carefully placed levels, stairways, ramps, and little eccentricities that fill the set.  It's just a brilliant piece of work, and I actually think it's the best thing about the film. Ken Adam designed a lot of brilliant sets in his Bond career, but this one was the best.  And for that, he gets the MVP.