James Bond's Star Wars
British Agent 007 has appeared on the big screen for the eleventh time as part of the film franchise. The film becomes a challenge to its predecessors and already claims to be a breakthrough with its budget of $ 34 million. The space budget for that time, but Bond's ambitions are much higher. Now the hero of the ageless (it seems) Roger Moore is going to go into space to confront a new threat in the face of the ambitious Hugo Drax.
The creators of the picture once again delight the audience with good-quality driving scenes, a lot of chases, shootouts and, of course, adventures in space, when watching which you immediately understand how the authors were inspired by the "New Hope" of 1977. But with all the power of the final battle scenes, when hundreds of people are fighting with each other in low-Earth orbit, there is a feeling of some kind of secondary after "Star Wars" and the static nature of both the picture and the action. Well, there's no way these scenes can compete with the brainchild of George Lucas.
Bond is good. As before. Just like now. As in the future. That's probably why he's boring. In general, James Bond performed by Roger Moore always makes me feel this way about him. Well, in my opinion, the actor looks weak in this role.
His main opponent Hugo Drax, played by Mikael Lonsdal, seems to walk the whole movie with a serious expression on his face, a stern look. The actor plays out his scenes in the same monotonous way. His anti-human ways seem to pass by, because you simply do not believe the hero, no matter how pathetically he speaks. That's probably why the hero is not particularly memorable. The same cannot be said about Richard Kiel. His Jaws appear on the screen for the second time. And you really sympathize with Bond's opponent. He is a charismatic and ambitious villain who is sure to please in the finale of the picture with the decisions made. This hero is well remembered.
The production is generally good. The visual and audio ranks are decent. The film presents magnificent locations where events take place. The scenes with the funicular are especially liked and keep in suspense. By the end, you suddenly realize that you didn't even really remember James Bond's girlfriends in this movie. But the girls of Agent 007 a priori should be remembered both for their appearance and actions on the screen. Bond heroines, and there are two of them in the picture (played by Lois Chiles and Corinne Clery), at the same time help the main character quite significantly, their roles are important, and the creators seem to show that even James Bond sometimes needs support. But as soon as the credits begin, the heroines and actresses who played them are quickly forgotten.
"Moonraker" is an ambitious attempt to show James Bond in the new space age. "Star Wars" has already appeared, space exploration and confrontation in the real world are gaining momentum, but all this is still new to the average viewer in 1979. Therefore, the bet on new peaks of special effects and battle scenes outside planet Earth was crowned with success. The film as a whole acts as a medium-quality action film about a British spy, which performed well at the box office and can still be viewed with interest on one of the unremarkable evenings.
8 out of 10