Fan Verdict - Moonraker
Each month, a different James Bond film
is selected for review, rating and discussion by the largest
online community of 007 fans - the Keeping
The British End Up forums.
Fans rated the following elements of the
movie on a 1-10 scale (10 being best): Bond,
Babes, Villains,
Humour,
Sadism,
Snobbery, Action,
Locations,
Gadgets and 'Tilt' - a rating to account for any qualities
not captured in the main categories.
Also up for discussion were the 'best
bits' of the movie, including: most 'Bondian' moment,
funniest scene,
best line,
best location,
best action sequence,
best Bond girl and
best overall performance.
Moonraker overall score: 6.8 |
|
Above: Cover of the Moonraker OST
|
Most 'Bondian' Moment
Winner: Shooting Drax's sniper out of the tree. “You missed Mr. Bond.” “Did
I?”
Honourable mentions: Spying and seducing Corrine, refusing help after surviving
the
centrifuge.
Funniest Scene
Winner: Drax humiliates Bond and his superiors as they arrive at the laboratory
wearing gas masks. "You must excuse me, gentlemen, not being English,
I sometimes find your sense of humour rather difficult to follow!” |
|
Rating Results
Category |
Average Score |
Bond |
7.3 |
Babes |
5.7 |
Villains |
7.2 |
Humour |
7.9 |
Sadism |
5.0 |
Snobbery |
6.8 |
Action |
6.9 |
Locations |
8.8 |
Gadgets |
6.5 |
Tilt |
5.9 |
Overall |
6.8 |
|
Best Line
Winner: "‘I think he’s attempting re-entry sir!"
Honourable mentions: "May I press you
to a cucumber sandwich?”, "Look after Mr Bond. See that
some harm comes to him."
Best Location
Winner: The Brazilian rain forest.
Honourable mentions: Venice, Rio de Janeiro.
Best Action Sequence
Winner: Bond falling from a plane without a parachute in the
pre-titles sequence.
Honourable mentions: Fight in the glass factory with Chang,
boat chase on the river.
Best Bond Girl
Winner:
Corinne Dufour
Best Overall Performance
Winner: Michael Lonsdale as Drax
What The Fans Said
Below are selected quotes from reviews by Keeping The British
End Up members. Click here to
read all the reviews in their entirety.
"Moonraker" successfully managed to
do something that the previous Bonds of the '70s failed to do:
it managed to make
us laugh with it, not at it. "Moonraker" successfully
molded itself as a laugh along, lighthearted 007 adventure.
-- Count Chocula
Audiences of the day were under a lot of very serious pressures
from the outside world at this time and this movie gave them
the release from this that they so badly needed. However, most
rational observers looking back with hindsight agree that Moonraker
is without a doubt the most absurd James Bond movie - definitely
of the Roger Moore era, and possibly of all time. Ironically,
it's exactly that ridiculousness that makes it so enjoyable to
many - especially younger viewers. -- Sisillius
While a Bond film should have a sufficient amount of action,
the character must never enter the realm of “generic action
hero”. Bond is a trend-setter, not a trend-follower. Bond’s
an elegant secret agent, but also a cold killer, if need be.
James Bond isn’t a man who flies around outer space and
blasts poison pods with lasers, as one would in a Space Invaders
video game. I think it’s safe to say that James Bond should
wield his Walther PPK on planet Earth, rather than wielding a laser
gun in outer space. -- Mr Brown
The visual humour such as the Bondola scene with double taking
pigeons and comedy drunks, as well as Jaws’ clumsy attempts
to kill Bond, his romance with Dolly and the sci-fi musical gags,
are all at odds with the crackling and razor sharp dialogue.
The one liners make Moonraker one of the most quotable of all
Bond
films. -- NicNac
After the superb showcase of the Bond formula from the series’ newly
appointed sole producer for "The Spy Who Loved Me", the
decision to take Bond 'beyond' was met with trepidation
by ardent fans of Fleming’s gritty novels. Would Bond make
a mistake by entering the newly world-popular sci-fi genre? Alternatively,
would Moonraker exemplify the big budget, escapist fantasy adventure
ethos that audiences have come to expect with each new Bond release?
The answer proved to be a little of both. -- James Clark
Moonraker is an always entertaining magical film which, contrary
to expectation, is mostly not set in space but succeeds to take
us 'round the world one more time. -- w7
It has everything a Bond film should have: one of the sexiest
bunches of Bond babes, threatening and menacing villains, stunts
and a bit of humour. One may say it has too much humour, but
it’s what makes this film unique. -- FieldsMan
Moonraker ends on the same note on which it started; ambitions
a mile wide but only an inch deep, happy to imitate its predecessor
rather than think for itself. -- Shadowonthesun
Moore is at his best as James Bond, and helps keep the overall
tone of the film and his presence is strong enough to make the
audience accept him as England’s favourite spy. -- 007calbrit
In Fleming's largely ignored original novel,
Bond is captured and tortured by Drax. Growing irritated at having
to
hear Drax talk ad nauseam about himself and his brilliant plan,
Bond mocks him and says "Now let's get on
with this farce, you great hairy-faced lunatic." And that
is what Moonraker is -- a farce, of James Bond in particular
and action films in general. -- Fairbairn-Sykes
As the film came to its end, Bond looks down at Holly and says, "I
think it may be time to go home". He was really talking
to us, the audience. -- DOUBLE-O-NOEL
If a Bond film has to be big, enjoyable, action-packed spectacle,
then this is the way to do it - a big, often beautiful production
with every single penny and then some up there on the screen.
-- Lazenby.
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