James Bond has left the casinos and the London clubs behind. In Moonraker, the eleventh film in the series, 007 travels to outer space, and the result is a film that splits the difference between a traditional spy thriller and a full-on science-fiction adventure. Directed by Lewis Gilbert and written by Christopher Wood, the film runs 126 minutes and stars Roger Moore as Bond, Lois Chiles as Dr. Holly Goodhead, and Michael Lonsdale as the villain Hugo Drax. It is the third and final film in the series directed by Gilbert, and it remains the most expensive entry in the franchise to date, with a production cost of $34 million.
A fresh start for Bond is what the tagline promises, and the film devotes close to two hours to attempting to prove it. Whether it works is the entire focus of this review.
Trailer, via HD Retro Trailers.
The Vanishing Shuttle
The story opens with a crime: a Drax Industries Moonraker Space Shuttle, on loan to the United Kingdom, is seized from the air while it sits atop a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. That carrier meets its end, yet nothing of the shuttle remains after the crash. M, who leads MI6, gives the assignment to James Bond, Agent 007.
In California, Bond goes to see the owner of the company, Hugo Drax. He encounters Dr. Holly Goodhead there, an astronaut scientist working at Drax Industries on loan from NASA. Goodhead saves Bond during an assassination attempt inside a centrifuge chamber. Bond later uncovers that the glass vials produced in Venice are built to hold a nerve gas that kills humans yet leaves plants and animals unharmed.
The pace holds steady throughout. From the hijacking through the investigation and the reveal of the glass vials, every scene follows one after another without pause. The film justifies its running time by layering setting upon setting, one right after the other. The story never settles down, moving from place to place with remarkable speed. Venice, Rio de Janeiro, the Amazon rainforest, outer space — each location adds to the film’s restless energy.
Jaws and the Hounds
The massive servant has returned, and he has changed his master. Richard Kiel takes on the part of the giant henchman, now serving as Cha under Drax. He replaces Chang, the keeper of Drax’s first henchman, who is killed when Bond throws him through the stained glass clockface of the Saint Mark’s clocktower.
Some of the finest action set pieces in the movie feature Jaws, including a scene where Bond survives an assault by the villain while being hurled from a plane and later steals the pilot’s parachute to land safely. Later, Bond fends off Drax’s henchmen through the canals of Venice. The fights are demanding and physical, and Kiel’s presence alone is sufficient to carry them.
The film treats Jaws as both a threat and a source of amusement, and the two sides do not always sit together easily. The film leans on the comedy more than it should, which keeps the menace from feeling as genuine as it might.
Drax’s Master Plan
The central figure of the film is Hugo Drax, played with a cold, calculating precision by Michael Lonsdale. He has devised a plan to poison every human on Earth before repopulating the planet from his space station. One of his agents, Chang, played by Toshirô Suga, is killed early in the story. Another of his people, Corinne Dufour, played by Corinne Cléry, turns against Bond and is put down by Drax’s Beauceron hounds.
The plan is easy to grasp yet complex to carry out. The glass containers hold the nerve gas that kills humans while sparing plants and animals. Drax plans to release the gas and begin again with a master race. It is a scheme that feels both grand and strangely particular, and the film dedicates itself entirely to its reasoning.
The villain sells the villainy. Lonsdale is no cartoon; he is a man with a plan, and his calm demeanor makes the threat feel real. The film trusts him to play it straight, and that trust pays off.
Holly Goodhead
Holly Goodhead works for the CIA and assists Bond throughout the film. Lois Chiles portrays her, and the moment when Bond discovers she is secretly working for the agency constitutes a genuine surprise. After Bond informs her that he has figured out she is a spy sent to watch Drax, he spends the night with her.
The film treats the CIA angle as a complication rather than a joke, and Chiles brings a cool, professional edge to the role that serves the story well. Her scenes with Bond carry both tension and romance at once.
“Where all the other Bonds end… this one begins!”
The film’s thesis statement is that tagline. It is a pledge regarding the future of the series, and the movie keeps it on its own terms. There is no cliffhanger at the end of Moonraker. Instead, it is a declaration of purpose. The film is announcing that Bond has left behind his old stomping grounds and is prepared for something greater.
The Production Numbers
Most of the movie was filmed in France, though scenes were also set in Italy, Brazil, Guatemala and the United States. Only the special effects team made use of the soundstages at Pinewood Studios in England. The budget was large for its era, exceeding double what The Spy Who Loved Me spent (1977).
The size appears upon the display. The shots set in Venice are rich, those placed in Rio are bright, and the passages through space carry great scope. It came out in 1979, during a time when the realm of scientific fiction was rising, spurred by the triumph of Star Wars. The makers picked Moonraker instead of For Your Eyes Only, owing both to that rise and to NASA’s testing of the Space Shuttle at the same hour.
The look of the film is what stands out most about it. From the glass factory in Venice to the space station and the jungle base, every setting has been built with real care. The film carries a costly appearance, and that cost is clear to see.
The Space Sequences
Bond heads for space in the closing scenes. He lands in Rio de Janeiro, where he encounters Manuela, played by Emily Bolton, and escapes assaults from Jaws. The story moves him on to the Moonraker space station, where the last fight unfolds.
The space sequences are the film’s boldest move. They are a departure from the series’ usual settings, and they work because the film commits to them fully. The special effects hold up surprisingly well for a film of this age. The station is a believable piece of hardware, and the zero-gravity sequences are handled with confidence.
The closing minutes move too quickly for their own good, with the film rushing through its climax and the resolution following just as hurriedly. Still, the film’s reach is unmistakable, and that very scale is what sets it apart from the rest.
The Verdict
The budget for Moonraker was enormous, and that cost is evident throughout the picture. The production values are high, the settings are varied, and the premise is daring. However, the film’s flaws are just as noticeable. The pacing drags in places, the comedy fails to land consistently, and the story occasionally drifts off course.
Bond’s scenes with Drax carry the film at its strongest moments, where the writing stays tight and the acting delivers genuine tension. The weakest patches arrive whenever the movie attempts humor or loses itself in tangled subplots.
Roger Moore takes on the role of Bond here and does so competently. He may not be the best actor ever to play the part, but he handles it well. His scenes with Chiles carry genuine chemistry, and they stand out as the high point of the picture. Every member of the supporting cast delivers solid work, including Bernard Lee as M, Desmond Llewelyn as Q, and Richard Kiel as Jaws.
This production carries the stamp of its age. It mirrors society’s love affair with distant worlds, its hunger for grand displays, and its readiness to stretch the limits of the spy picture. It does not stand as a flawless Bond outing, yet it remains a striking one. It was the picture that vowed a fresh start for Bond, and it honored that vow in its own manner.
This installment stands apart from the rest as an ambitious departure, and for the most part, it pays off. It demands patience from viewers, punishing those who watch it hurriedly. It is worth seeking out, simply to see what direction the series took after this point.
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