Shaken, Not Stirred takes a (brief) look at the James Bond canon from Eon Productions. Twice a month, Chris and Jon share their impressions of each film, both on its own terms and in terms of the cultural landscape as well as the genre it helped to create, not to mention its intersection in the Cinema Dual hosts’ lives.
FROM THE (LETTER)BOX(D): WHERE ALL THE OTHER BONDS END… THIS ONE BEGINS! After Drax Industries’ Moonraker space shuttle is hijacked, secret agent James Bond is assigned to investigate, traveling to California to meet the company’s owner, the mysterious Hugo Drax. With the help of scientist Dr. Holly Goodhead, Bond soon uncovers Drax’s nefarious plans for humanity, all the while fending off an old nemesis, Jaws, and venturing to Venice, Rio, the Amazon…and even outer space.
WHAT CHRIS THOUGHT: Before this I had never seen Moonraker, but you bet I knew its reputation: this was the moment Bond jumped the shark. Bond? In space? Preposterous. But I ask you…have you watched the other Moore entries? This one jumped the shark?
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I submit to you that “jumping the shark” is the overarching theme of Moore’s tenure, and Moonraker is the Ultimate Groovy Manifestation™ of what Moore and director Lewis Gilbert have been doing since The Man With the Golden Gun: having incredible fun winking at the audience in a particular way I hadn’t thought of before.
Knowing he couldn’t replicate the brutal, aggressive (more than borderline toxic) masculinity of Connery, whose films relied more on blind dumb luck than anything else to wrap up their convoluted plots, Moore instead positions himself as a cultured man out of time. He holds the culture, customs, and grace of a time seemingly past — especially as we reach the end of the ’70s. And yet, his overall perspective on sex, youth, and modern culture is shockingly progressive in some respects. His dalliance with Holly Goodhead (a game if slightly ridiculous Lois Chiles) takes a liberal approach to two agents in the field, having time to kill and taking advantage of in a way that is equal in a way I haven’t seen before in a Bond film, at least not in a long time. His bemusement and acceptance of being filmed while “attempting re-entry” (never change, Q) by not one but two governments are a delight, acknowledging the absurdity with a wink straight through the fourth wall.
Another thing that really came into focus for me with this entry: Moore’s Bond is freaking smart. Watching him nonchalantly rattle off Portuguese, know the correct form for fencing, or understand computer screens…these are things I never really bought from Connery’s Bond. I didn’t need to, because the direction and tone of those early films are worlds apart, and you can see how Connery fared when things tried to get more outlandish in You Only Live Twice and Diamonds Are Forever, two films (along with Live and Let Die) I think are beneath this genuinely fun romp.
WHAT JON THOUGHT: Moonraker has the distinction of being the rare pre-Brosnan film of which I have at least some specific childhood memories. After all, most Bond movies don’t involve Bond traveling into outer space. You Only Live Twice threatens us with that good time, but doesn’t actually pull the trigger. If Roger Moore’s Bond has wandered into different genre movies previously, then this time the genre is obviously Star Wars. From the ship models to the base set design, and the laser guns to the ambient radio chatter (including someone calling for “Red Leader”), Moonraker shrewdly expands the scope of a James Bond adventure in a genuinely new way. Any part of the film that takes place in space is the most fun I’ve had in a while with Bond.
The downside is it takes the movie two-thirds of its runtime to get there. And it’s in the majority of the movie that you realize it truly just had the one idea. The European villain again starts off by stealing space shuttles and wants to decimate Earth’s population so he can repopulate the species. Bond again drives a car from underwater onto the land, prompting an onlooker to look at his drink and question if he’d had too much. Bond and his companion have to travel through yet another regionally significant parade. The film’s climactic showdown between the two armies is an expected trope, but staging it in space with lasers makes it land anyway.
On a tangentially related note, this movie seemingly drops other film references, from Close Encounters of the Third Kind to Casablanca and more. I have enjoyed Roger Moore’s more lightheartedly comedic take on Bond on balance, but this type of referential humor gets a bit too close to Family Guy for comfort.
ANYTHING ELSE, CHRIS? Sweet Spielberg nods aside, I absolutely ADORE the first two-thirds of this movie. But I’ll give Jon that story-wise it makes no sense; even Bond at the film’s climax has to ask Drax, “Wait, why did you steal your own shuttle?” Forget the plot, I say, and focus on how this thing looks. Goddamn it is beautiful. For some reason in the middle of a wicked sequence with pheasant hunting (again, of course Bond can do this), Gilbert and editor Jon Glen — who would go on to direct more than a few Bond entries himself — film an intense chase scene involving Corinne Cléry and a pair of dogs that is so moody and intense it feels like a different film. The chase sequence in Venice is a visual delight, and not just because I was literally in all of the places they shot last year.
Does the film recycle gags? Yeah, and the only reason I allow the gondola transforming into a speedboat and ultimately a hovercraft is because 1) holy shit they did it practically and 2) the pigeon does a double-take. How can you not love this film? You know what else it recycles? Shirley Bassey singing the theme song, which is a welcome return to form after the past few entries (sorry Carly, you probably think this parenthetical statement is about you, don’t you), and we of course get Jaws back. Richard Kiel gets a hell of a lot more to do here, from being terrifying in the alleyway during the Carnival set piece, to being the smoothest operator with stainless-steel teeth you’ll ever meet when it comes to the exceptionally endowed sunny Dolly. If I had one small complaint, it’s that I think Kiel could have done much more if he wasn’t directed to be a lumbering monster. What if he was also agile and quick…you know, like when he sprang like a jungle cat from cable car to cable car?
It is what it is, and it gave us his nicely cultured voice. Hail Jaws, who wound up getting the girl in the end.
ANYTHING ELSE, JON? Bringing Jaws back for this movie might make as little sense as the previous henchman Chang, who doesn’t seem to know what genre of movie he’s in, but at least the setup of having Drax call his HR rep to hire Jaws as replacement gets a real laugh. As much as I like Jaws’ sheer menace in the last movie, I am completely on board with making him a more fun hang. And he can still be a formidable villain when needed, as the skydiving and cable car stunt fights are some of the best earthbound moments of the film. In the end, I just want Jaws and Dolly to make it.
Unfortunately, a man who’s been with us since the beginning won’t be making it is Bernard Lee, who gives Moonraker his final performance as M. This time around his barbs with 007 aren’t as sharp, but I celebrate the man’s work. Lois Maxwell gets to add her customary flirtations, but of our recurring supporting actors, Desmond Llewelyn gets the lion’s share of material this time. The name Holly Goodhead earns its place in that tradition of dumb Bond character names, and I like her performance and characterization right up until the moment when she hooks up with Bond. There’s no observable motivation for her change of heart, other than fate calling the shots, and so she does. It just feels so perfunctory.
THE FINAL WORD(S): For Jon, Moonraker’s sci fi premise isn’t enough to sustain the whole movie, but is worth sitting through to get to the good parts. For Chris, the space parts are the icing on an already delicious, decadent, and quite silly cake. Moonraker is the pinnacle of Moore, and he can’t wait for the remaining entries to try and prove him wrong.
NEXT TIME: NO ONE COMES CLOSE TO JAMES BOND, 007 IN…FOR YOUR EYES ONLY!
Cinema Dual 
Leave a comment