If there's one film series that's always going up and down its definitely the James Bond series, it's not like the Toy Story and Back To The Future series's which were good the whole way through because they all had solidly connecting storylines. Perhaps that's the reason why the Bond series has had many ups and downs over the years, perhaps the series needs a storyline that links the films solidly together and not just have characters reminisce about past adventures. Now in my opinion Moonraker is by far the second worst of the Bond films (the worst being Quantum Of Solace and the third worst being On Her Majesty's Secret Service) mainly because of that fool Roger Moore.
Now don't get me wrong, I personally think Roger Moore as a person is a damn fine guy, but as an actor I think he sometimes sucks. Well in the Bond films at least, in everything else he's been in he's been alright. The main problem I have with the Roger Moore-Bond is that he seems incredibly smug and punchable and really the way that you should see Bond is as a charismatic, witty, clever and strangely loveable sex-king of a secret agent, not as someone you'd rather just nut in the face. On top of that the comedy coming from Roger Moore's Bond comes across as way too light-hearted and jokey whereas the comedy of Bond is best kept as either poking fun at the bad guy or simply being deliciously-dark comedy. one exception to this is Roger Moore's first Bond film Live And Let Die which in my opinion is the best bond film yet (just above The Living Daylights and Die Another Day)
The plot of this instalment into the Bond series is that Bond is sent by MI6 to investigate a slightly suspicious space shuttle-making company that's headed by a multi-millionaire named Hugo Drax (played rather excellently by Michael Lonsdale) about the matter of a space shuttle made by Drax's company that went mysteriously missing. As is the case with your average Bond film the seemingly kind-hearted multi-millionaire who owns the big company of some sort is actually using as a front of sorts for a scheme to take over the world or something similarly evil. The aim of the main bad guy in this film is to use an experimental space station and shells of nerve gas to exterminate human life on earth and then start the human race anew with a bunch of genetically perfect people.
Overall this film is pretty lame, most of the fights are kind of fake looking (I know they're acting but they're supposed to make it look convincing), the one good chase scene is ruined by a couple of really bad jokes that are in it and the name of the love interest in this film is basically a subtle but crude sex joke (Holly Goodhead, see? it means...ah never mind). Although this film is a bit pants there are some bits that do it great justisce; Michael Lonsdale is an effin' brilliant main bad guy, the legendary Richard Kiel kicks ass as Jaws (the best main henchman in film history next to Darth Maul in my opinion) and the battle in space at the end of the movie (as mad and out of place as it is) is really well done and ads a pretty good touch to the end of the movie.
Despite all those good things and the other pluses in the film (e.g. the boat chase in the Amazon rain forest and the dramatic opening scene) I can't say that this is a good film because it really isn't. It isn't all that well put together, the jokes suck ass, some good bits are ruined by bad jokes or bad characters and although the storyline is a right good'un it's also kinda messy and goes completely non-existent at one point. But hey, if you like Roger Moore no matter what then I guess you could watch it. Or you could just watch one of his better movies such as Live And Let Die or The Spy Who Loved Me or The Cannonball Run etc.
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