Moonraker - The Reception

Moonraker is often tagged as EON's attempt to latch onto the Star Wars craze but you could argue that the movie is often more influenced by Kubrick's 2001 than Star Wars. Nonetheless, the incredible success of Star Wars in 1977 was clearly the main catalyst for Cubby deciding to send Bond into space. As usual, the film made by EON, save for a title and character names, would bear little resemblence to Fleming's novel. Lewis Gilbert was signed to direct again and Christopher Wood wrote the screenplay. The obvious tactic of Cubby Broccoli was simply to keep The Spy Who Loved Me team in place. If it isn't broke why fix it? Tom Mankiewicz previously wrote an unused script treatment for Moonraker for EON and Mankiewicz's treatment included elements which were used in later Bond films. These most saliently included an Acrostar jet chase (which was used in Octopussy) and an action setpiece in Paris (A View To A Kill).

Moonraker ended up costing well over thirty million dollars to make. This dwarfed even the budget for The Spy Who Loved Me. The eighties Bond films later had increasingly static budgets because they were still paying off the interest on Moonraker going over budget. Moonraker was so expensive that EON and MGM were still having to instigate an austerity drive to pay for it ten years later. Moonraker had a lavish marketing campaign which included many space themed toys, an annual, and even a 007 bubble bath. Who wouldn't want some James Bond bubble bath? Roger Moore also fronted a television special too in order to promote the film. There was a lot of anticipation and hype for the film. Bond hadn't been this big a deal since Sean Connery was around. Moonraker premiered on 26 June 1979 at the Odeon Leicester Square in London. The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, was in attendence and celebrities included Britt Ekland, Joan Collins, Dodi Fayed, Dino De Laurentis, and Richard Johnson (the actor who famously turned down a contract to play James Bond in Dr No).

A bearded Roger Moore was also there along with many members of the cast and crew. Richard Kiel, an unmistakable figure for obvious reasons, was a big attraction at the premiere and seemed to be enjoying himself. The swanky afterparty was held at the London Playboy Club. In the preamble to the release of Moonraker, Roger Moore said "Cubby Broccoli hasn't asked me to do another, but then he never does until he sees how much money he makes from the last one I've done." Roger had negotiated a share of the gross for Moonraker. This turned out to be a shrewd deal because Moonraker set box-office records for Bond which stood until the Pierce Brosnan era. Adjusted for inflation, Moonraker was a blockbuster for its time.

The New York Times gave Moonraker a glowing review in 1979 when the film was released. 'At a time when everything is being either inflated or devalued it's comforting to know that at least one commodity maintains its hard currency. That's James Bond, who, by all rights, should be an antique, as emblematic of the 60's as the Beatles and flowerpower, but who goes blithely on as if time has had a stop. Moonraker, which opens today at the Rivoli and other theaters, is the 11th in the remarkable series that began in 1963 with Dr. No and it's one of the most bouyant Bond films of all. It looks as if it cost an unconscionable amount of money to make, though it has nothing on its mind except dizzying entertainment, which is not something to dismiss quickly in such a dreary, disappointing movie season. Almost everyone connected with the movie is in top form, even Mr. Moore who has a tendency to facetiousness when left to his own devices. Here he's as ageless, resourceful and graceful as the character he inhabits.'

The Globe and Mail was also impressed, writing - 'In the first few minutes – before the credits – it offers more thrills than most escapist movies provide in two hours. The excitement has gone all the way up to giddy and never comes down.' Time magaine was also kind to the film. 'If Moonraker is not quite as satisfying as Spy, the best of the post-Sean Connery Bonds, the difference is in the casting. Lonsdale is a bit too tame; he seems to be doing a John Ehrlichman imitation. Chiles is all too sexless. The title song, the important kickoff for Bond movies, is no match for Nobody Does It Better, the Carly Simon dazzler of Spy. Still, one does not tend to notice these failings as Moonraker unfolds. Broccoli just keeps piling on the goodies: lush Ken Adam sets, gadgetry and gams galore, super stunts and effects. It may be another two-year wait for the next Bond film, so you may as well just stuff yourself silly now.'

Variety was also reasonably kind to the film. 'Christopher Wood's script takes the characters exactly where they always go in a James Bond pic and the only question is whether the stunts and gadgets will live up to expectations. They do. The main problem this time is the outer-space setting which somehow dilutes the mammoth monstrosity that 007 must save the world from. One more big mothership hovering over earth becomes just another model intercut with elaborate interiors. The visual effects, stuntwork and other technical contributions all work together expertly to make the most preposterous notions believable. And Roger Moore, though still compared to Sean Connery, clearly has adapted the James Bond character to himself and serves well as the wise-cracking, incredibly daring and irresistible hero.'

TIME was also rather kind to the film and wrote - 'Wood pulls off some witty flourishes. There are funny references to other blockbuster movies (Close Encounters, Superman, Sergio Leone westerns), as well as amusing bursts of comic-book dialogue. Rather than stage variations on Jaws' old fiendish gags, Wood has given the character some surprising twists, including a love interest. As always, there is no explicit gore or sex to jolt the audience back to reality. If Moonraker is not quite as satisfying as Spy, the best of the post-Sean Connery Bonds, the difference is in the casting. Lonsdale is a bit too tame; he seems to be doing a John Ehrlichman imitation. Chiles is all too sexless. The title song, the important kickoff for Bond movies, is no match for Nobody Does It Better, the Carly Simon dazzler of Spy. Still, one does not tend to notice these failings as Moonraker unfolds. Broccoli just keeps piling on the goodies: lush Ken Adam sets, gadgetry and gams galore, super stunts and effects. It may be another two-year wait for the next Bond film, so you may as well just stuff yourself silly now.'



Roger Ebert was a shade grumpy though about Moonraker and didn't seem very impressed. He also, tediously, went out of his way to compare Roger Moore unfavourably to Sean Connery yet again. Ebert's main complaint was that Moonraker was too fantastical and gadget festooned. 'The stars of this movie are Ken Adam, the art director, and Derek Meddings, in charge of special effects. In addition to the gigantic space station, they provide lots of little touches, like 007's gondola in Venice, which turns into a speedboat and then miraculously grows wheels. Moonraker is a movie by gadgeteers, for gadgeteers, about gadgeteers. Our age may be losing its faith in technology, but James Bond sure hasn't.'

There were certainly some negative reviews when it came to Moonraker. Many felt that the balance of jokes, plot, and action in Moonraker had slid too far towards humour - to the point where the film was a parody of Bond. Richard Maibaum was among those who held this view. Maibaum later said that the Bond series could do without what he called 'that space station crap'. He felt Moonraker was too silly and thought Roger Moore had a tendency to spoof the part. This felt a little unfair because Roger did what he was given to play. If he was given a tense or 'straight' scene, like the centrifuge sequence, Roger was always very good. There was definitely though a 'backlash' against the comic book sci-fi excesses and comedic nature of Moonraker in the end and this persuaded Cubby Broccoli that a course correction might be needed for the next picture.

One other person who also criticised the film was none other than Sean Connery. "I went in London to see Moonraker with Roger and I think it's departed so much from any sort of credence from the reality that we had [in my six films]," said Connery. "Such a dependence on the effects and there's no substance." I can't say that I agree with Sean that there was 'reality' in his Bond films. I love the Connery Bond films but you'd hardly call films like You Only Live Twice, Goldfinger, and Diamonds Are Forever realistic! There has never been a realistic Bond film. Even the famously 'gritty' Daniel Craig films are full of ridiculous implausible scenes.

When Moonraker was released in 1979, Gene Siskel in the Chicago Tribune took issue with the movie's gratuitous and gruesome product placement. 'In the beginning of the Bond series, before they were thought of as a series, each film was a good action picture with a colourful, entertaining hero. Today, they come off as conglomerate business enterprises rather than movies. How else does one explain the intrusive commercial plugs in Moonraker for Christian Dior perfume, British Airways, Bollinger champagne, Glaston boats, and Seiko watches? Truly, money derived from these plugs can't be worth the loss of story continuity when the products are flashed in front of the camera. Someone is being awfully cheap about the plugs, which borders on incredibility because the James Bond series is one of the surest moneymakers in the film business. Maybe the producers of Moonraker are blind to story construction?'

Siskel was right about Bond being a sure moneymaker because Moonraker grossed $210.3 million - which was even more impressive than The Spy Who Loved Me. The film was a global hit, breaking records in many nations. It had the widest ever American release for a United Artists film and drew record attendences in France. People in France were especially interested in Moonraker because it had obviously been an Anglo-French production. While not everyone was happy about the direction in which the franchise was heading there was no doubt that it was, from a commercial standpoint, a popular and shrewd approach in the late 1970s. The problem was though that after Moonraker there was nowhere left to go with this Lewis Gilbert style fantastical approach to 007. EON would have to think very carefully about the tone and direction of the next film. They would also have to decide if they were going to carry on with Roger Moore.


* The article above is an extract from the book Roger Moore's James Bond - The Retrospective

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