I really wish that MR's climax was at the Temple
Jarvio
EnglandPosts: 3,395MI6 Agent
MR has always been a funny one to rank for me, because there is a good film in there...until they get into space. Now I like space as much as the next person (big star wars fan) but James Bond doesn't belong in space. It's like a mis-match of genres and for this reason alone MR will never rank high for me.
But imagine if they never made it into space, and instead the Amazon temple sequence was greatly expanded. Imagine if it went full-on raiders. I would have totally loved that, and it would probably have made MR rank high for me!
1 - LALD, 2 - AVTAK, 3 - OP, 4 - LTK, 5 - FYEO, 6 - DAF, 7 - TSWLM, 8 - NTTD, 9 - DN, 10 - GE, 11 - SF, 12 - OHMSS, 13 - TMWTGG, 14 - TLD, 15 - YOLT, 16 - MR, 17 - GF, 18 - DAD, 19 - TND, 20 - TWINE, 21 - SP, 22 - FRWL, 23 - TB, 24 - CR, 25 - QOS
1 - Moore, 2 - Dalton, 3 - Craig, 4 - Connery, 5 - Brosnan, 6 - Lazenby
1 - Moore, 2 - Dalton, 3 - Craig, 4 - Connery, 5 - Brosnan, 6 - Lazenby
Comments
Works for me.
Absolutely love MR, despite it's shortcomings and Drax's lair in the Amazon is brilliant.
Not sure how I feel about the climax being staged there, I'm just so used to the space portion now, and it's actually ageing pretty well. Seemed incredibly fanciful and far fetched at the time (even now we're nowhere near that level of habitation in space). But it was handled well, the zero gravity special effects aspects could have been a disaster but are pretty decent all things considered.
The biggest thing that bugs me about MR (and I've moaned about this before) is the cut from rolling out of the ambulance on the stretcher trolley, to being on a horse in a poncho with western music. I would change this before removing the scenes in space.
As the saying goes, you can wish in one hand and $#!& in the other, and see which fills up faster. 😏 MOONRAKER is what it is... Cubby Broccoli and United Artists wanted to cash in on STAR WARS, so we got the big outer-space climax; as well as more of Jaws and the sight gags that had been a big hit in the previous film. I've come to appreciate its technical accomplishments and the excellent performance of Michael Lonsdale as Drax--those are good enough for me.
I wouldn't change a thing about MR apart from completely excising the entire gondola sequence (it's not necessary, it does not further the plot at all, and it's tonally discordant with where the film is at that point in the narrative). I personally rate it as one of the best films of the franchise due to its almost perfect direction.
Great to read some MR love. Much derided but it's so much fun and as we've said, some truly classic aspects. Terrific Villain (one of the best of the whole series), great locations, Beautiful Bond girl😍, One of Barry's best scores, Jaws and Roger still looking great. Ticks so many boxes.
Whenever people mention the gondola scene, I never know which scene they're referring to 😅 Because the Venice boats are referred to as gondolas, as are the cable cars in the Rio scene
1 - Moore, 2 - Dalton, 3 - Craig, 4 - Connery, 5 - Brosnan, 6 - Lazenby
ha! Fair point. I am referring to the Venice gondola sequence. The movie is playing things pretty straight at that point in the narrative and then this scene happens where it goes all campy, ending with the double-taking bird and a hovercraft sequence that would have made international news in real life. As to the narrative itself, this sequence adds nothing other than an action break. Get rid of it entirely and you lose NOTHING from the plot throughline.
I'm not surprised that you meant the Venice scene ;) That double-taking pigeon being the obvious clue
1 - Moore, 2 - Dalton, 3 - Craig, 4 - Connery, 5 - Brosnan, 6 - Lazenby
Many would agree but MR's USP is that it goes that bit further and makes for an end of an era - had the finale been in the Amazon it would have obviously resembled the climax of YOLT too much - but in this one, Bond doesn't just plummet to the ground in a small aircraft - he's pushed out at high altitude without a parachute! He doesn't have a fight near a piranha pool and toss the henchman into it - he is spun into a reptile pool himself! And he doesn't get apprehended by Blofeld approaching a space capsule, he actually goes into space!
And all shot with wonderful modern set pieces and colour cinematography. not on a 27in black and white TV set.
This all felt great to a kid in the 70s, esp with the likes of Buck Rogers on the TV.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
I do not agree at all and think Bond should return to space. I know what MR Hater said for 40 Years, Bond jumped the shark and so on, but today corporate space travel and orbital space stations are a real thing. Broccoli was visionary and most of MR was Science Fact. Well maybe not the Thunderbolt Divers- esque Space Marines with Lasers, but that s fault is not MR but Goldfinger, who introduced the Laser to Pop Fiction.
Moonraker is not the best Bond Film, it is the best film. Period. Never was the price for a movie ticket so justified as in this funny, sexy , action filled movie extravaganza.
Loving the MOONRAKER reappraisal that seems to be going around.
While the space finale was technically impressive for it's time, I too wish MR had its grand finale on Earth.
Then it would been YOLT
A nice idea. Ken Adams' Amazon sets are some of his best and I feel they're underused in the film. I'd appreciate it if the laser battle outside the space station was cut and then Bond spent some more time in the Amazon base instead.
8. SF 9. NTTD 10. AVtaK 11. TMwtGG 12. LtK 13. TSWLM 14. TND
15. GF 16. MR 17. YOLT 18. LaLD 19. SP 20. DAD 21. TWiNE
22. DN 23. TB 24. QoS 25. DaF