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The bad guy is Hugo Drax (Michael Lonsdale) and while his
plan is not original, his decision to build a space city and
populate it with specially picked people (the Adams and Eves
of the new humanity) rates right up there.
Once aboard, it's send out the satellites filled with nasty
stuff and let's start again - without damaging the environment.
As usual the locations are stunning - and you are whisked
around the world to Venice (damn, I love that city), Rio de
Janiero, and the great beyond.
And, as is the way with Bond movies, the leading lady, Lois
Chiles, has a suspect name - Holly Goodhead, which the actress
still revels in as being "one of the naughtiest". Chiles is
not the best female offsider Bond has had and her role as
the specialist-at-everything CIA agent adds little to Moonraker.
For a megalomaniacal mass murderer, the bad guy Drax is also
pretty ho-hum, with Lonsdale (a very good actor) unfortunately
playing it too cool to elicit any emotional response.
Roger Moore is pretty good as Bond and, together with the
scenery, keeps the movie from dropping into who-cares land.
But, having said that, Moonraker ain't a classic Bond
and would rate quite low in the overall scheme of things.
The transfer of the movie on to DVD is very up and down,
with some scenes looking picture-perfect - Venice for example
- and others being marred by annoying shimmers, obvious-enhancement
edges.
There is also a bit of doubt about the sound, which tends
to fluctuate, however that gets made up for by some pretty
good front-to-back, cross-channel whooshing.
All up, Moonraker is a little disappointing - suffering
from an ordinary villain/heroine and a story that seems rushed
into production to meet outside influences (read launch of
shuttle). It belongs in the series, but there are better James
Bond adventures on the market. Reviews soon.
Conclusion: Movie 75%, Extras 85%
Continued:
DVD details at a glance >
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