The Roger Moore James Bond movies are very of their time. They're filled with silly gags and puns, over-the-top villains and lots of gadgets and gimmicks; in short, they're great fun, and Moore brings borderline illegal levels of charm to the character. While I think The Spy Who Loved Me is the only true classic 007 adventure that Moore fronted, I have a soft spot for all his movies.
The sheer silliness of Moore's adventures turns off some fans of the character, such as Octopussy or Moonraker. The latter is dismissed as the one that sent Bond to space, and it's loaded with goofy humor, expensive setpieces and all the elements the Moore movies are criticized for. For me, Moonraker is an immense guilty pleasure that gets unfairly dunked on; Drax (Michael Lonsdale) is a great villain, and before it heads to space, it's a straightforward spy adventure with lots of exotic locales. It also features the final appearance of Jaws (Richard Kiel), the iconic metal-mouthed henchman.
Jaws Stalking Roger Moore's James Bond In Moonraker Terrified Me As A Child
Making Jaws an antihero did little to reduce my terror
Moonraker also turned Jaws from a terrifying henchman into more of an antihero, who even helps Bond take down Drax in the sequel's out of this world finale. Since Jaws was popular with children following his debut in the previous instalment, it was decided to soften the villain a little for Moonraker and make him more cartoonish. He's undeniably a sillier character in the 1979 sequel, but the scene where Jaws - dressed in an oversized clown outfit - stalks 007 and his Brazilian Manuela (Emily Bolton) through the Rio Carnival terrified me.
In particular, the shot of Jaws slooooooowly walking toward Manuela as she waits in an empty alleyway is an image right out of a nightmare. Many of the early Bond adventures contain at least one horror scene, be it Blofeld feeding a minion to his piranhas in You Only Live Twice or Live and Let Die's supernatural foe Baron Samedi (Geoffrey Holder). None of these moments got to me as much as Jaws stalking Bond and Manuela, especially when he finally takes the mask off and tries to bite the latter to death.
This Moonraker Jaws scene could be ripped from the opening of an 1980s horror movie and is incredibly atmospheric and suspenseful...
In concept, Jaws isn't that far off a slasher villain himself. He's imposingly tall, has a unique method of murdering people and seemingly can't be killed. This Moonraker scene could be ripped from the opening of an 1980s horror movie and is an incredibly atmospheric and suspenseful moment in the midst of Moore's most outrageous 007 sequel. I don't know if it gave me an actual nightmare, but I do know that anytime I rewatched the VHS, I always dreaded coming back to that sequence.
Moonraker Is Roger Moore's Silliest Bond Adventure, But It's Still Loaded With Horror
Moonraker is a wild ride tonally
One element of the Moore era I like is that movies could vary wildly in tone. One minute, Bond could be delivering the cringiest double entendre ever committed to film, and the next he could be executing a wounded assassin in cold blood (see 1981's For Your Eyes Only). I know Moonraker is a deeply wacky film, but it still sneaks in other moments of horror. Case in point would be Drax's murder of his pilot Corinne (Corinne Cléry), by setting his hunting dogs on her.
This happens in broad daylight as Corinne runs for her life through a forest, and there's an odd dreamlike feel to the scene. There's no gore, but it's a grim ending for a likable ing character. Other sprinkles of horror found in Moonraker include Bond watching as two scientists die after being exposed to a special nerve gas engineered by Drax. I usually chuckle at the scene where Bond is attacked underwater by a giant snake as the prop looks especially fake, but the way Drax's "chosen" people just smile and watch as he struggles is pretty chilling in itself.
-
James Bond investigates the theft of a space shuttle, leading him to the megalomaniac industrialist Hugo Drax. Bond uncovers Drax's plan to annihilate humanity using a deadly nerve gas and repopulate the Earth with a master race. The mission culminates in a dramatic showdown aboard a space station.
-
- Genres
- Action
- Created by
- Ian Fleming, Albert R. Broccoli
- First Film
- Dr. No
- Latest Film
- No Time to Die
- Films
- James Bond 26
- First TV Show
- Fleming: The Man Who Would be Bond
The James Bond franchise follows the adventures of British secret agent 007 as he combats global threats. With a license to kill, Bond faces off against various villains and criminal organizations, employing high-tech gadgets, espionage, and charm. The series spans multiple films, featuring exotic locations, thrilling action sequences, and memorable characters. Bond's mission to protect the world and uphold justice remains central, making the franchise an enduring icon in the spy genre.
Your comment has not been saved