Moonraker

It's not a Star Wars ripoff. Everyone says it but they're full of it.

I know for a fact I am in the small majority that likes Moonraker, I don't see it as that big of a leap that Bond goes into space. It's not like he's dogfighting TIE Fighters or facing the Gorn, yes there's lazer guns but this is the same series with a guy with metal hands, a guy with metal teeth, a voodoo cultist who is quite possibly undead, and some of the most ludicrously awesome gadgets in history. I think I'll cut it some slack. It's pretty decent in quality, and the space scenes are handled with logic and reservation. So how does Bond travel to the final frontier? Well an american space shuttle has vanished without a trace leading James to meet with the developer Hugo Drax, and shock of all shocks uncovers a dastardly plan that must be foiled. To spaaaaaace! Is it wrong I kind of like this movie better than the last? Come to think of it, there's a handful of similarities between the two. Crazy genius builds a personal fortress and seeks to recreate the world with his own people, Jaws appears in both films, and both movies open with a parachuting stunt, some people say it's just a more out there remake of The Spy Who Loved Me but I strongly doubt it. Though Roger Moore poked fun at the movie for decades after it was complete, he does very well with the material and treats it seriously like any professional actor would. Now I could seriously bash on Lois Chiles as Holly Goodhead for her deadpan delivery and complete blazae attitude when it comes to acting, but I won't. She's not great, and I hate to bash actors especially if they try so I'll just leave it at that and move on. Michael Lonsdale is the best actor in the entire movie, and is the most underrated Bond villain ever. I'll fight you on that. He plays the part eloquently, and goes for the more soft spoken background villain but when he gets to shine, man does he just kill it. They gave him a bloody speech for crying out loud, not a monologue but a speech. Why? Because he's amazing and deserves a place next to Blofeld, Goldfinger, and Scaramanga (with many more on the way). Jaws is back, yay! More comedic than last time but I don't even mind, and yes I do love the fact he gets a total little cutie pie girlfriend and I ship it perhaps a little too hard, but damn it they're cute together and I am living for it! That alone gets this movie a point or two. But all the aspects of the production are done really really well, special effects are executed almost flawlessly, the action is very strong at the climax and of course is peppered in throughout, some of the sets are outstanding, and even the music is better than it should be with one particular track that rivals the love theme from OHMSS for most beautiful Bond music. I really do enjoy this movie, yes the producers said it was a way to capitalize on the success of Star Wars but they showed great restraint and didn't do anything that would seem out of place for Bond, and just used the space backdrop as not only a new villain setting which was crafted around the plot but also to let viewers see something new and create incredible sets and special effects. And I don't think I need to quote a certain somebody on the use and importance of special effects, so I'll just do my final rating. 4 stars check it out, 8/10, I may have lost some credibility but when haven't I, I'll see you next time!

The Spy Who Loved Me

I don't know why I always thought this was the first Bond movie of the 80s, the soundtrack clearly states otherwise.

Roger Moore's best outing as 007? More likely than not. After the less than positive reception of the last movie, the producers took a 3 year hiatus to create the best Bond movie of them all. Did they succeed? Well I can safely say this is the best film of Roger's era so far, and it does indeed rank up there with Goldfinger so yeah. Roger Moore returns in top form, as Bond is looking for any leads on both soviet and british submarines as he encounters a severe marine obsessive man by the name of Stromberg bent on creating a world war so he can rebuild human society from his underwater lair. It's the perfect blend of realistic spy thriller, and entertaining tongue in cheek cinema. I will say the pre-title sequence is one of the best in the entire series ending on one hell of a high note. All elements of the series have been executed wonderfully in this installment, with damn good action, memorable characters, an interesting story, and the highest production values we've seen to date. Roger Moore is wonderful as always, being the cheeky secret agent many have said to be the best Bond (and I'm so far agreeing with them). Barbara Bach is one of the most unique Bond girls, being an opposing secret agent from Russia that has to work with Bond, and while their chemistry and different characters work very well, her acting is incredibly wooden. Is this what people saw with George Lazenby? Cause this, this is not good. Though I have seen far far worse in my time so I can't be that rough on her. Stromberg is a surprisingly dull villain despite an amazing lair, and while the performance is by no means bad at all there just really isn't that much to work with, he's just an evil capitalistic crazy person. Gee, what a new and inspired character for the James Bond series. I heard it was originally meant to be Blofeld, now that would have been interesting to see! However with the disappointing villain of Stromberg, we gain the most recognizable henchman in the whole series, Richard Kiel as the metal mouthed killer Jaws. He is one of my most favorite characters in these movies, and whether he down right scared the living daylights out of me or made me have a good laugh in this movie, I can't express in words how awesome he is. Richard Kiel, you are the man and I cannot wait to see more of him in the next movie! This is one of the better films for sure, and it was a favorite among the producers, Bond actors old and young, and the public even today. 3 stars, 8/10 from me, and we will join Bond in a very underrated adventure next time with Moonraker.

You Only Live Twice

It's sort of a toss up between this and Goldfinger as my favorite Connery film.

You Only Live Twice is a amazing entry in the series despite the behind the scenes drama and this being the last we'll see of Connery in the role...kinda. The story follows Bond as he fakes his death for reasons I'm not entirely sure of, and starts working more undercover to find out exactly how and why several spacecraft from both America and Russia have disappeared which leads him to Japan to face off against SPECTRE one more time. The film already gets brownie points for being in Japan but regardless the story is one of the finer early entries in the series, with very good pacing, characters, and a true sense that it attempts and succeeds the climax of Thunderball. Before we talk performances this has to be brought up, Sean Connery gives a very muted performance and it was during the production of this film that he decided not to return again as James Bond. He became very disillusioned with the role and hated he didn't have any privacy during the shoot in Japan, which I can fully understand and I hold no grievance or ill will towards him for his decision. Even when you can tell his heart is not really in the performance this time around, he still has good shining moments and as his currently last bout as 007, he still does very fine work. We have a double dose of Bond girls with Akika Wakabayashi as japanese agent Aki, and Mie Hama as Bond's wife (more on that later) with both actresses doing very good work despite not being fluent in English at the time and work very well alongside Connery. Tetsuro Tanba as Tiger Tanaka is another highly welcome addition to the list of allies in this series and is a joy to watch bantering with James. We have another Fiona Vulpe-esque villain this time played by Karen Dor who while not having much screentime is still memorable and fun to watch, with special love going to her acting with a certain white cat loving mastermind. Yes, this is the movie where we finally come face to face with SPECTRE #1 Ernst Stavro Blofeld, played to perfection by Donald Pleasence, and it sort of further pushes the fact that this feels like a finale to the series in some ways as we finally face off with the villain that has been plaguing James since 1964 and I love everything about it. What I do not love is the filmmaker's decision to make Bond undergo plastic surgery to look like a japanese fisherman. I can't even believe what I just wrote. Why?? It serves no purpose, he has plastic surgery done to him which apparently comes right off after a dip in the ocean, takes a "wife" who is just Kissy another agent working for Tanaka, it makes less than zero sense and it's filler if I've ever seen it. However on a more positive note, the film looks great as we sample both urban and rural areas of Japan, with plenty of little touches of their culture throughout. Apparently Ian Fleming grew quite fond of the country and had a great curiosity and affinity for japanese culture while he was writing the novel of the same name, and you get a good sense of that in this film which of course I love. Plus it doesn't hurt that not only does this film have one of the most incredible sets ever produced in cinematic history but the volcano lair siege is most likely the best and most large scale climax we'll see for the entire series. Everything about that set was real, no matte paintings, no models, no trick photography, just a legit massive set with working monorail, simulated rocket takeoff, and control center that cost one million pounds then but would cost lord knows how much if they did it the same way. It is astounding, and I feel it was a crime tearing down Ken Adam's remarkable set after filming wrapped. The script was written by Roald Dahl who some might know for Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Matilda, and James And The Giant Peach, who I felt did incredibly well and the director Lewis Gilbert knew how to shoot this movie with both excellent action sequences and gorgeous scenery. Excellent movie with only two hiccups in the grand scheme of things, and despite Connery's clear lack of caring at certain points his performance is really good. A slightly flawed movie that still rivals the gold standard. 4 stars, 8/10! So this was it for Sean Connery, the man who countless individuals claimed IS James Bond, so what do you do after the star has left to pursue other parts? Well we'll find out next time with the one hit wonder James Bond in On Her Majesty's Secret Service.