To me, that cold reaction is the kind of thing I would expect from the Bond of the books, who is more of a cold assassin who’s been trained to put his feelings aside. (Sort of like the way Brosnan played Bond in Tomorrow Never Dies)
Although you’re right, it doesn’t quite fit in with the otherwise over-the-top nature of the movie. Something more along the lines of a Dr. Evil-esque “laser” might have worked better.
Well, I haven’t seen it for quite a while so I don’t remember the details all that well. I just really liked the music and the “feel” of the movie (hard to quantify, I know). It just seemed so different and experimental in comparison to the other movies, which to me made it quite enjoyable. I also found it more exciting - some Bond movies get downright boring at times. Moonraker managed to keep the action moving througout the whole film.
I hated Moonraker mostly due to that laser fight, lifted straight from Star Wars. It’s one thing when Bond is given a sci-fi gadget by Q. It’s quite another when the US Army seems to have a “Space Force” armed with those type of things.
And also, the theme song was, IMHO, worst of the Bonds…believe it or not, including Die Another Day. I love Shirley Bassey’s voice, but it’s completely wasted in that droning, low-pitched tune.
Moonraker? Is this the one where Bond has sex with a bunch of women?
This was the first Bond movie I saw in the theater, and as a young lad I thought it was awesome. I LOVED the super-gadgety boat with the missles and the hang glider, LOVED the gondola that turned into a car, didn’t even mind the Star Wars shootout. Then I saw it again ten years later, and cringed throughout the whole thing. I wonder if they deliberately tried to appeal to a younger audience from the outset? That would even explain the Jaws as Wile E Coyote thing.
Oh, and the Bond chick was the worst one by far. At least with Tanya Roberts and Denise Richards you were entertained by their terrible acting - this gal was just so…average. Not even bad enough to be memorable.
In a case of pop-culture crossover, “Moonraker” and other Bond films were discussed on the tv show “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” in a season 6 show entitled “Life Serial.” In it Buffy was being tormented by 3 ex-high school geeks: Andrew, Warren and Jonathan. In the scence at issue the three geeks are riding around in a van custom painted with a Star Wars death star on its side and remark as follows:
JONATHAN: Where’re we going?
WARREN: To Final Jeopardy. Where Buffy’s the one in jeopardy.
ANDREW: We are really super-villains now, like … like Dr. No. (Jonathan grins)
WARREN: Yeah, back when Bond was Connery, and movies were decent.
JONATHAN: (scornful) Who remembers Connery? I mean, Roger Moore was smooth.
WARREN: You’re insane. You’re short, and you’re insane.
ANDREW: I like Timothy Dalton!
Warren smacks Andrew upside the head.
ANDREW: Hey!
WARREN: Don’t make me pull over, okay?
<Cut out non-Bond related part, which involved demons playing poker with kittens as chips.>
WARREN: (to Andrew) Connery is Bond. He had style.
JONATHAN: Yeah, but Roger Moore was funny.
WARREN: Moonraker? The gondola turns into a hovercraft? It’s retarded. Besides, the guy had, like, no edge.
ANDREW: Dalton had edge. In ‘Licence to Kill’ he was a rogue agent. That’s edgy. (Warren and Jonathan give him looks of disbelief) And he was amazing in ‘The Living Daylights.’
JONATHAN: Yeah, which was written for Roger Moore, not Timothy Dalton!
WARREN: (annoyed) Okay, this is stupid! We’re wasting time. End of discussion.
The other two nod and turn to their computer consoles, begin typing. Beat.
WARREN: (very angry) I mean, there’s a shot of like pigeons, doing double-takes when the gondola blasted by! ‘Moonraker’ … is inexcusable.
There is so little redeeming about this movie (if you’re over 12 years old) that it’s not even funny. Even the IMDb hardly has anything good to share (that we haven’t already mentioned). OK, the stuff about filming the opening sequence in free-fall is fairly interesting, but that’s about it.
Christopher Wood’s novelization of Spy who Loved Me reveals that Jaws is Polish and that his real name is Zbigniew Krycsiwiki. Pronounce that!
Some of the Bond movies were made with a wink to the audience. This one was made with a sneer at it.
What a waste of the Bond franchise. The writing is leaden and cartoonish, the acting is atrocious, and Moore is beneath contempt as Bond.
It is even too awful to make fun of.
Regards,
Shodan
Who wrote that book again? 
I hated the fight in the glass museum. Bond being menaced by some guy armed with a bamboo training sword(shinai) ??? What th-!?! Why couldn’t he just take a swat, grab him by the collar and beat the stuffing out of him? Hello! It’s not sharp! It’s bamboo! It stings a bit but that’s it. They blew it for me on that one.
Hated this movie.
Why do all the Bond villians shop at the same Nehru jacket store?
Curious: was the made-for-TV Bond movie Casino Royale going to make the list? Haven’t noticed it mentioned yet.
–Patch
I have to admit, that fight did suck… as fans of HK martial arts movies, when my friend and I were watching Moonraker a few weeks ago, and that guy jumped out… we were pained his display of utter ineptitude againt Bond. I mean when a fellow leaps out in full gear and wielding a weapon (I’ve heard some kendo practicioners can make you feel a world of hurt even with the training stick)… I expect him to be really, really good. But this guy kind of lunged around for a bit and then let Roger Moore kill him.
Martial arts in Bond movies has always annoyed me. Half the time Bond is really good at it, and half the time he’s really bad. Sometimes he counters a martial attack with fisticuffs, other times he tries some fancy judo-esque moves. I wish the writers would figure out if he’s a pro at it or not. He ought to be by now!
(The same goes for his mastery of oriental languages-- Connery’s Bond bragged about his good grades regarding them, Brosnan’s totally blanks when looking at a Chinese keyboard (granted Connery’s bond never claimed to be able to read the languages, so it might reconcile.
The 1950s Casino Royale (not to be confused with the 1967 Bond spoof of the same name) was not a TV-movie, but an episode of a playhouse series called Climax!. It’s interesting to note that this is the first filmed appearance of Jimmy Bond, CIA agent…okay, so they changed it a little.
This is one of the first movies I remember seeing. I remember liking it a lot, but I was just a wee tyke. I remember associating it with my Dad because he liked science fiction and orchids.
Haha! Absolutely right!
Good question. I had planed to go through the twenty EON films, then tackle Never Say Never Again and then Casino Royale. Since the 1950s Climax! show is on the DVD with the better-known Casino Royale, a combined thread might be warranted. Or maybe even its own thread. I do have some thoughts about how the Bond character was portrayed.
Of course you don’t have to wait for me. You could always start The James Bond Film Festival: Climax! presentation of Casino Royale. 
I was in grade school when Moonraker came out, and one of my friends who saw it opening weekend tirelessly told me the whole plot. It sounded so stupid (to a 9 year old!) that I was sure he was pulling my leg. Later found out, to my dismay, that he didn’t make up a single detail. As bad as Bonds get.
It’s available on DVD? Cool! Had no idea. I got my copy years ago from a company selling bootleg tapes, and it’s not the best quality.
–Patch
Interestingly, Amazon.com shows Casino Royale is being released on October 7, 2003. It also doesn’t mention the Climax! episode (although a reviewer does). I don’t remember when or where I bought mine; but it’s number 1003902, and it does include the Climax! episode.
I just remembered something: there are 1970’s style “death rays” in this film. Just thought I should mention it.
See, I told you the 1970’s style death rays were better. They got to be in a Bond movie.
I dunno, I still prefer the 1920’s style “Death Rays”, what with the Art Deco design styles and so forth.