Roger Moore's Bond career started on a swing similar to Sean Connery's. Sean Connery started of fairly well with Dr. No (1962) and Moore started of fairly well with Live & Let Die (1973). Connery followed up not-so well, but not badly with From Russia With Love (1963) and Moore followed suit with The Man With The Golden Gun (1974). Then Sean Connery then went over the top with his smash Goldfinger (1964) and Moore did the same with The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). But then we come to this film where it changes. Connery's 4th Bond film, Thunderball (1965) became his greatest film. For Moore's 4th Bond film he goes ahead of Connery and makes Connery's 5th film "You Only Live Twice" (until this came out, YOLT (1967) was Connery's worst and the worst of all.) and so we get this stinker and unfortunately Moore never really recaptured the luck he had with The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), although he did come close with For Your Eyes Only (1981).
There are a number reasons for the errors with this film. First of all, the film is virtually a re-make of The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). The return of Jaws is a devastating disappointment, but probably the best part of the movie. Although the hype of the phase "JAWS IS BACK" is probably the reason it was Moore most financially successful. Actually it was also the last Bond film to receive an Academy Award nomination. The Bond girls were excellent especially Lois Chiles and Corrine DuFour's performances. The comedy is probably the most mild part of the film. There are some great action sequences though.
I also was personally disappointed with the film, because I expected judging by the VIDEO COVER Picture that it was going to a JAMES BOND MEETS SCI-FI which could have been excellent. Star Wars (1977) and Close Encounters Of A Third Kind (1977) also unintentionally helped make this film fail. Because they were so good (so good I think they stole a lot of Academy Awards from The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) I think the producers want to make Bond better than those films. But thats like comparing The Godfather (1972) and Jaws (1975), they're to different even though they are both great.
Thats largely where they failed. Also they obviously didn't plan on making this one right away anyway, because at the end of "SPY" it says Bond will return in "FOR YOUR EYES ONLY". That possibly jinxed the operation, but when For Your Eyes Only (1981) did come out luckily it corrected the previous mistake, but hurt the Bond series lightly. The 80's saw some of the worst Bond films (with the exceptions of FOR YOUR EYES ONLY (1981), The Living Daylights (1987), and Licence To Kill (1989), although they didn't make much money in comparison to others, but they were still good). The Bond hype wouldn't return until Pierce Brosnan's GoldenEye (1995). But, I still say watch it worth seeing just because it is not just Moonraker, its JAMES BOND XI
There are a number reasons for the errors with this film. First of all, the film is virtually a re-make of The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). The return of Jaws is a devastating disappointment, but probably the best part of the movie. Although the hype of the phase "JAWS IS BACK" is probably the reason it was Moore most financially successful. Actually it was also the last Bond film to receive an Academy Award nomination. The Bond girls were excellent especially Lois Chiles and Corrine DuFour's performances. The comedy is probably the most mild part of the film. There are some great action sequences though.
I also was personally disappointed with the film, because I expected judging by the VIDEO COVER Picture that it was going to a JAMES BOND MEETS SCI-FI which could have been excellent. Star Wars (1977) and Close Encounters Of A Third Kind (1977) also unintentionally helped make this film fail. Because they were so good (so good I think they stole a lot of Academy Awards from The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) I think the producers want to make Bond better than those films. But thats like comparing The Godfather (1972) and Jaws (1975), they're to different even though they are both great.
Thats largely where they failed. Also they obviously didn't plan on making this one right away anyway, because at the end of "SPY" it says Bond will return in "FOR YOUR EYES ONLY". That possibly jinxed the operation, but when For Your Eyes Only (1981) did come out luckily it corrected the previous mistake, but hurt the Bond series lightly. The 80's saw some of the worst Bond films (with the exceptions of FOR YOUR EYES ONLY (1981), The Living Daylights (1987), and Licence To Kill (1989), although they didn't make much money in comparison to others, but they were still good). The Bond hype wouldn't return until Pierce Brosnan's GoldenEye (1995). But, I still say watch it worth seeing just because it is not just Moonraker, its JAMES BOND XI