Full disclosure: I love the Bond franchise. Mostly. The best Bond titles are as enjoyable to me as other international spy franchises, be it 'Mission: Impossible' or 'Bourne'. I'll take the 5 Daniel Craig outcomes and argue their merits against the others any day. However (and this is a BIG however), the lesser titles in the Bond lexicon are truly among the worst movies I've seen. It often felt as though producer and franchise magnate Albert 'Cubby' Broccoli made a Bond film simply to restock the coffers. 'Moonraker' is certainly the worst of the franchise stinkers. Aside from it taking place in...space, the villain is extra silly with no nuance, the effects are haphazard at best, the dialogue is cringe even in the context of Bond, and we even must suffer the title track, wasting the sublime voice of Shirley Bassey.
After watching 'Moonraker', you may ask yourself- "Well, how did we get here?" That's fair. After all, Ian Fleming's original novel of the same title was *not* set amongst the stars, but rather London and the English countryside. Following the success of 'Star Wars' in 1977, however, every film studio stumbled over themselves to participate in Science Fiction Fever! (TM). Somehow, Broccoli figured it could work for the Bond IP as well, resulting in a film focusing almost exclusively on the novelty of space; writing, performances, action, and realism be damned. I can't really blame Roger Moore for the script, as 007 is essentially relegated to amused looks and quips.
In fact, with 007 and the other principles involved fighting in a zero gravity environment, it eventually runs akin to farce. This film somehow lands closer to 'Austin Powers' than its own saga, just without the courtesy of intentional humor. It’s funny, sure- in the same way someone confidently walking into the wrong room is funny.
If there is any redeeming value to extract from this dishonest turd, please enjoy the usual guffaw-inducing names for characters. We have 'Dr. Holly Goodhead' (Chiles), 'Hugo Drax' (the late Michael Lonsdale, going for the Billy Mays-as-a-villain look), and 'Jaws' (Kiel, returning after his fan-favorite appearance in 'The Spy Who Loved Me'). That's not nearly enough to overcome this completely out of place franchise lemon. If you must sit through this, you may say to yourself "My God, what have I done?". Fortunately, you only need watch it once in a lifetime.