Moonraker (1979)

Moonraker (1979), directed by Lewis Gilbert.

Who hijacked a space shuttle? An evil genius needs it so he can wipe out humanity and start again with a new master race. Can we rely on James Bond to save the world?

Bond #11 is the last of the 1970s. Roger Moore is, as usual, suave and uninvolved. Dumb gadgets and too many ineffectually clever ways of disposing of 007. Strained comedy and limp action, although launching the shuttle fleet is undeniably exciting. The space station battle has some impressive moments, all clouded by laser beam and zero-g video game silliness. The locations are California, Venice and Brazil, where it's always Carnival.

The pre-credit bit of diving out of an airplane without a parachute was a ballsy stunt and I remember the theater audience going wild. The stuntmen had emergency chutes under their clothes, but still... The wikipedia article says the team did 88 dives to film the scene.

Bond girl fatality rate: 33%. Richard Kiel's second appearance as "Jaws".

John Barry score, lovely in spots. Shirley Bassey sings her third Bond theme.

Available on Blu-ray.