Moonraker
Movie, 1979, Roger Moore, Set in 1979
Moonraker is #12 of 27 in release order and #11 of 27 in chronological order in the James Bond.
The story
After Drax Industries' Moonraker space shuttle is hijacked, secret agent James Bond is assigned to investigate, traveling to California to meet the company's owner, the mysterious Hugo Drax. With the help of scientist Dr. Holly Goodhead, Bond soon uncovers Drax's nefarious plans for humanity, all the while fending off an old nemesis, Jaws, and venturing to Venice, Rio, the Amazon...and even outer space.
Moonraker recap
A Moonraker space shuttle on loan to Britain is hijacked in mid-air. Bond visits its maker, the industrialist Hugo Drax, in California, and meets Dr. Holly Goodhead, a scientist who is really a CIA agent. Drax tries repeatedly to kill Bond, including in a centrifuge. In Venice, Bond finds a laboratory producing a nerve gas; in Rio, he escapes Jaws on a cable car; in the Amazon, he finds Drax's launch site. Drax plans to wipe out humanity with a nerve gas derived from a rare orchid, released from orbit, and repopulate the Earth with genetically perfect couples he has gathered on a hidden space station.
Moonraker ending explained
Bond and Holly stow away on a Moonraker shuttle to the station and disable its radar shield, letting American astronaut troops attack. Jaws, falling for a young woman named Dolly and realising he is not part of Drax's perfect race, switches sides. Bond shoots Drax with a dart and pushes him out of an airlock, then destroys the gas globes before they reach Earth. Bond and Holly are caught together in zero gravity.
Post-credits scenes
No. There is no post-credits scene.
Where to watch Moonraker
Moonraker is streaming on Prime Video in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 6.3/10, Rotten Tomatoes 59%
Where it fits
- Release order: after The Spy Who Loved Me, before For Your Eyes Only.
- Chronological order: after The Spy Who Loved Me, before For Your Eyes Only.
What to watch before Moonraker
In release order, 10 James Bond essentials come before Moonraker (1979), from Dr. No (1962) to The Spy Who Loved Me (1977).
Cast
- Roger Moore as James Bond
- Lois Chiles as Dr. Holly Goodhead
- Michael Lonsdale as Hugo Drax
- Richard Kiel as Jaws
- Corinne Cléry as Corinne Dufour
- Bernard Lee as M
- Geoffrey Keen as Sir Frederick Gray
- Desmond Llewelyn as Q
- Lois Maxwell as Miss Moneypenny
- Toshirô Suga as Cha
- Emily Bolton as Manuela
- Blanche Ravalec as Dolly
Directed by Lewis Gilbert.