This week on Back to the Frame Rate, Nathan and Sam temporarily pause their Robert Duvall retrospective to blast off into one of the most divisive entries in the James Bond franchise: 1979’s Moonraker.

With Artemis missions, sci-fi spectacle, and Roger Moore swagger on the brain, the guys revisit the infamous Bond adventure that traded espionage for laser battles in outer space. Is Moonraker a glorious camp classic or the moment the franchise floated completely out of orbit?

57:00 – Final ratings and decision to Save or PURGE

1:02:15 – James Bond Top 5 Films with Nathan, Sam, and Eli (2023 Archival)

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Copyright © Back to the Frame Rate

In the dying embers of human existence.

As the asteroid, a behemoth the size of Texas, hurdles relentlessly toward Earth, the world braces for an apocalyptic end.

Deep beneath the bunker, a refuge plunges into the bowels of the earth.

Here the chosen gather their purpose clear to preserve the very soul of our civilization.

The 35 and 70 millimeter prints that encapsulate the magic, the emotion, and the dreams of generations past.

These masterpieces, each frame a testament to the human spirit, are carefully cataloged and cradled in the cavernous confines of the bunker.

Perhaps there was room for more, for friends and family yearning for salvation.

But sacrifices must be made.

The movie nerds stand united, the keepers of a flame, promising a future where the art of storytelling endures, transcending the boundaries of time and space.

God help us all.

Welcome to Back to the Frame Rate, part of the Weston Media Podcast Network.

In this cinema crusade, we journey through films on VOD and streaming platforms, deciding their fate.

Salvation in our vault of legends or eternal banishment to the flames of the coming asteroid apocalypse.

It's actually already here.

You can find all of the episodes of our show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app, or find us on our socials at Back to the Frame Rate.

I am live and let Nate.

And accompany me, as always, is License the Sam.

Yes, this is Sam.

This is Timothy Dalton.

Sam.

I do not smile.

I'm Shakespearean, and I'm serious in License to Kill.

But I'm also entertaining.

I figured that was a little bit more uplifting.

Sam.

I almost went with Tomorrow Never Sams, but that seemed like too much of a downer.

That does seem like a downer, because Tomorrow Never Sams implies that Tomorrow Sam is going nowhere.

And I want to have a happy tomorrow.

Exactly.

Yeah.

So what are we doing here?

I thought we were in the middle of our Robert Duvall retrospective.

We decided to take a little breather.

I mean, it's so intense.

We wanted to bring a little swagger to the month, and I think we.

I felt that with, you know, we're.

We're late to the game on what's happening in the news.

And I propose this to you.

A week ago, we should have done this in about a month ago.

With Artemis 2 up in the.

Floating around up in the sky, this seemed like the perfect time.

We've always joked about how ridiculous this movie is.

Why don't we do Moonraker?

We are a month late on this, but, hey, better late than never.

Absolutely.

We could not have done a further away course correction.

Yeah, well, you know, basically we're hitting all four quadrants here is what we're doing on our show.

We want to.

We're bringing.

We're bringing in the kids is what we're doing here.

You know, we're bringing in the kids.

And season three is incredible.

We have Crawcheck on the way.

We have former dilophosaurus turned actor Paul Kandarian.

So it's.

This is.

Season three is where it's at.

It's incredible.

It is, it is so this movie.

So we're.

So what we're going to do.

So I want to just preface with the show.

We're just doing a simple review here.

We're in, we're out.

But stick around because I pulled out of the archives something we did almost three years ago and that was our top five James Bond films that you, me and Ellie did way back in the before times.

Wow.

And that'll be fun.

We're not going to listen to it right now, but I'm going to put that in at the end of this episode.

So audience listening at home.

I don't.

And you can listen to it here.

But it's a really good conversation that the three of us had and with some interesting opinions on our top five films.

But stick around for that.

After our conversation about Moonraker.

I am so gonna listen to that in my car later.

I really, I can't remember some of the things I said.

And episode 13, what is this?

Episode 107?

This is 108.

Wow.

We've come a long way.

This is incredible.

I will say, though, the caveat to that discussion is, Sam, I think you were like traveling through the middle of nowhere because you called.

You called in, you did a call in for the episode.

So the quality of your call is a little spotty.

The memory has fully returned.

I was in Colorado going through tunnels and I could hear you guys barely.

But so it'd be like, ellie, what do you think of Roger Moore?

Handsome.

And that was it.

I remember that.

Wow.

That was.

Again, that was.

That was some.

So audience, have a little patience with it.

But it is good content nonetheless.

Let's get to this conversation, Sam, because this is exciting.

This is our first James Bond film that we've talked about and wow, we are starting with A doozy here.

This is.

Do you want to lead us off with some trivia or facts on this?

Go for it.

Absolutely.

So this is Moonraker.

Still big.

Sci fi was big.

Directed by Lewis Gilbert, who actually did the Spy who Loved Me just before this.

And to give you a sense, the Spy who Loved Me had a way more modest budget of like 15 million.

Big hit.

They were actually, I think this is right.

They were planning to do for your Eyes Only next.

But because Spy who Loved Me was such a big hit, they're like, let's go bigger.

Let's literally go to space.

So this was Moonraker with a $35 million budget, which is the same price tag as Return of the Jedi, like four to five years later.

So that gives you a sense how expensive it is.

And I think what, adjusted for inflation, it's like $152 million today.

So this is like big budget, you know, tentpole movie.

Yeah.

For a Bond film.

And we'll definitely.

For a Bond film.

Unprecedented.

And we'll definitely get into that because like that you can, you can see the budget leap.

I mean, directing duties.

He just flew, landed on the moon and then he's editing a movie now.

Exactly.

Yeah, he's, he's multi talented guy.

And so, so he.

So, so after Moonraker, which was so big and so over the top.

Oh, I just.

You know what's funny?

I just got that joke because you're talking.

Yeah.

Wow.

I.

Damn.

Wake up.

Sam.

Sam.

Okay.

Wow, we got a slow brain.

You know, it seemed like, hey, we need the best guy possible to edit Moonraker.

Like let's get like real astronauts.

He's no stranger to stamina.

If he can like sit in a, in like a capsule for hours, he can sit at an edit.

So I see why they hired him.

But so, yeah, so John Glenn took over directing duties and interestingly enough, after Moonraker, which is way over the top, they course corrected and did the far more grounded for your Eyes Only, which.

Where John Glenn took over directing, which I actually, I actually really like that movie a lot.

So I, I don't think he was in the beginning of for your Eyes Only.

I mean, I don't think he's there.

So this is his last movie.

This was his last.

Yeah, he did 11.

He played M in 11 films.

Yeah.

And, and, and so that I was aware sort of of him trailing off, but I never really realized exactly where it happened.

So that was really interesting.

But yeah, big, big, big budget.

And music by John Barry.

And you know, this Albert R. Broccoli was actually still alive during this.

Roger Moore, Lewis, Childs Chilies and Michael L. And of course Richard Keel returns as Jaws and we will discuss an absolutely hilarious character arc sending him off on his way.

So this movie plays kind of like Spy who Loved Me, like on steroids, even though I'll just say it right now.

But before the review, Spy who Love Me is, is I think the.

Definitely the better film.

But so this is, this movie is a big, like a big budget leap where they literally go to space.

I mean talk about jumping the shark.

They like jump over the shark, fly to the moon and like have a Star wars laser battle in this film.

Yeah.

Yes.

Though we have to say that despite that this movie was incredibly successful financially.

Box Office Global was 210 million which is about $870 million today.

An amazing return on investment.

So it, you know, despite what critical, you know, the what people think about this movie, it did amazing for what it was.

So it did amazing.

And this movie from like what I've seen, it produces a strong reaction.

Like I feel that people are either as like this is the worst James Bond movie I've ever seen or this is highly entertaining.

Yes, there's middling opinions, but it's kind of a divisive Bond in the sense that it's a lot of fun.

But yes, it is way, way out there.

So because I love the play the box office game with you, Sam, I pulled up a little bit here.

This was not easy to do for the weekend.

I own there's only shows on Box Office Mojo.

That's my go to source for all these things.

Three films were reported that week.

The Moonraker was number one grossing 7.1 million.

Do you know have any idea what number two would be the weekend?

I am not going to cheat, not going to look at Google.

I'm going to try to see.

Would alien by any chance be on there?

You are correct.

That is the number two movie in a sixth week made 4.5 million number.

There's only one other movie that's reported here, and it's also debuted at the same time and only made reported $77,000, which surprised me.

Oh, wow, that is not much.

But if someone handed me $77,000, I'd be like, yay.

I, I don't think this is accurate.

I, I feel like there's other films that came out because there's a big movie, I think that came out a week before this that just doesn't show up on.

On this week.

But I'll tell you, it says it's meatballs.

Oh, I never would have gotten that.

I never would have guessed that.

I had no idea what the third was.

Yeah, so.

Oh, man.

You know, it's so funny.

1979 In my mind is a little bit more of a blank.

But there's only one movie that's 79.

There's only one movie that made over 106 million.

Is there, is there a Rocky sequel?

Oh, yeah, but that came in at number three with 85.1 million.

Rocky two.

Rocky two.

Okay, okay.

But number one, you probably won't get this.

It's Kramer versus Kramer with 106 million.

A lot of these titles surprise me.

Yeah.

Once you get toward the.

The last, like, five of these, you're going to be.

Aha.

But number two was the Amityville Horror with 86.4 million.

Okay.

Rocky 2 was number three.

Number four was Apocalypse now with 83.4 million.

Cool.

Number five, another big budget sci fi movie, first in a big long franchise.

So that.

So five would have been alien.

Nope, that was number six.

Really?

In a.

First in a big.

Really?

1979.

What am I missing here, man?

You'll know.

You're gonna kick yourself.

Came out.

Came out.

Oh, man.

Started off as a TV show.

Oh, wait a minute, wait a minute.

Started off as a TV show.

Oh, my God.

I'm.

I.

You gotta tell me.

I'm just gonna have to kick myself.

I don't think I'm gonna get this.

Wait a minute.

So disappointed in you.

Oh, I'm failing.

Or as Michael Caine would say, I failed.

Master Wade, I failed you.

All right.

It's Star Trek the Motion Picture.

Oh, my God.

All right, ladies and gentlemen, you were making your.

I'm resigning from my post on that.

I am fired.

And at this time, I just want to spend time with my family in this sad time for my career.

My Star Trek.

Oh, my God.

That's.

Wow.

All right, well, that's all, folks.

All right,.

All right, all right.

Wow.

All right.

And the last couple here, I'll just a few big ones here.

The Muppet Movie.

Love The Muppet Movie.

6.6 Movie.

This one.

I. I would have never guessed.

10Bl.

I think it's Blake Edwards.

1019.

70 Point.

74.8 Million.

And one of my all time favorite comedies, the jerk.

73 Point.

Oh, God, I love the Jerk.

Love it.

Yeah.

Okay.

I love the Muppet Movie.

I really love it.

Like, that's.

That might.

That's like in my top 20 for, like, just pure enjoyment.

So one other note here.

This movie is Academy Award nominated.

Did you know that?

Really?

Moonraker.

For best sound design.

No visual effects.

Visual effects, Yeah, I could see that.

Yes.

Yeah.

In a loss to Alien.

That is should have as it should have as it should have that if that beat like, my God.

Because Alien doesn't have matte lines around the ship, but yeah.

All right, well, let's get to our thoughts here on this film.

But first, I will throw in this glorious trailer for this.

Trifle Overpowering your scent.

Holly was a warm girl with the right connections.

Could this possibly be the moment for.

Us to pool our resources?

We would be better off working together.

More excitement, more thrills, more spills.

And guess who's dropped in for a bite.

Jaws is back.

Entire city in space.

James Bond and the treacherous Dr. Goodhead.

Despite your efforts, my finely wrought dream approaches its fulfillment.

Where's Don LaFontaine when you need him?

Oh, well, little plot synopsis here.

I found one somewhere.

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 white, fending off.

All the while fending off the old nemesis Jaws, and venturing to Venice, Rio and the Amazon, and even outer space.

Wow.

I need to find shorter synopsis.

Okay, Sam, what say you give me some initial thoughts on Moonraker, then we'll tear this thing apart.

So I Cannot help but have a lot of fun with this movie.

I am hyper aware of its very realistic shortcomings.

I completely understand negative reviews and I get how ridiculous as it is.

I have a childhood connection to this movie and I loved it.

But as much as I really think the Spy who Loved Me is actually Roger Moore's best and is like, you know what?

I think that may have even been in my top five.

When it's like, you're picking Connery's best and Roger Moore's then.

Then Timothy Dalton and then George Lazenby sucks.

But I.

It's.

I find it very entertaining.

I also happen to be in a really good mood when I was watching it the other night.

So I. I do like Michael Longdale's performance.

I think he's a really good Bond villain.

I have to say, watching it the other night, I was hyper aware of a couple things in the script.

It was very convenient how he was manufacturing all his space technology using the best of different countries because it gives Bond an excuse to globetrot all over the place.

Also, there's a huge plot hole where at the very end, Drax mentions that he had to steal back his own shuttle because he needed it.

But it was the very act of stealing his shuttle from the American plane that got Bond's attention on him in the first place.

And because it's his shuttle anyway, clearly he could have found another way to, like, get his shuttle because, like, basically in hijacking it and having that plane crash, he got the attention of, like.

Of, like, foreign governments on him.

I'll say that.

I.

Here's the thing.

Like, Spy who Loved Me has this beautiful midsection in Egypt with, like, the desert, and it's just gorgeous.

This movie has some kind of duller moment.

Like, I feel like the Drax's estate when Bond is hanging out there for a while.

That drags a little bit, but I just.

There's so much goofy fun in this movie.

Like, I really love the ridiculous set piece in Venice with the boat chases.

And then when, like, the boat.

When his, like, boat comes out of the water and goes across the thing.

I will say 4k watching this on a large TV is ruthless to some of the visual effects in this movie.

Now you can see matte lines around the spaceships and stuff like that.

And also there's literally a scene where he's.

He's navigating, like, depth charges in the Amazon and his boat is, like, being fired upon.

This boat comes flying out of the tree line and lands in the Water.

And because of 4K and the picture being so crisp, you can see the dummy on the front of the boat, like just.

Oh man, there's so much of that stuff.

So like the movie is ridiculous.

But ultimately I really feel kindly towards it because I just, I have a lot of fun with the movie.

I enjoy.

When I was a kid I didn't realize all the references to other films as like kind of wink wink things.

But I find the movie sublimely entertaining and I'm more inclined to watch it than some other actually better reviewed Bonds that I just.

That just don't resonate.

So bottom line, and without even like talking about scenes yet, I have a lot of fun with the movie.

It is so campy and so over the top, but to me it's.

It's kind of like the ultimate Bond like megalomaniac villain because he's literally trying to start a new race in space and his plot is so out there, but it's fun.

So it's.

It's difficult for me to review this movie because I am highly entertained by it while at the same time being aware of how silly it is.

I will say one last thing before we discuss Moore is when Roger Moore is in that centrifuge like G Force thing and he's spinning around, that's the one time or one of the few times in all seven of the films where I actually see him looking like really scared, really uncomfortable, disoriented, like he looks absolutely terrified there.

He played it straight.

And I like that because like Roger Moore like never loses his cool on these films.

But yeah, it's a lot of.

It's just, it's fun and ridiculous at the same time.

Like this is not.

This is like as far away as you can get from a Daniel Craig era Bond.

So that's my general kind of where my head's at with it.

No good.

I'm.

I'm going to just share something really brief up front then we'll.

Because I don't want to get into all the plot mechanics yet here, but I'll say I originally watched this at a very formative time in my life.

I remember the first Bond film I ever watched was A View to a Kill.

Because I remember was I saw my dad took me to see in the theater.

I'd always been curious about James Bond but I remember seeing that and at the time I loved it.

I thought it was fun.

I thought it was colorful, action packed film.

It was Perfect for a 10 year old or 11 year old or however old I was at the time.

I was also a big Duran Duran fan, actually, since I am.

Oh my God.

Oh, there you go.

The soundtrack, you know, featured the title track, which was an enormous hit.

Immediately I was at the video store next chance I had.

Also being a big Star wars fan and science fiction fan at that age, I gravitated toward the box of Moonraker.

Yes.

Oh, God, I understand.

That literally jumped right off the shelf.

It was the second Bond movie I ever saw.

Probably within a week after I saw A View to a Kill.

I think, yeah, it had to have been because this was May.

I remember it was probably a second run theater I saw it in, so might have been late summer I saw Moonraker.

And I can tell you with relative certainty that after an initial viewing it left zero impression on me at the time because I know for a fact I did not watch this movie again for another 18 years.

Oh, wow.

Yeah, yeah.

And this.

Yeah.

And in that time I probably couldn't tell you a single thing about Moonraker either.

Other than that they go to space and nothing else about this movie.

Now this movie has had a bad reputation in the Bond film oeuvre.

Oh, yeah, oh, for sure.

Possibly being the worst or in the bottom two or three.

But I'm here to say after viewing this film and I've seen this is, I think my third or fourth time watching this overall, because I've had times in my life where I've gone through the entire franchise when I've had too much time in my hands.

Oh God, me too.

Me too.

Yeah.

And as hugely flawed as this movie is, if I were to rank all the Bond films, I would still probably put at least seven movies below this.

And I don't rank them necessarily as bad, but there are some God awful dull Bond movies that I just can't sit through.

And this is not a high endorsement of this movie, I realize that at all.

But at least I came away from viewing this with a newfound appreciation for some parts of this film.

And I look forward to talking about these things with you because there is a lot of entertaining things happening on here.

They put the money on the screen on here and that is something I do appreciate that they, they did try in parts of this movie.

And in some parts of this movie I'm like, I don't know what the they were thinking, but.

But at least this is something that happened.

So you bring up a really good point about.

I'm, I'm glad you use the word dull because that's a perfect, like there are, there really are some really dull, tedious bonds.

And at the very least with this one, I like, for the two hours that this movie lasted when I was watching it the other night, I was never like bored, you know, it was, I was like, okay, whoa.

Oh, there's a ridiculous double entendre, you know.

But like, so I know what you mean about not putting it on the bottom.

Because, man, yes.

There are some boring ones out there.

I don't ever need to see like Diamonds Are Forever again.

The man with a Golden Gun.

Yes.

The man with a Golden Gun.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Like there's, there's several that I am never need to go back to, probably.

So, yeah, this is not, I put those way below this.

Yes.

So those are some of my initial thoughts.

But let's, let's get in, let's, let's get into this here because I, I, I have questions, I have things to bring up right off the bat.

First of all, this space shuttle is being transported to the uk.

The UK doesn't even have a space program.

Why, why is it going exactly?

Not only that, but why did it crash over the Yukon?

Like, they make a point to be like, the debris fell on the Yukon.

Where the hell were they flying from if they're flying from the United States to the uk?

Like, you don't, you don't have to go as far north as the Yukon.

Like, that's not like, that's one of those things where like the flight path, like my brain went to that immediately and I was like, what the fuck is it doing way the hell up there?

Like, I have questions after like 10 seconds into this movie.

Well, anyways, but putting that aside, this movie starts off, I want to talk about the, the pre title stunt sequence because this is actually, I think one of the best in this franchise.

At least especially for maybe before, like the Craig area, maybe some of the Brosnan stuff.

This, Yeah, I love this whole thing with jumping out of the airplane and Bond chasing the guy with the parachute.

There's some cheat, there's some campy stuff with Jaws that's in this.

But what I love about this is real stuntmen.

This is a real stunt.

This stuff does not happen anymore.

There's no cgi, there's no blue screen except for the close ups of Roger Moore, of course.

But this isn't done anymore.

Unless it's like a Mission Impossible movie and Tom Cruise is doing this, but he's not a human.

But still, this is really well done.

And I am strapped in when I say I forgot about the stunt in this movie.

But this is incredible.

And the cameraman, the camera work, the cinematography for the stunt is amazing.

I totally agree.

It's so clearly obvious.

They're like, they're stuntmen, like, jumping out of the plane and they even are fighting each other in midair.

And that hilarious campy cut where Richard Keel tries to open his parachute and it doesn't work and then it's like.

And he falls on the circus.

It's just like.

That's the tone of Moonraker where it's.

Like, hits the ground without a parachute.

But don't worry, he'll be fine.

Don't worry.

Oh, yeah, he does, he does.

He's one of those mythic villains where, like in this movie he like falls off waterfalls and like, he's just like, he never gets hurt.

But he did, like, he killed a shark in Spy who Loved Me, like with his bare teeth.

So it's like he's a.

He's like a, you know, a mega sidekick villain.

But yeah, that stunt sequence was awesome and I miss those stunts in movies today.

Even the, you know, some of it was definitely, you know, like blue screen.

But that.

The cable car going up to Corcovado, the mountain in Rio, that's a real place.

I, I've been there.

I lived in Brazil when I was like a 13 year old.

And so that there's like, I just like the effort of like, oh my God, they actually like stop the cables and like nowadays you would like CGI it.

You know what I mean?

So I just.

That that's another work is impressive.

Yeah, great stunt work, Great cinematography during that.

That's the other great stunt scene that I made note of here.

I wish Jaws wasn't necessarily in these things, but I just love the way that it's done.

Really well choreographed stunt work on this.

I was going to get to the cable car thing in a bit, but.

Oh yeah, we don't have to get to that yet.

As a highlight.

You know, Bond films are known for their title sequence in the song.

This.

I, I would say that Shirley Bassey has done several of these.

She sang Goldfinger and Diamonds Are Forever.

Both far superior than Moonraker, the song.

Oh, yeah.

So I, I like the dreamlike quality.

Like, I, I like that opening sequence.

I do like the Moonraker song, but it's definitely not her.

Her best.

But I, It's.

I prefer it.

It's not even.

It's spy Who Love Me is way better too.

But like, yeah, it's kind of.

It's sort of a middling song.

But I like the dreamy sci fi, like Moonraker as opposed to like Moonraker, Moonraker.

Space, space, space.

So, like.

Yeah, I hear you there.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I mean, a f. Felt like of they're trying to capture Goldfinger or something, but I just, I just.

I don't know.

I. I totally hear that.

Yeah.

Now, I had notes on Hugo Drax.

I. I want to talk about Hugo Drax.

You said you liked him as a villain.

I, the reason I liked him is because I. I don't know, I just liked his screen presence, but he's also sullen.

But he also like, chuckles in the middle of.

He'll be like, he'll say something, he'll deliver a line.

And instead of being like Mr.

Bond, you keep appearing like an unwanted guest.

He laughs in the middle of it and he goes, Mr.

Bond, you keep appearing like.

I don't even remember him laughing or smiling.

It's not even a laughing.

It's just like he's kind of amused, but I just like his deadpan way of like, he's like, oh, look, the British Prime Minister.

And wearing gas masks.

Nonetheless.

I'm sorry, gentlemen, but you'll find that I apologize if I don't quite understand British humor or something like that.

I just liked his performance because some Bond villains are kind of a blank to me, but him, I remember, I wouldn't put him as like top tier villain, but I liked him overall because he was so calm and poised.

And he also, like, clearly he's not fooled by Bond for a second.

He's like, oh, I gotta get rid of this guy.

Yeah.

You state a great case, Sam.

I found him to be a very middling villain.

I think, you know, I remembered him differently.

I think I remember growing up, my first impression of this movie.

I did remember him from that first viewing.

I thought he was extremely menacing.

That's how I remembered of the pictures of him.

Like, you see a photo of him, he's got that goatee beard and the dark hair and he looks scowling and he seems intimidating, but I find him to be very much a blank canvas.

And he's doesn't have much menace to him that I remembered from this, that I experienced with this viewing.

So he had a great look to him, like this quiet authority.

But watching this with fresh eyes, I guess 20 years later, Michael Lonsdale plays him.

I thought, really not much panache.

Bond villains are Often known for a lot of scenery chewing and their charisma.

Not all of them.

Some of them really are dull, you know.

I don't know why villains really can be hit and miss.

I'm kind of surprised how many of them are not good.

That's true.

I mean, it's funny.

Sorry, keep moving.

No, go ahead.

Oh, no, I was gonna say, I. Yeah, it's funny.

The first one you saw in the theater was A View to a Kill.

And even though it's a totally different style movie in terms of Bond villains, I must say, Robert Davi as Sanchez was a scary villain to me because he was like a real world, like, drug.

Drug dealer who would, like, cut people's throats.

And I was actually like.

That guy actually made me nervous in that movie because he was like.

He was less campy Bond villain and more like, you know, values loyalty, but, like, really temperamental.

And so that when I watch License to Kill, I'm actually always nervous when he thinks Bond is his friend.

I'm waiting for him to discover who Bond really is, and there's like, actual tension there.

But, yeah, just regarding Bond villains in general, because the.

Yeah.

So, yeah, I just found Drax to just be kind of be uninteresting to me.

And I guess it's just that his inflection isn't changing much.

Throughout this entire movie.

He.

Like you said, it's a lot of deadpan delivering.

He doesn't.

I didn't think he.

You know, he's not going to crack jokes.

I get that.

And he's not really a large or intimidating man.

And he's walking around like he's got a metal rod up his ass and he's not even British, so he just didn't have personal.

I. I just don't want to spend any time with him in this.

I totally hear that.

Yeah.

He's no, you know, he's no Aristotle Christos.

Toast from your eyes only.

He's no Max Zorin.

He's no General Arcady Gregorovich, you know.

You know, you're somebody that makes me feel something.

And I'll tell you what, Sam.

Every villain is ruined for all time after Owen Davion.

So every movie needs to have Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Owen Davion from MI Mission Impossible.

Oh, God.

If they could just capture.

Put him in all the Bond movies, then we got a movie.

He's.

If Owen Davion was in it.

You want to do it, Sam?

Do the voice, I'll do it.

If Owen Damien was in it, he'd be like.

He'd be like, let me tell you something, boss.

He's like, you think you're going to stop my spaceship?

You're not going to stop my spaceship.

He's like, james, do you have a wife or a girlfriend?

Because whoever she is, whoever she is, I'm going to find her.

I'm going to find her and I'm going to hurt her.

So he'd be like.

He'd be like, you know that he would have.

He would have.

It would have happened.

He would have had.

And then he'd reveal it in the most, like, cruel way.

He'd be like, so remember that time you were married?

He's like, I just want to let you know, it's like, it was a real pleasure shooting her.

It was just.

I really.

It was like.

I just wanted to let you know that and be like, oh, my God, he's a psychopath.

Yes.

I. I want that Bond villain.

I want that.

What do you think?

What do you think of.

And is it.

Is it Lois Childs or.

I always like it because her first name is.

What do you think of her performance?

Because I have to say, sometimes she's good, but some lines she delivers so flatly that it, like, it calls attention to itself.

And I know the role is not like, you know, incredible acting, but there's one scene where she's, like, stuck within the space station or she hasn't seen Bond for a while and she sees him and it's the most false, Like, James, like, I'm so happy to see you.

But I don't know.

I like her and I like her as an actress, but for some reason, the chemistry between her and Roger Moore is.

The chemistry between Roger Moore and the Russian agent in Spy who Loved Me is, I think, way better.

And I know that actress.

My mind is, like, drawing a blank.

But I didn't think it was bad.

I just think she's not amazing.

I'm curious what you.

What you thought of.

Interesting.

We.

We might think about this differently.

So I actually do agree.

I don't know if their chemistry is great in this.

I don't think this is Roger Moore's best work as.

As James Bond.

I. I do think that Lois Childs is a very good Bond girl.

And she's not a typical Bond girl.

Yes.

Because.

And I'd rank her in the upper echelon for these, because she's not some excuse the term like some bimbo with a PhD.

Denise Richards.

Oh, my God.

Yeah.

I do wish her character was fleshed out a bit more, but she's playing with intelligence.

She's got coolingness.

She's pretty straightforward.

I think that she's great in this.

I have no problems with her performance.

Lois Childs.

I think she's one of the.

The high points as far as performances in this film.

As far as far as the lead performances in here.

I think she's.

I think she's very good.

I think that she could be in better things.

Yeah.

I honestly, I really like the fact that she's also, like, a CIA agent.

And that, like, hilarious scene where he's like, oh, is this a standard issue perfume?

And it's like, lighter fluid.

Like, Like, I like that.

And to be honest, I actually.

I do, for the most part, like her in this movie.

I don't think.

I like.

For me, it's not criticizing her overall performance.

There's just some individual lines for me that.

That read is, like, really flat, where I'm like, oh, I wish you guys had done one more take on that.

But that's just me kind of, like, overanalyzed.

But overall, no, I do like.

I like her and I like what her character does.

And I do think they work well together, especially when they're both in the ambulance and they're, like, trying to trick that guy into, like, looking at her while, like, Bond kicks the fire extinguisher.

Just.

They have a good.

They have a good.

They have a good dynamic.

Yeah.

The ambulance ride, aka Product Placement Boulevard.

Oh, God, yeah.

Which is like 7Up and Seiko watches and they're like, let's go past every single billboard, every.

I felt like I started.

Should start smoking Marlboros and fly British Airways by the end of that scene.

Yes.

I also love, like, even though it's, like, supposed to be Carnival and Rio, I love some of the background extras where there's people just, like, like, dancing in the street.

Like, they're dancing in back alleys for no reason other than to just, like, block Jaws from, like, you know, fighting them.

Like, it's just.

It's hilarious.

Oh, that's like.

Oh, that's right.

When they're in Brazil and Jaws shows up and Bond is with this new girl.

Like, the bar.

He takes the bartender out.

Is that what it is?

Manuela?

Is that who.

Yes, exactly.

Back up for one second.

He meets Manuela, and within a minute, he is already molesting her.

Like, how do you spend five hours in Rio if you don't?

Some.

But as he's disrobing her, that scene,.

That scene is borderline cringe because you're like, oh my God.

He's like a predator.

He's like, so how are we going to kill time?

And then he starts unraveling her dress and you're like, Jesus.

So casual about it.

Yeah, so casual.

Yeah.

So.

Yeah, but you're right.

All the carnival.

And so he's.

I forget what Manuel is doing, but Josh showed him, by the way, creepy clown costume.

That was, that was scary.

Yeah, that's harm.

I remember being like unsettled as a kid watching that scene.

Yeah, yeah.

He shows up and he is just kind of carried away by some partygoers.

I actually, my theory is he wanted to party with them because he could have overpowered that.

The guy can kill a shark.

He can like tear apart like a cable with his teeth.

He could have like got away from those partygoers if he wanted to.

But this is his heartwarming, I think is what it is.

Exactly.

They were brilliantly planting the seed that he's a good guy because literally when you watch that, when he gets pushed away by the partygoers, he makes this hand gesture like.

All right, all right.

Exactly, exactly.

Oh, we're jumping all around.

I don't care.

This is whatever.

I. I have so many notes, but whatever.

What else we need to talk of.

We could.

Because I don't want to talk.

I will say one thing I noticed that on this viewing, watching it very clear headedly, one thing I noticed that I actually didn't notice as much before in.

Because I haven't seen it a couple years.

But like I liked how the, the.

The like quote unquote, like superhuman race, like supermodel people are pepper.

Are.

Are like peppered throughout the movie from the beginning more than I noticed like that there's two women at Drax's estate in the beginning.

They show up in space.

There's a woman at the glass factory.

Just so you know, they're.

Get it right.

They're astro technicians.

They're astro technicians.

My apologies to the.

My apologies to the women.

Beautiful women.

Astro technicians.

They are astro technicians who happen to be a. Visually pleasing perhaps to someone in theory.

But.

But I like that like there's a woman that's.

That that's working at the glass factory in Venice.

I mean in.

Yeah.

In Italy.

And she shows up later at the place near Iguazu Falls in Brazil.

But they actually part of that.

There's a.

There's that.

There's the one shot of the outside structure.

It's not Guatemala.

I found.

I've researched this and I don't have it written down, but like they go to a place because Drax is using that orchid plant and like refurbishing it or whatever.

And it.

The orchid plant killed this ancient civilization.

And so they.

That exterior shot is.

It's part of that like Mayan something that is actually featured more heavily in.

But I just like the fact.

Bottom line, the lengthy roundabout point I'm making is some familiar faces pop up.

And what I do like about the script is more so than in some other James Bond.

You see pieces of Drax's plan peppered all over the place.

Like there's physical evidence of what he's doing.

And I think that I thought the plant and payoff was pretty good.

As opposed to a movie like Octopussy, which I enjoy.

But there are plot threads all over the place in that film that I find more confusing.

Drax is lair.

So we.

You mentioned this.

He's.

Bond goes there.

This is somewhere in the.

This in the Amazon.

He just has a layer somewhere in the Amazon.

He does.

And I.

Because I was fine.

It was.

It's supposed to be.

Yeah.

In the movie it's a river that's not the Amazon.

It's some tributary off of it.

And they specifically mentioned the name.

And I totally forgot.

But like.

Yeah, so it's there.

But I did like the fact they.

Yeah.

The scenery was cool there.

Yeah.

This, by the way, top.

Maybe top five villain layers.

And I really like all the set design for this.

That first scene where all the astro technicians are hanging out.

Great set piece.

Then you get that other room with all of those big monitors up on the ceiling.

It's gorgeous.

Yes.

Where Drax is hanging out.

And of course the space station up in space as well.

All of this.

Millions of dollars are thrown up on the screen.

All this.

I. I really appreciate that they put the money here for sure.

Really well done.

They really did.

I actually like the.

How the space station, like they put a lot of effort into its destruction.

Like it blows up in pieces and pieces are falling off.

Like it's like first of all,.

Okay, that space station blowing up.

I thought I saw the explosion and it looks like it just kind of evaporated in My viewing now.

You saw it in 4K.

I guess.

I honestly, you know what?

I have, I have a dvd.

All right.

From back in the day.

That's.

That was my.

Because this is not, this is actually not streaming.

You have to rent it or.

Currently, we just missed the window, I think, like a couple weeks ago, where it was on prime or something.

It was.

And you know what's interesting is you can rent it in Amazon prime, but it's only in HD on Amazon Prime.

And I'm like, no, no, no, I gotta find the.

In 4K.

You can rent it in 4K on Apple.

Apple Plus, Apple TV Plus.

And the only thing is 4K.

Like, I love the climax, but man, does it reveal, like, when, when there are tracks on the spacecraft.

Like, there are matte lines and there's areas of black where the stars are not there because they're literally like, it's.

The matte lines are not as clean as like, vastly superior work that, like, you know, Empire Strikes Back did.

Yeah, but I was not giving these guys money.

No, yeah, yeah,.

I hear you.

I, I, you know, honestly, I have it at.

And back in Massachusetts, but I'm in California and I was like, I just, I gotta, I have to see it.

You get, you get Roger Moore commentary on the dvd.

Oh, he's like, oh, I remember how hot it was in this set.

Yeah.

Yes.

And like, when I did the centrifuge, like, I thought he talks about how they, they blew air, like at a really high, high velocity.

That's how they got the effect on his face.

And he said I, he was worried they were gonna blow the hair off his head.

So you got.

He's got some okay stories on the commentary.

I listened to about half of it and I'm like, I think I'm good.

I really like that the crew, apparently, like cast and crew and multiple directors really enjoyed working with them.

Like, it sounds like he was a fun, spirited actor to be around.

I never got any kind of diva vibe from Roger Moore.

Yeah.

So this space battle happens with.

We have to talk about this.

These, like two battalions face.

I guess it's the Americans versus Drax space army, space lasers at all.

This is a ridiculous scene with the worst sound effects ever.

I did capture this because.

Listen to this.

Like, is this like 8 bit Nintendo.

That those sound effects could not get?

More like, pew, pew, pew, pew, pew.

Like, it does sound like a Nintendo game.

It really does.

Yeah.

Yeah, it's pretty rough.

So Bond kills Drax.

He uses that Q's cyanide.

Dart on him and he.

He goes out into space and we get the line, where's Drax?

Oh, he had to fly.

I didn't capture that and feel like it.

Drax has a girlfriend.

Yeah, this is pretty controversial, but.

And suddenly he can speak too.

Oh, you mean Jaws.

Yeah, yeah.

Oh, yeah, that Drax.

Jaw, Jaws.

Jaws can speak, Yep.

I. I do remember as a kid when, When Drax gets, like, sucked out the vent.

I rewound that so many times as a kid.

I was enamored with that, with the like.

And it looked amazing.

And I see it now and I'm like, yeah, it's all right, you know?

Yeah, this.

So, yeah, this final climax, I feel, is so very derivative of Star Wars.

Obviously.

A lot of the, there's a lot of the vibe of it.

The, the, as I said, the explosion, I think, is a very comical and derivative of the Death Star blowing up as well.

Like I said, I think the space station just kind of evaporates.

At least in my viewing.

I had.

I felt like I had no weight to it.

I don't know.

It's funny, a lot of that special effects.

That was still like, wow, that looks pretty good.

Like, way more so than the laser effects, you know?

Yeah.

And.

But wait, there's more, because then Bond and Goodhead have to chase down these orbs that were sent toward Earth with that neurotoxin.

And Bond, very much like Star wars, has to do the targeting and shoot them down using manual targeting as well.

And he had to use the Force, is how I interpreted it.

He had to use the Force.

And the graphics on that manual targeting are hilarious.

It's like he's playing an.

An Atari video game in space.

Like.

And the acting in this is wretched.

So I actually captured this because this is worth listening to again.

Automatic firing system negative.

Must be the heat switching.

The manual.

Controls aren't responding.

Wings are beginning to glow.

Steady,.

Steady.

Almost there.

I literally half expected to hear right there.

You're all clear, kid.

Now let's blow this shot and go home.

All right.

But all this happens which ends in one of the greatest final scenes in James Bond War, I think, where they're back at mission control and you got M, you got Q, and they want to patch Bond into Buckingham palace and was it the White House, Is it?

I think so, yeah.

Yes, yes.

They say we can patch Nvidia to Buckingham palace in the White House, I think.

And the video feed aboard Moonraker shows up and Bond and Goodhead are floating in a compromised state, let's say.

And, oh, it is so good.

And I love that fact that am just the most disdain, I think, ever.

He's so disappointed.

He's like, 007.

Like, oh, God, I love that.

That's awesome.

Like, anytime I'm disappointed in you, Sam, or a guest, 007, like, it's so good.

It's so good.

It's just.

It's pure disdain.

Yes.

This is the first joint venture between our two countries.

I'm having it patched directly to the.

White House and Buckingham Palace.

Well, I'm sure Her Majesty will be fascinated.

We have audio visual.

Ah, at last.

My God.

What's Bong doing?

I think he's attempting reentry, sir.

Yeah,.

I've watched on YouTube like 13 times in the past, like four days.

Like, I can't get enough.

It deserve that.

Literally deserves a slow clap.

Like, I love how, like, Q is always tuned in.

Like in some other movies.

He's always like.

Everyone else is like, double what's Bond doing?

And Q is like,.

Yeah.

Okay, you want to take a quick break and we'll get back with our rating and decision on this.

Sounds good.

All right, just hold them off for a few seconds.

Almost there.

Better let it loose.

They're right behind me there.

I can't hold them.

It's away.

Use the force.

Luke.

Let go.

His computer's off.

Luke, you switched off your targeting computer.

What's wrong?

Nothing.

I'm all right.

You're all clear, kid.

Now let's swallow this thing and go home.

Foreign.

So it's, it's.

It's no Moonraker, but what is, you know.

Yeah.

Okay.

Any last thoughts on.

Well, we've already done that.

What's final thoughts on Moonraker?

Your rating and decision on whether we're going to save a pudge this film.

So I'm a softy for this movie.

I just have a lot of fun with it.

It is sublimely ridiculous.

And I would give it three and a half stars for fun factor because it's a highly watchable, entertaining James Bond for me personally, in spite of its flaws, which are very apparent.

But the enjoyment factor is up there.

So I would give it three and a half.

I would opt to save it only because in these dark days of the apocalypse, why not see, Bond and Dr. Goodhead have some fun times and some fun adventures and take us to a galaxy very, very close to the atmosphere with some questionable special effects.

Wow.

All right, Sam, I want to match your enthusiasm for this film.

I so do.

Because everything you said I agree with.

But I just bringing it down to reality here a little bit.

I mean, this movie does.

Here's the good.

This movie has some really good stunt work and stunt choreography.

I think the set pieces are spectacular.

I like Drax's lair.

I don't think Drax is a good villain.

I don't think this is.

I think this is probably average of all the seven more film.

I think he did seven of them.

Right.

This is.

Yes, in the middle of his performances.

I think Dr. Goodhead is one of the better Bond girls, but I like the on location aspects of this.

In fact, I'm kind of talking myself into a hot positive review here.

I don't know, you know, there's that.

What a.

For what a Bond movie is supposed to be.

Yes.

I think this is an awful script.

I think this is not a good plot.

The good story.

The.

The.

It's a ridiculous movie.

It does feel like it was written really fat.

They're like, we're going to make.

We're going to like, let's cash in on like the Spy who Loved Me.

Okay.

It's in space.

And there's.

You can feel the, like, surface level of the script that's really apparent.

Yeah.

And this movie is campy.

In fact, we glossed over something we probably shouldn't have.

And that was the whole gondola scene and how that thing just went completely off the rails with double takes from Pigeons and Dogs.

And the music and that whole scene.

We didn't even really get into it.

In fact, we don't have to because that is one of the most probably hated sequences in franchise history.

Actually, really quick question before the scene where Bond is.

He's just fallen out of the ambulance, he's on his own and all of a sudden he's like rid.

Through the.

Through the.

Through the open fields, like Poncho Villa with like, with all these guys and.

And then there's like this music.

I know that's a reference to something, but I don't.

Is that the Seven?

The Magnificent Seven.

But what is that?

Because it's.

No, no, no.

So playing music.

Davey Crockett music is Davy Crockett.

Okay?

That's what it is.

Because I knew it was something, but I didn't know what it was.

Okay?

I Was just curious.

I think it's Davey.

Or is it.

I think it's Davy Crockett or.

Ooh, you know what?

My knowledge is not business, but I feel like it's.

It's something like that.

Or is.

Was definitely referencing.

It was like.

And.

And I knew.

I was like, clearly, they're.

They're.

Yeah, they're doing something and I don't.

Know what it is.

Somebody who knows this is going to call me out on it.

I thought.

My thought was Davy Crockett, Crockett, Boon, something like that.

It might be.

There's.

It's.

Whatever it is, it's definitely an on purpose, on the nose, comical reference.

And I don't know what it is.

That's what this movie is doing, though.

It's more of a. I feel like this movie, and this is where I was about to put some.

Throw some shade on this movie.

This movie is a parody of itself, of the Bond franchise.

It is in so many ways.

And that bothers me a lot.

Like, the little jingle when he hits the little keypad.

And all these things really get to me.

And it's so campy.

But it's also.

The tone is completely all over the place, too.

There is a scene on Drax's estate that is scary and harrowing when one of the first girls that he meets, I forget her name, who he.

He.

I think he sleeps with.

And Drax finds out about this, fires her and she runs into the woods and his two German shepherds hunt her down in a really scary moment.

And.

And I'm like, wow, this is like.

Like a kid's campy film.

And yet this scene that's like 30 seconds long is really disturbing.

It was.

I. I remember that as a kid.

That scene really stood out.

And.

And like, I was like, whoa.

Yeah, exactly.

And there's moments like that of just campiness and then parts of this movie that are just so dull as well.

So I.

Overall, this movie just is.

Is.

I'm not up on this movie.

I cannot recommend this movie.

This is still, like I said, of the 20 to 25 Bond movies is that we're up to now.

Yeah, it's still in the bottom 25%.

That's totally fair.

It's totally fair.

If I'm gonna save.

If I'm gonna save a Bond movie, it's gonna be in the top half at minimum.

Right?

Yeah, it's got to.

So.

I'm sorry, Sam.

I. I'm not.

I'm not going to.

But by the way, what I wanted to say is that scene where he comes out of the water with the boat, it was just done.

It was done in the.

The movie before this.

This is the Spy who Loved Me.

It was done in the Spies who Loved Me Better.

Remember.

Remember the scene where he comes out of.

In the White Lotus and.

And he drops the fish out?

No, can't be seen.

But it had a class to did and it was just.

It was understated in a way.

Now, it was probably hated at the time, but still, it was done in a way that I could.

It was a little cringey, but this was.

That took that to another level in this film.

That was just dogs and pigeons.

Yes, exactly.

So anyways, no, I'm giving this a 2.2.5 out of 5.

So it's.

It's great in some ways, terrible in other ways.

Right in the middle.

I'm not giving.

Saying it's a bad film.

There are plenty of other James Bond movies I give.

I would give a lower rating to, but no, I. I'm not saving this.

So we are split on this and we will have to wait for somebody else to weigh in on this to tip the scales one way or another.

We should.

We should ask Crawcheck.

We can.

We.

We have.

We have a couple movies waiting in the wings for somebody to weigh in on, so we'll see.

Okay.

So, yeah, we're gonna have to wait.

I totally hear that.

And I also, I fully acknowledge, like, I, I don't feel strongly defensive of Moonraker at all.

I, It's.

I have a soft spot for.

It's a childhood connection, but everything you say is like 100% like.

I, I agree with you while giving it the same higher rating because of my feelings for it, but the filmmaker in me, the analyst.

Yeah, the movie definitely has.

It's.

It's weirdly tonal and I think Spy who Loved Me is way more upper tier.

And Spy who Loved Me's climax with a nuclear missile inside of the giant.

That freight ship is way more serious and like, that's.

That's like approaching Connery level Bond.

So.

Yeah, totally.

I hear you.

Yeah.

I'm really looking forward to talking about that.

That'll be a good one.

And.

All right, so, guys, this is season three.

This is no joke.

This is what?

Things are good.

You know, we had some problems, but we're doing good movies now.

This is is serious.

You got to see me in whatever movie I'm doing next because I'm Mark Wahlberg.

This is no joke.

Well, I did just see his most recent movie that's on Amazon Prime.

Balls up if you wanted to check it out.

I don't recommend it necessarily, but it's an interesting one.

I haven't even heard of that.

Yeah, go Google it.

It's something.

All right.

So that is the show for this week.

Back to the Frame Rate is part of the Western Media Podcast Network.

Special thanks to Brian Ellsworth for our show opening.

On behalf of all of us, we bid you farewell from the Farewell from the Fallout Shelter.

If you're enjoying the show, please subscribe and leave a rating review on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform.

You will always find all of our episodes@backtotheframeright.com this is the end of our transmission.

Back to the Frame Rate.

Signing off.

Want you to know it's over.

Well, here's to us.

Hi, everybody.

Just want to thank everyone for sticking around to this part of the show.

What you're about to hear is some archival content from episode 13.

And this is a great place to repurpose this top five list.

One caveat, I will say is that Sam's audio is not quite up to our current standards.

We would probably not do it this way anymore.

Sam was driving through Colorado at night and he was going through tunnels and mountains.

And you can definitely tell that it's not quite as good as the way we do it these days, but still, it's a good, great piece of content that I think is a perfect place to put into this episode from Moonraker.

Hope you enjoy it.

Thanks.

Let's move on to our next segment and we're reviewing Ghosted this week, a movie about secret agents, and feels like if there ever was a time where we should at least mention this on the podcast, this is the episode to do that.

So I figure, you know, at the very minimum, we could at least kind of share a couple brief thoughts on the James Bond franchise in at least general terms.

And I would love it.

At least I put a little list together of our my top five favorite James Bond movies.

I don't know if either of you guys had a chance to make a list.

Maybe Ellie, I think you said that you might not have been able to do this, and that's okay.

I have a list.

Oh, you do have a list.

I know.

That I've seen.

So I, I'm not a fan of James Bond, but I have seen the films, several films.

Not all of them like.

I think there are people that I know that have watched all of the films from the different James Bond eras too.

Yeah, but I, Yeah, but I do, I, I, I have to say, and I'm sorry I cut you off.

One of my favorite James Bonds is obviously Roger Moore.

Is Roger Moore your, your favorite Bond?

Yeah, because when I was a young woman, a young girl, I always thought he was so hot.

Oh, my.

I know.

I must have been like 12 or something.

I don't know.

And I thought Roger Moore just did it for you.

Wow.

So hot.

Like in the 80s, right?

So I was like, like the blue eyes and he was so tall and.

I. Yeah, so I just trying to.

I'm picturing you with a Roger Moore poster in your bedroom and.

Right on.

I am learning so much about you, Ellie.

Plus, in the 80s, in the Roger Moore films, we had that ugly guy, the giant with the teeth, Jaws.