Moonraker (1979)

Moonraker is quite simply one of the weirdest James Bond movies out there, as close to accidental spoof as anything in the series (not counting Casino Royale, which was supposed to be real spoof). Not only does it feature the larger-than-life, metal-toothed villain Jaws (Richard Kiel), performing even stranger feats than he did in The Spy Who Loved Me, but also a downright loopy foray into outer space, complete with an exchange of laser blasts better suited to the contemporaneous Star Wars movies. Of course, diversions from the straight and narrow in a long-running series like this are always welcome, and Moonraker has fun with its lighter tone and silly finale. Directing his third Bond film, Lewis Gilbert also knows how to provide the goods, including a taut sequence atop a tram that'll be a doozy for anyone afraid of heights. Of course, the fact that Jaws is severing the tram's thick support wire with his teeth just restores focus on the sense of kookiness that suffuses the whole enterprise. Moonraker was the middle of Roger Moore's seven films as 007. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide