Moonraker Plot, The

This is a tough one for me. As a Bond fan I can enjoy all eras of 007 - including even the so-called "cheesy" Roger Moore period. So, whilst I fully acknowledge that Moonraker took it to the extreme (double taking pigeons anyone?), the one thing which always kept me entertained was Moore's one-liners. He's the best at delivering them and I have to say that the amount which have been cut in the edit is a little disappointing (and not just Moore's humorous quips are gone - some others too from other characters are sorely missing). However, the purpose of this edit is to cut back on as much as the over the top style nature of the piece as possible, so in that musiced certainly succeeds.

Most of the visual edits work a treat, but audio-wise I feel this is a bit less consistent. The added music is at times somewhat ill-fitting (the cable car fight just doesn't work for me) and the replaced key-entry beep sound effects are way too loud. Perhaps a small criticism, but I really think this could have been caught by musiced when he was checking the edit back and adjusted.

By far the best piece of this edit is the much discussed speed boat chase. Very nicely done and the use of White Knight from David Arnold's Tomorrow Never Dies actually works a treat. I'm not sure I would have totally removed Jaws from the scene though, as when Bond meets him soon after, Jaws is clearly soaked through and we have no idea why.

I'm also not sure of cutting the "space battle". As over the top as the scene is, there's some terrific model work going on and the outlandish nature of that scene is so much fun. I was also surpised to see what is probably the worst product placement in Bond history left totally intact (7-up, Marlboro and British Airways all in the space a few frames).

However, I did have fun watching the edit. On the whole it's well edited and does present what it sets out to achieve in making a more serious, less cheesy take on Moonraker. Maybe I just like my Moore a little more humorous and cheesy than other people do?

This is a great edit: it removes some of the cheesiest parts of the movie, while keeping the pacing consistent. Also, there's still an overall Roger Moore - vibe to this movie. Overall the movie is more bearable to watch without severe editing.

Dvd is nicely, got a sweet menu and everything. Quality is as expected for a DVD5.

I really loved how Jaws was way more menacing and how the love interest was omitted completely. Excellently excecuted.

Personal recommendation: put the dvd in a sleeve and put it in the same case as the original movie. This is the version you must watch

I liked this one a lot.

Now, first up, let's get the whole thing about the original out of the way...it is generally considered to be about the worst of the Bond films. I can't argue with popular consensus here. It really is dreadful.

MusicEd921 did well in getting rid of most of the corny dialogue. I mean, really, if we have to have this film at all, then yeah, let's cut out that embarrassing Roger Moore "humor". My only problem here? There could have been even MORE cut! Some of the sleazy lines still make me cringe. But hell, if the editor cut out all of the corny stuff then we'd be left with not much of Bond in this film at all! So no real problem here I guess.

Action scenes changed or removed worked well for me. There is a lot of fat to trim here and I certainly didn't miss that damn gondola!

Sound and music changes were nicely done. I couldn't really notice any real issues and the changes made only added to the film. Especially that daft cowboy bit and the redoing of the password control panel. Nice work.

OK, it is time to be petty, but I found that the redoing of the title stuck out like a sore thumb. Adding "The" and "Plot" around the original existing "Moonraker" with that shadow? Get rid of the shadow and it'll look fine! Again, it is petty and didn't really ruin anything, it just took me out of the idea that this was, in fact, the real film....but only for a second...and it doesn't matter that much... so please take it as a compliment! Also, a little bit of slowed frame rate once or twice, but only for a brief period and again, hardly anything to ruin the experience as a whole. And this could also be an issue from making the .iso file. It can happen and if it WAS just on my copy, then apologies to the editor.

It works well as a DVD too. Static but perfectly fine menu screen, a short comparison piece about changes made and a pretty classy looking trailer. All good.

In my opinion, there isn't much that can be done to save this film, but at least MusicEd921 has had a proper, good go at it. I think the only way to make it better, one would have to be absolutely merciless with the cutting of Bond's awful lines....but then again, that would ruin half of the appeal of Roger Moore era Bond films, wouldn't it?

So I'll take my couple of petty complaints, stick them somewhere else and highly recommend this edit.

Much better than the original.

I always thought Moonraker was silly, but when rewatching it before seeing Skyfall I realized that the plot was solid, and that it was a good representation of what espionage in (1970s) space would be like. All that needed to be done was to, well, remove Roger Moore from it. Since that's not possible, this is the next best thing. Well done.

Moonraker is proof that sometimes too much of good thing is just.... well, too much.

In essence, Moonraker is a remake of extremely successful THE SPY WHO LOVED ME, just made even bigger....
Move the plot from the Ocean to Space, add more gadgets, more humor, more Bond Babes, more winking at the camera... and oh yeah, more Jaws... and you have a movie that went too far for most audiences to follow.

But MusicEd's fan edit corrects many of these missteps, and brings the over the top tone back down to Earth. Most of the cuts worked for me and the audio work is fairly impressive though I did not agree with every choice. For me the greatest achievement of this edit is Jaws is restored to being a menacing figure instead of comedic fodder, and I applaud Ed for this -- Bravo!

If you are a fan of the Roger Moore Bond era, I think this is a must see adventure, as this fan edit could easily be titled MOONRAKER REDEEMED!

Thanks for the fun Ed!