Moonraker (1979) is the eleventh spy film in the James Bond series, and the fourth to star Roger Moore as agent James Bond. The third and final film in the series to be directed by Lewis Gilber. Bond investigates the theft of a space shuttle, leading him to Hugo Drax, the owner of the shuttle's manufacturing firm. Along with space scientist Dr. Holly Goodhead, Bond follows the trail from California to Venice, Rio de Janeiro, and the Amazon rain forest, and finally into outer space to prevent a plot to wipe out the world population and to re-create humanity with a master race.
Moonraker was intended by its creator Ian Fleming to become a film even before he completed the novel in 1954, since he based it on a manuscript he had written even earlier. The film producers had originally intended to do Moonraker in 1973 with Roger Moore making his debut as Bond, but it was put on hold and not released until 1979, coinciding with the rise of the science fiction genre in the wake of the Star Wars phenomenon. The soundstages of Pinewood Studios in England, a traditional location for the series, were only used by the special effects team.
Moonraker was noted for its high production cost, spending almost twice as much money as predecessor The Spy Who Loved Me, but eventually became the highest grossing film of the series with $210,308,099 worldwide, a record that stood until GoldenEye. The film's visuals were praised, with Derek Meddings being nominated for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.
