The third and final film in the series to be directed by Lewis Gilbert, it co-stars Lois Chiles, Michael Lonsdale, Corinne Cléry, and Richard Kiel.

Along with astronaut Dr. Holly Goodhead, Bond follows the mystery from California to Venice, Rio de Janeiro, the Amazon rainforest, and finally into outer space to prevent a plot to wipe out the world population and repopulate humanity with a master race.

The film's producers had originally intended to make For Your Eyes Only, but chose Moonraker as a result of the resurgence of the science fiction genre, following the success of Star Wars, and NASA's concurrent test flights of the Space Shuttle.

Budgetary issues led to the film being shot primarily in France; other locations included Italy, Brazil, Guatemala and the United States.

He returns to the factory at night to investigate and discovers a secret biological laboratory and learns that the glass vials are to hold a nerve gas deadly to humans, but harmless to plants and animals.

Bond has saved one of the vials he found earlier, as the only evidence of the now missing laboratory; he gives it to M for analysis, who permits him to go to Rio de Janeiro under the pretense of being on leave.

Jaws captures Bond and Goodhead, to whom Drax reveals his plan to destroy humanity by launching fifty globes that would disperse the nerve gas into Earth's atmosphere.

[9] Fleming first pitched the novel to Hungarian-British film producer Alexander Korda, who had expressed interest in purchasing the rights to Live and Let Die.

[15] In March 2004 rumours surfaced about a lost 1956 version of Moonraker by Orson Welles, and a James Bond web site repeated it on April Fool's Day in 2004 as a hoax.

[16] The screenplay of Moonraker differed so much from Ian Fleming's novel that Eon Productions authorised the film's screenwriter Christopher Wood to write a novelisation, his second (after James Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me).

[17] Roger Moore had originally signed a three-film contract with Eon Productions, which covered his first three appearances: Live and Let Die in 1973, The Man with the Golden Gun in 1974 and The Spy Who Loved Me in 1977.

American actress Lois Chiles had originally been offered the role of Anya Amasova in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), but had turned down the part when she decided to take temporary retirement.

Chiles was cast as Holly Goodhead by chance, when she was given the seat next to Lewis Gilbert on a flight and he believed she would be ideal for the role as the CIA scientist.

Drax's henchman Chang was played by Japanese aikido instructor Toshiro Suga; he was recommended for the role by executive producer Michael G. Wilson, who was one of his pupils.

[7] Drax's mansion, set in California, was actually filmed at the Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte, about 55 kilometres (34 mi) southeast of Paris, for the exteriors and Grand Salon.

[7] Much of the film was shot in the cities of London, Paris, Venice, Palmdale, California, Port St. Lucie, Florida, and Rio de Janeiro.

[7] The exterior of Drax's pyramid headquarters in the Amazon rain forest near the falls was actually filmed at the Tikal Mayan ruins in Guatemala.

[9] The interior of the pyramid, however, was designed by Ken Adam at a French studio, in which he deliberately used a shiny coating to make the walls look plastic and false.

The skydiving sequence was coordinated by Don Calvedt under the supervision of second unit director John Glen and was shot above Lake Berryessa in northern California.

[9] The skydiver cinematographer used a lightweight Panavision experimental plastic anamorphic lens, bought from an old pawn shop in Paris, which he had adapted, and attached to his helmet to shoot the entire sequence.

The climactic scenes of the space station disintegrating were created by Meddings and other members of the special effects team shooting the miniature model with shotguns.

[7][27] As James Bond is arriving at the scene of the pheasant shoot, a trumpet is sounded playing the first three brass notes from Also sprach Zarathustra, referencing the film 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).

The site's critical consensus reads, "Featuring one of the series' more ludicrous plots but outfitted with primo gadgets and spectacular sets, Moonraker is both silly and entertaining.

In November 2006, Entertainment Weekly ranked Moonraker fourteenth among the Bond films, describing it as "by far the campiest of all 007 movies" with "one of the worst theme songs.

"[49] IGN listed it eleventh, calling it outlandish and saying that despite the actors "trying what they can to ground the film in reality, the laser gun/space station finale pretty much undercuts their efforts.

The sheer idiocy (and impossibility) of having a fully fueled shuttle on the back of the Boeing during the trans-Atlantic crossing should be evident, and later in the film, the whole Jaws-falls-in-love and becomes a 'good guy' routine leaves me rather cold, and provides far too much cheesy comedy moments, as does the gondola driving through the square scene.

How else does one explain the intrusive commercial plugs in "Moonraker" for Christian Dior perfume, British Airways, Bollinger champagne, Glastron boats, and Seiko watches?

"[54] Christopher Null of Filmcritic.com said of the film: "Most rational observers agree that Moonraker is without a doubt the most absurd James Bond movie, definitely of the Roger Moore era and possibly of all time.

Not only is Jaws so pacified by love that he becomes a good guy, but the filmmakers also have the gall to set the finale in outer space and stage a battle right out of Star Wars.

[62] Moonraker finished first in its 9-11PM Sunday night time period - and fifth overall for the full week - with a Nielsen Media Research household rating of 24.2, a 39% share of audience, and nearly 40 million people watching.