10 Best Action Scenes From Roger Moore's James Bond Movies
Roger Moore’s James Bond films were defined by their goofy tone and slapstick humor. As a result, some of the films’ action sequences were let down. There are some ridiculous set-pieces from this era of the Bond franchise, like the Venice gondola chase in which a pigeon does a double-take or the laser battle in outer space inspired by Star Wars.
But the Moore era also treated Bond fans to some of the franchise’s most thrilling action scenes, like the Union Jack parachute jump in The Spy Who Loved Me and the one-on-one duel at the end of The Man with the Golden Gun.
10 The Golden Gate Bridge Showdown In A View To A Kill
Christopher Walken gives one of the all-time most eccentric Bond villain performances in A View to a Kill. He plays Max Zorin, an industrialist with the absurd goal of destroying Silicon Valley so he can monopolize the microchip industry.
On the whole, this is one of the most ridiculous Bond movies ever made, but the final showdown on the Golden Gate Bridge is fittingly spectacular. Zorin gets a delightfully unnerving death scene as he grins maniacally while falling from the bridge.
9 Fighting Tee Hee In Live And Let Die
The climactic set-piece in Moore’s first Bond film, Live and Let Die, becomes a little too ludicrous when 007 shoots Dr. Kananga with a gas pellet and he inflates like a balloon and explodes. But there’s a great stinger after that when Bond and Solitaire are leaving the country by train.
They’re confronted in their cabin by Dr. Kananga’s hulking henchman, Tee Hee. 007 manages to get the upper hand when he severs Tee Hee’s prosthetic arm and sends him flying out the window.
8 The Martial Arts Tournament In The Man With The Golden Gun
Moore’s Bond movies famously followed the genre trends of the 1970s. Live and Let Die was a response to the blaxploitation craze, Moonraker was a response to the post-Star Wars sci-fi fad, etc.
Moore’s second Bond movie, The Man with the Golden Gun, was an homage to Bruce Lee-style martial arts films, which were popular at the time. Much like Lee in Enter the Dragon, Bond is forced to take part in a brutal martial arts tournament.
7 Getting Thrown Out Of A Plane In Moonraker
Moonraker’s trip to the cosmos was a step too far for some Bond fans. They’ll suspend their disbelief to an extent, but not if 007 is going to become an astronaut overnight. Still, before Bond goes to space, Moonraker has plenty of spectacular earthbound action sequences.
In the opening scene, Jaws returns from The Spy Who Loved Me and throws Bond out of a plane. This is a gripping way to start the movie. 007 soars through the air toward the pilot and steals his parachute.
6 Rock Climbing In For Your Eyes Only
After Moonraker sent Bond into outer space, For Your Eyes Only marked a refreshing return to the series’ more grounded roots. It’s a straightforward revenge thriller in which the “Bond girl” seeks retribution against the hitman who bumped off her parents in front of her.
The movie has a literal cliffhanger, since the villain’s base is perched at the top of a cliff and the only way for Bond to get to it is to traverse the face of the cliff.
5 The Final Brawl With Jaws In The Spy Who Loved Me
Just when the government is ready to blow up Karl Stromberg’s supertanker hideout in the finale of The Spy Who Loved Me, Bond insists on saving the “Bond girl” before they pull the trigger. Inside, he has one last fight with Stromberg’s top henchman, Jaws.
After getting his butt handed to him, Bond lowers the steel-toothed henchman into Stromberg’s shark tank – except Jaws takes a bite out of the shark, not the other way around.
4 The Louisiana Speedboat Chase In Live And Let Die
Bond’s globetrotting adventure in Live and Let Die takes him to a handful of American locales, like New York and New Orleans. While he’s in New Orleans, 007 ends up in a high-speed boat chase.
The visceral intensity of the speedboat chase makes up for the ludicrous physical comedy of Bond running across the backs of alligators in a swamp.
3 Hanging To A Plane In Octopussy
There are many ridiculous moments in Octopussy that make it a bitter disappointment, including one scene in which 007 disguises himself as a clown and infiltrates a circus, but the action-packed finale manages to make up for it.
In the movie’s climactic set-piece, Bond clings to the side of a plane and fights a bad guy. The finale of Octopussy has the kind of breathtaking stunt work and dazzling cinematography that Christopher Nolan has become famous for.
2 Bond’s Climactic Duel With Scaramanga In The Man With The Golden Gun
Typically, Bond films culminate in a large-scale battle sequence between 007’s government back-up and the villain’s army of henchmen. But the finale in The Man with the Golden Gun isn’t a large-scale battle sequence; it’s just a one-on-one showdown between Bond and the Scaramanga.
This was a refreshing change of pace, and a great way to resolve Bond’s conflict with one of his best-characterized villains (an assassin who’s just as skilled as him and wants to prove he’s better).
1 The Union Jack Parachute Jump In The Spy Who Loved Me
The Spy Who Loved Me begins with the quintessential Bond cold open. 007 springs into action as gun-toting Soviet henchmen pursue him through the mountains on skis. The sequence culminates in one of the most awe-inspiring stunts in the series’ history.
Bond skis right off the edge of a cliff, soars silently through the air for a little while, and then deploys a parachute that turns out to bear the familiar image of the Union Jack. Cue Carly Simon’s “Nobody Does It Better” and some suggestive silhouettes.