Roger Moorewas the third actor to take on the role of superspyJames Bond, after Sean Connery and George Lazenby. As of 2022, Moore is the second-longest tenured actor to ever play the role, playing 007 for 12 years(Daniel Craig is first, with 15 years in the role).However, Moore has starred as James Bond in more films than any other actor, with seven (Sean Connery ties this number if the unofficial Bond filmNever Say Never Againis included). Moore’s first film as Bond was 1973’sLive And Let Die, and his final one was 1985’sA View To A Kill. Each actor who has played Bond has left their own unique spin on the role, and Moore was no different. His Bond was vastly different from Sean Connery’s, styling himself as more of a gentleman spy as opposed to the rougher portrayal of Connery’s Bond. While Moore did have a more light-hearted portrayal as Bond, his films still provided some excellent moments. Let’s discuss some of Roger Moore’s best moments as 007.
8Car Barrel Roll - The Man With The Golden Gun
Main villain Francisco Scaramanga has shoved Bond girl Mary Goodnight into the trunk of his car, with Bond giving chase in a car he’s commandeered, which includes unwilling passenger J.W. Pepper, the Louisiana sheriff who appeared previously inLive And Let Die. During the chase, Bond decides to take a shortcut, jumping over a river without a completed bridge spanning it. Bond revs up the engine, asks Pepper if he’s heard of Evel Knievel, and jumps the bridge, with the car doing a midair barrel roll in the process. The stunt itself is very impressive and is only ruined by one thing: the unnecessary slide whistle that plays as it happens.
7Golden Gate Bridge Fight - A View To A Kill
After foiling main villain Max Zorin’s plan to flood Silicon Valley, the villain attempts to escape via blimp, with Bond hanging on to a line. Bond manages to tie his line to the Golden Gate Bridge, causing Zorin to go after him with an axe. Of course, the top of the Golden Gate Bridge is not a great place to fight, as one slip-up will spell certain doom for either combatant. But this is a Bond movie, so Bond gets the upper hand and Zorin falls into the waters of San Francisco Bay below.
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6Underwater Car vs Helicopter - The Spy Who Loved Me
After Bond and Anya meet main villain Stromberg for the first time, he gives the order to kill them once they reach the shore. Luckily, Bond and Anya are in Bond’s Lotus Esprit, one of the coolest cars Bond has ever driven. The first waves of baddies to pursue our heroes do so on motorcycles and in cars, including the hulking Jaws, whose car is taken out by an oil slick. That’s when the beautiful Naomi shows up in a helicopter, firing machine guns at the Lotus. The chase eventually leads to the Lotus going over a pier and into the water, where the coolest thing about the car is revealed. It doubles as a submarine! One torpedo later and the underwater car emerges victorious.
5Killing Blofeld - For Your Eyes Only
For legal reasons, the character couldn’t be called Blofeld in this film.The credits just refer to him as “Man in Wheelchair.” However,he’s bald, strokes a white cat, and has a history with Bond, so who else could it be? The pre-title sequence ofFor Your Eyes Onlysees Bond visiting the grave of his wife (Moore will get defensive in The Spy Who Loved Me when Anya mentions his only wife was killed) when he gets a call from MI6, who has sent a helicopter for him. The helicopter has been hijacked by “Blofeld,” who plans to toy with Bond before killing him. However, our hero turns the tables and drops the SPECTRE leader down an industrial chimney to his death.
4Midair Fight - Moonraker
This is one of the most impressive stunts in the franchise.Bond is returning from a mission in Africa when his pilot and stewardess abandon the plane. Bond leaps out and manages to catch up to the pilot, wrestling away his parachute. That’s when the always menacing Jaws shows up and tussles with Bond in a freefall. Bond escapes the menacing henchman, who doesn’t know his own strength and rips his ripcord right off his parachute. At least he lands on a circus tent, ensuring he’ll be back to give Bond more problems later.
3Killing Emile Leopold Locque - For Your Eyes Only
Roger Moore was not a fan of this scene, believing that it wasn’t something his Bond would do,but that’s exactly why it’s on here. At the end of the day, James Bond is a government-sanctioned killer. Emile Locque is a Belgian henchman who leaves dove pins on the bodies of his victims, including Bond girl Lisl and ally Luigi Ferrara. Bond gets the upper hand after a raid on a facility in Albania. Locque flees by car, but Bond shoots him, causing him to lose control of his car, which ends up perched precariously on a cliff. Bond tosses a dove pin into the car and gives it a kick, sending Locque hurtling to his death. It’s probably the coldest kill of Moore’s tenure as Bond, but it shows that if the occasion called for it, Moore could be just as ruthless as Sean Connery or Daniel Craig.
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2Escape via Crocodile - Live And Let Die
Henchman Tee Hee Johnson has stuck Bond in the middle of a small pond filled with crocodiles. Bond tries to use his magnetic watch to bring a boat over, but the boat is tied down, and the crocs are inching closer and closer. What’s a superspy to do? Why, jump off the backs of some of the reptiles and make it to safety, of course! It’s a very quick scene, but it’s Bond escaping by jumping off of the backs of crocodiles. It’s ridiculous, it’s awesome, and it’s definitely one of the more inventive ways 007 has gotten out of a jam.
1The Union Jack Parachute Sequence - The Spy Who Loved Me
A British submarine and a Soviet submarine carrying nuclear warheads have gone missing. Both the British and the Soviets decide to assign their best agents to the case. But where is MI6’s best agent? He is currently on assignment in the Austrian Alps when he gets the message to report to HQ. Bond takes off on skis, pursued by several Soviet agents. Luckily, Bond has a few tricks up his sleeve, such as one of his ski poles doubling as a gun, which is used to take Bond girl Anya Amasova’s current lover. The remaining agents chase Bond to the edge of a cliff, which he jumps off. What’s great about this is the silence that follows as Bond falls in midair, keeping us on the edge of our seats until that Union Jack parachute comes out, the 007 theme blares, and we transition into thebest opening credits in the history of the franchise.
