I feel the same way about Moonraker improving with age. There are some potent core Bond elements in that film, and Moore was still looking good and fit for his actual age. He was still passably believable as a seasoned government field agent. The major problem I have with that film, is that it was made by a bunch of tired old men who had gotten too soft, wealthy, out of touch, and who wanted to pander to the family friendly crowd for the easy bucks. For example, the soft and cuddly Jaws transformation. But the first third of the film has some of the best actual Bondian moments of any of the 1970's films.

Bond was doing some real good old fashioned spying at the Drax estate, and in Venice. Yes some of the moments are cheesy (double takes from pigeons, the Close Encounter music tones on the security Pad, The overblown goofiness of Jaws's look and personality for a under the radar hired killer, etc.), but the core of the Bond character's motivations and his movements from location to location are right on target for a classic era James Bond film. Come to think of it, I feel Diamond are Forever can be said to have just as much goofiness as Moonraker does, yet it seems not to be put down as much.