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Released in June 1979,Moonrakeris the 11th movie in the long-runningJames Bondfranchise. The story is adapted fromMoonraker, the third novel in Ian Felming’s popular 007 spy book series, often considered among the author’s finest works. However, unlike the acclaimed novel, the movie adaptation remains one of the least favorable Bond adaptations among critics and die-hard fans. The reason for the juxtaposition between the outstanding novel and the lackluster silver-screen adaptation ofMoonrakermay surprise many.
AsMoonrakercelebrates its 45th anniversary in 2024, a look back at the making of the movie is necessary to understand how it differs from the book and why the story deserves a more accurate adaptation. With roughly 90% of Fleming’s original story discarded by producers to capitalize on the success of A Galaxy Far, Far Away, the realMoonrakerhas never been properly translated to the big screen.
What Is Moonraker the Novel About?
Published in 1955,Moonrakerresulted from a screenplay by Ian Fleming that was considered too short for a novel.The story concerns James Bond, British Secret Servant 007,preventing the launch of the Moonraker, a deadly prototype missilecreated to defend England from the Soviets as the Cold War escalates.Bond’s main villain is Hugo Drax, a secret German ex-Nazi working with the Soviets to build the Moonraker and attack England with a nuclear bombrather than defend the country. For much of the novel, Bond does not realize that Drax is hiding his secret identity and the Soviet alliance.
The plot thickens when Moonraker’s chief security officer is killed, prompting M to assign 007 to replace him. Bond unites with Gala Brand, a dashing Scotland Yard investigator working undercover as Drax’s assistant for one year. A suspenseful ticking clock scenario is introduced with only four days remaining to test the Moonraker’s efficiency, forcing Bond and Brand to race to the rescue before England is attacked.
After narrowly escaping murder, Bond and Brand discover that Drax was behind the Moonraker weapon system the whole time. Drax kidnaps Brand for her betrayal and intimate knowledge of the Moonraker weapon. Bond attempts to rescue Brand but is kidnapped by Drax, who gives him a lengthy, overexposed backstory that reveals his true plans in typical Bond villain fashion. Drax admits that he disguised himself as a British soldier during WWII and was mistaken as a British war hero after sustaining battle wounds. Drax continued to assume the soldier’s identity and plot revenge against England by posing as one of their own.
Of course, Bond and Brand save the day and prevent the Moonraker from detonating in England. They manage to divert the missile to the North Sea, prompting Drax to board a Russian submarine and continue his attack. Unfortunately,roughly 10% of Ian Fleming’s source materialmade it into the big-screen adaptation ofMoonraker.
What Is Moonraker the Movie About?
With overt sci-fi leanings,Moonrakerbastardized Fleming’sMoonrakerbeyond recognition. Firstly, the Moonraker is no longer a rocket weapon system delivering a nuclear warhead. Instead,Moonraker is the name of a space vessel owned by Drax Industries and loaned to the British government. Once the shuttle is stolen, James Bond (Roger Moore) is sent to find answers.The novel was set entirely in Britain, but Bond ventures to California to visit Drax Industries before going to the Amazon Jungle and outer space.
Hugo Drax’s (Michael Lonsdale) intricateorigin story is completely omitted from the movie, giving the Bond villain a one-dimensional characteristic that does not do the novel justice. Similarly,Gala Bond is nowhere to be foundin theMoonrakermovie, despite being the key cog who churns the plot and earns a medal of service for her gallant espionage. Instead, viewers are treated to Holly Goodhead (Lois Chiles), an unconvincing spy who jet-sets, conveniently runs into Bond around the globe, and is revealed to be spying on Drax all along.
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Moonrakeralso gives the villainous share of the story to Jaws (Richard Kiel), a returning henchman from the previous Bond film,The Spy Who Loved Me, devoid of pertinent ties to Drax, the Nazis, or WWII. Drax recruiting Jaws to kill Bond makes little sense and has zero ties to theMoonrakersource novel. In the most glaring departure, Bond and Goodhead travel to the Amazon and discover Drax’s true plan. They learn Drax wants to create a master race and eliminate the weakest humans by taking the Moonraker shuttle into outer space and dispensing toxic gas into Earth’s atmosphere.
Why Did Moonraker Omit Most of Fleming’s Source Material?
While the events of theMoonrakerbook and movie drastically depart,it was a calculated effort by the producers to capitalize on the financial success ofStar Wars. The end credits ofThe Spy Who Loved MepromotedFor Your Eyes Onlyas the next planned Bond movie. However, whenStar Warsshattered the box office and became an unprecedented cultural phenomenon,Moonrakerwas rushed into production instead.For Your Eyes Onlywas the next franchise filmmade in 1981.
TheMoonrakernovel was radically overhauled to accommodateStar Wars' outer-space theme, plot, and characters to magnify the story differences. Drax’s master race space plot does not exist in theMoonrakernovel, nor does Jaws, or Goodhead have any bearing on the story. The brilliantly written character of Gala Brand remains the only female lead character in an Ian Fleming novel to not appear in a Bond movie. As such,Moonrakerremains one of the least faithful Bond movies relative to its source material.There was such a disparity between Christopher Wood’s screenplay and Fleming’s novel that Eon Productions commissioned Wood to pen a novelization entitledJames Bond and Moonrakerto avoid confusion.
If adapted properly in the 21st century,Moonrakerwould strip down the desperate attempt to recaptureStar Wars' glory, leave the ridiculous Drax space plot behind,introduce a new Bond villain, keep the story in Britain, and give Gala Brand her justified due. Until then,Moonrakerremains among Fleming’s best Bond novels and one of the worst 007 movies on record. Adding insult to injury, Steven Spielberg expressed interest in directing the movie three years after makingJawsbut was turned down by producer Albert Broccoli in favor of Lewis Gilbert. Spielberg has never made a Bond movie to this day. But if anyone is right to adapt Moonraker faithfully, Spielberg tops the list.
Moonrakeris available to rent on Apple TV & Amazon Prime Video.
