Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

Cast: Toby Stephens, Samuel West, John Baddeley, Janie Dee, John Standing, Julian Sands, Jared Harris, Patricia Hodge, Katherine Kingsley, Nigel Anthony, Simon de Deney, Jon Glover, Ian Ogilvy, Matthew Wolf, Darren Richardson, Kenneth Danziger, Martin Jarvis.

There are many reasons for which a story needs to be altered dramatically to make it stand up the cinematic scrutiny in the modern age, and whilst the original tale might be in itself one of beauty, of fascinating intrigue, its very premise in the age of the blockbuster and the need for revenue return would not see it become an instant best seller, or indeed a memorable film in which, in the case of the James Bond franchise, to captivate an audience so they will keep coming back for more.

Moonraker is a film that proves the rule, and whilst it captured the energy of Roger Moore in the role of James Bond, its deviation from the premise of the book cannot be dismissed so lightly, of course to succeed as a film it had to be bigger, bolder, and to signify the changing times in which the space-race had exploited the means for the evolution of travel beyond Earth’s atmosphere was necessary, and to showcase the menace of a different type of megalomaniac, one whose final solution was more than just revenge on a country that had defeated his own during World War Two but instead the absolute destruction of humanity, save the golden few to whom the future of the species depended.

The audio adaptation of Moonraker steers clear of some of the added intrusions that the film allowed for and instead sees the story stick close to its original, and one that continues the 1950s fear of an allied Russian and Nazi enthusiast plot to destroy England and the ever present consequence of the traitor within, an area that was up for much discussions in the post-war environment at the time. The novel and the audio drama also allude to the consequence of memory, that of Kent and London being in the front line of V2 bombs falling from the skies, it plays on fears that have become arguably engrained into the psyche even now, and the distrust of what may seem like genuine concern from across the channel.

In what would form a basis for the film Die Another Day with Pierce Brosnan at the helm, it is the admission of hate for one’s supposed adopted country that sits at the heart of Moonraker, and whilst it lacks the atmosphere to which the 1979 film revels in, it is nonetheless a more truth depiction of the fear that consumes when first we practise to deceive, and the resignation of politics as a marker for our souls.

An ingenious plot that stands up to scrutiny, and one that on balance is of greater value than the film offered.

Ian D. Hall