A Study of Adaptation - Moonraker

Moonraker might be an example of an adaptation in which it was necessary to make significant changes and departures from the source material. The third novel, published in 1955, became the eleventh film, released in 1979.

In the book, Bond is invited to M's private club to avert a potential cheating scandal involving Sir Hugo Drax, a millionaire industrialist and war hero who is developing Britain's first nuclear missile, the eponymous Moonraker. Bond is later sent to Drax's base on the south coast of England to replace a Ministry of Supply officer working on the project, who had been murdered in an apparent feud with one of the scientists. He is assisted by Gala Brand, an undercover Special Branch officer who works as Drax's personal assistant. It's later revealed that Drax was the leader of a German commando unit during the Second World War, who posed as a British soldier with amnesia after being injured in a botched sabotage at a field headquarters. Seeking revenge for Germany's defeat (and the bullying experienced in English schools), he has secretly fitted the Moonraker rocket with a Soviet-supplied nuclear warhead and intends to launch it at London (while also making a tidy profit through insider trading on the stock market).

In the film, Bond is sent to investigate the theft of a Moonraker space shuttle belonging to Drax Industries. His investigation takes him to California, Venice, Rio de Janeiro, the Amazon Rainforest, and eventually to outer space. This time, Drax intends to release a deadly nerve agent across the globe to cull the entire population of the, while sparing a "master race" of physically and mentally perfect humans on his space station. Gala Brand has now been split into two characters: Corinne Dufour, Drax's personal pilot; and Dr Holly Goodhead, Drax's astronaut trainer who secretly works for the CIA.

As stated above, it was somewhat necessary to make may of the changes. Firstly, the book was exploring a lot anti-German sentiment at a time when the war was still in recent memory, along with the development of Britain as a nuclear power. In the film, both these aspects would have been redundant, especially the nuclear missile plot. The title was also a good excuse to put James Bond in space, most likely in response to the then-recent success of Star Wars. I've also heard that a common critique of the novel was that it took place entirely in England rather than the other locales James Bond is known for visiting.

Something I have been drawing parallels to while reading this one has been Goldeneye, released in 1995. Alec Trevelyan is similar to the novel version of Drax; instead of a Nazi, he's a descendant of the Lienz Cossacks, Nazi collaborators who surrendered to the British, only to be taken back to Russia to face Stalin's execution squads. And instead of a nuclear missile, he intends to hit London with an orbital EMP weapon after hacking into the Bank of England's mainframe and stealing a vast fortune. Natalya is also similar to Gala Brand, in which she provides the technical knowledge to thwart the plan.

I also reckon that the bridge segment may have been appropriated for Octopussy in 1983. That film uses a sequence in which Bond plays backgammon against Kamal Khan, deduces that he is cheating, and cheats the cheater. Both scenes also involve the villain paying Bond his winnings and warning him to spend the money quickly.

One thing that both the book and the film do use is the deathtrap in which Drax intends to leave bond under the rocket engine to be immolated when it launches. It's pretty much the only thing which actually made sense to keep.