Inadvands Boring, over-political, tech fuzed mess

DipitySkillful an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

Matylda Swan It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Phillipa Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

garry1949 This film has the appearance of being poorly financed and badly produced. The love angle between John Trenchard and Grace Mulhoon is as realistic as that at the sharp end of Titanic! John Trenchard should be portrayed by a sallow youth, yet Aneurin Barnard is plainly a grown man in his late 20's - Totally miscast. Barrels of brandy being carried off the beach are plainly empty. Muskets fired at some 30 yards from their targets by professional solders would have been lethal. Hangings were not carried out round the back of a building but were great public affairs, usually carried out on public holidays for the entertainment and instruction of the masses. Thousands could be expected to attend, not half a dozen yokels with straw hanging from their hats. Even the professional acting qualities of Phil Daniels and Ray Winston cannot rescue this one.

B Hartigan I am not a professional reviewer and would normally not endeavour to add my thoughts to a public forum, however I felt so strongly about this that I felt I had to pipe up.I was really excited to see the advert for this adaptation on Moonfleet on Sky over Xmas as I am a lifelong fan of the book. I was however a bit perturbed that there would not be enough time to define the characters and plot sufficiently over 2 episodes. But I was determined not to be put off as I had been surprised in the past by Sky's delivery of treasure island, I waited with anticipation for the day when Moonfleet would be shown.Sadly within the first few scenes, as soon as I heard the magistrate refer to himself as Magistrate Mohune and not Magistate Maskew as he is properly known, I knew that severe artistic license had been taken.The middle was a mish-mash of scene jumps attempting purely to try and cover each chapter in the book as quickly as possible without explaining hardly any of the thought processes of the characters.There was absolutely no time given to establishing the nature of the contrabandiers (right word??) or the peril experienced at the local beach. No history of previous ships being wrecked and attempts to save poor souls from the beach, making the ending completely lack lustre.add to this that fact that they skipped that part where John and Elzevir spend 10 years plus in a jail / work camp in Holland, and you can see how the integrity of the book is completely destroyed.the worst part was the completely faked ending of John throwing the diamond into the sea, completely ignoring how the book actually ends.I realise that you can only cram so much into a TV show, however this could have been done so much better over three or four episodes.Couple this with a generally weak cast and acting presence and I was left Sadly Disappointed. I didn't even think Ray Winstone did anything to lift the experience, not matching that character of Elzevir Block at all.As another reviewer has said, I wonder if anyone associated to this production has ever read the book?I gave it four out of ten as the cinematography was quite good and my kids who have not read the book (although I have recommended that they now do so) quite liked it meaning that for the uninitiated it might have been a passable bit of Xmas TV. Sadly not for me.

girlonfiream My family sat down to watch this two-parter quite excited. The advertisements had looked good, the title was interesting and it was a Christmas special. But by the end of the first hour-long episode (including advert breaks) we were very much hoping there were at least two more episodes to come. At the end of the second episode, we sat back and looked at each other disappointedly with one thought: this is what happens when you try and cram a story into two blocks of 45 minutes.I have not read the novel this is based on, and am rather tempted to do so now in the hope that the story will redeem itself. The problem was not with the story, you see. Enough happened to make you believe the book to be quite thrilling. But too much happened too quickly and with too little explanation. The actors were good, but the characters were underdeveloped. The love story was there, but barely so. Why would finding this treasure change everything? What was this curse? Why were the Mahoons so evil? Why was there a contraband ring? The questions continue...If you want a synopsis of the story of Moonfleet before you read it, this is perfect. But that is all this is - the skeleton of a story. I may be wrong, and maybe the book is no better, but from what I can tell, an extra two hours would have made a world of difference in taking this from substandard, to brilliant British television.

Robin Clarke I always enjoy the Sky produced made for TV movies that are released around Christmas time. They always seem to get the balance right between a good but not excessive amount of story telling and action and adventure. Anyone who saw 2012s Treasure Island will know what I'm talking about. Aside from a few slightly dodgy performances from ex-Eastenders actors Moonfleet does not disappoint. The story flows nicely and at a good pace and the writing is generally of a very high standard. Aneurin Barnard and Ray Winstone are fantastic as the leads and work well as the characters they are portraying. If you have a few hours to spare and are looking for something light-hearted but highly entertaining I would highly recommend Moonfleet.