Sun 6 Dec 2020
A Movie Review by Jonathan Lewis: GOLDENEYE (1995).
Posted by Steve under Reviews , Suspense & espionage films[7] Comments
GOLDENEYE. United Artists, 1995. Pierce Brosnan (James Bond), Sean Bean, Izabella Scorupco, Famke Janssen, Joe Don Baker, Judi Dench (M), Robbie Coltrane, Desmond Llewelyn (Q), Samantha Bond (Moneypenny). Based on characters created by Ian Fleming. Director: Martin Campbell. Currently streaming on Netflix.
Marking Pierce Brosnan’s debut as James Bond, GoldenEye is a movie that both pays tribute to the Cold War past and hints at the equally dangerous post-Soviet present. The plot follows Bond as he seeks to uncover who is beyond the destruction of a Russian military base and the subsequent theft of a nuclear, electromagnetic pulse device that could wreak havoc on the world’s communications systems. Little does Bond know that the man he’s seeking is a former ally, a fellow MI6 agent (Sean Bean) whom Bond assumed was long dead.
In terms of action, this one’s got it all. The fight sequences are stunningly choreographed; the stunt sequences were among the best to date in a Bond film. What the movie does lack, apart from a brief appearance or two by Jon Don Baker as a CIA agent, are the types of exceedingly memorable oddball characters that were omnipresent in the earlier Bond films. While Famke Janssen is notable for portraying a sadistic female assassin, most of the other villains and shady characters here are somewhat bland. Nothing against Sean Bean, but he is just not Donald Pleasence or Christopher Lee.
Still, for those who haven’t yet seen GoldenEye, it is worth your time. For two hours, this one provides the kind of pure escapism that harks back to the Sean Connery era. Brosnan would go on to star in three more films before being replaced by Daniel Craig in the more subdued, emotionally wrought Casino Royale (2006). I have a feeling that, in years to come, more people will look upon the Brosnan era as a high point for the franchise.
December 6th, 2020 at 7:41 pm
I like Pierce too.
December 6th, 2020 at 8:27 pm
Brosnan ranks high among my favorite Bonds. He saved the franchise at a time it was caught between the too clownish later Moore Bond’s and the too serious Dalton entries (both of which would have been much better with decent villains).
He brought some of the lightness of Moore, but with a harder edge that paid off well. Only his last entry is seriously flawed, and even there the first half is worth while.
GOLDENEYE opens with that splendid stunt and never lets up and Robbie Coltraine’s walk on pays off later in the series.
The ‘gag” with Minnie Driver is worth catching too.
Ironic this is getting reviewed the week that the radio telescope at Arecibo collapsed in ruin.
December 6th, 2020 at 8:33 pm
I enjoyed some of the Moore films, notably To Live and Let Die and For Your Eyes Only (which benefits strongly from Topol’s presence). But Octopussy and A View to a Kill were disappointments in many ways, even if they had a few good moments.
I actually do like Dalton’s turn as Bond, particularly in The Living Daylights which I feel has been unfairly maligned. But he wasn’t a good fit for the era. Brosnan in many ways saved the franchise from its worst excesses.
December 6th, 2020 at 8:34 pm
I should note that Joe Don Baker appeared as a villain in The Living Daylights and returned as a CIA agent in this one
December 6th, 2020 at 9:38 pm
Jon just reminded me that this one is currently streaming on Netflix. I’ve never seen any of the Brosnan Bonds. It sounds like a good one to start with. Maybe even tonight.
December 6th, 2020 at 10:33 pm
I have enjoyed Brosnan work in several of his movies, and thought his work as Bond was just behind Craig (and a distance behind Connery) as the best Bonds.
I thought the Ice Castle scene in Die Another Day was a “jumping the shark” moment for the Bond movies at the time.
December 6th, 2020 at 11:05 pm
Absent a central super-villain and with Bond up against a cabal of well-cast, more life-size baddies (Bean, Janssen, Gottfried John, Alan Cummings), I was reminded of FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE. The difference was, GOLDENEYE was the best of the Brosnan 007s, but FRWL the best of the entire Bond series, period. The one drawback of GOLDENEYE was the orbiting laser, a threat already done to death in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER and MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN.