GoldenEye

Pierce Brosnan's first outing as the iconic spy was a good one. Goldeneye hit the mark with a great story, a progressive M, Bond girl and soundtrack. Pierce makes the role his own and nicely takes on the mantle of 007. Viewers can embrace a new and modern Bond for the 90s. Goldeneye is a special film for me as it was the first 007 film I watched with my parents and it hit the bullseye for me. I was captivated by this great story from start to finish. Decent film and Pierce's best Bond film.

Much had changed for James Bond since Sean Connery first took the role in 1962. The series had taken a turn for the worse in the seventies, when five films were made but zero good ones were. Still, the public was willing to grant Bond limitless amnesty that decade, even as his escapades grew less and less exciting and more and more campy with each new film. The 70s came and went, ushering in the 80s, which kicked off well with 1981's "For Your Eyes Only." However, it went all downhill from there as the public finally stopped tolerating the bad movies and his popularity tanked in favor of superior competition. Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger became mega stars during that time, and the emergence Indiana Jones was making Bond look dull and decrepit by comparison. Tim Burton's summer sweep of the cinemas with "Batman" in 1989 exacerbated Bond's woes, and when legal disputes arose between the production company and the studio shortly thereafter, it appeared that Bond had finally died his horrible but well deserved death.

When the legal issues were finally put to rest in 1994, it was announced that another Bond film was going to be made, but not with erstwhile incumbent Timothy Dalton. Pierce Brosnan was given the role after being forced to reject it in the late eighties, and production began. The success of the film was crucial. If it lacked spark or came across as campy, it was likely that Bond would be finished forever. With the stakes in mind, the Broccoli family (the Bond producers) hired an all-new creative team and set to work re-establishing 007 in a new era.

I knew none of that when I first saw the film in 1999. It was my introduction to the world of James Bond, and was a truly an exceptional first handshake. Knowing what I know now, and seeing the Bond films I have seen now, I still find it as worthwhile as I did then, and I am forever thankful that it was made well enough to not only resuscitate Bond, but propel him into the nineties with the momentum of a blazing fastball.

The film opens in the eighties, ironically, with a scene depicting the Bond and Agent 006, real name Alec Trevelyan, being detected inside a Soviet chemical weapons factory. This section also introduces the character of Ourumov (Gottfried John), who murders Alec seemingly on a whim.

Nine years later, Bond meets an appealing young lady (Famke Janssen) while driving...make that playfully racing, near Monte Carlo. Suspicious, he follows her to a nearby casino where he finds out that her name is Xenia Onatopp and she carries ties to the Janus crime syndicate in St. Petersburg. He chases Xenia when he suspects an imminent crime, but is not in time to avert her theft of the Tiger--a helicopter that is hardened to all forms of electronic interference.

Back at MI-6 headquarters, the Tiger is spotted via satellite at Russian satellite control facility, and it soon becomes obvious that the copter is merely part of a grander scheme to steal a scary satellite weapon called GoldenEye. What it does can be described with words, but not with as much clarity as seeing it in the movie (there are lapses in the visuals here, but the sight is so impressive that they hardly matter). Bond then departs for St. Petersburg to find the Janus head man (Sean Bean) and stop him from using GoldenEye on a more vulnerable target. Much mystery surrounds the identity of Janus, but it is in the trailer and I suspect most people know it by now.

There are several reasons that "GoldenEye" is the best Bond film made in many, many years. The first is the tone, which has ushered out all of the giddy goofiness of Roger Moore's films and assumed one reminiscent of the earliest Bond films. The sets, the camera work and the dialogue all come across as subtle, subconscious reminders of why Bond became so beloved to begin with.

I always felt there were two major problems with the Bonds of the seventies and eighties. The first is the inane tone (exception: "For Your Eyes Only,"), a point I am driving into the ground. With the same exception, they also featured uniformly unexciting (read it: bad) action plus horrendous acting. There are light moments in "GoldenEye," as there should be, but the correct tone is never compromised.

The only problem is that there is a little too much padding in the middle. The story is well told, although there is a meeting with Bond and Valentin Zukovsky (reprised by Robbie Coltrane in "The World is Not Enough") that has no significance to the advancement of the story. It is unnecessary and causes the film to drag some. After Bond meets Janus, though, prepare for the film to take off, as there will be little rest from there on out.

Just like in the early Bonds, the acting transcends the genre. Pierce Brosnan is the clear focal point, and is mostly successful. He seems too reserved at times, as if he is a little timid at acting his best for fear it might look bad. He does not lack charm, though, because there is something about Pierce that makes him the ultimate ladies man on screen and off.

More successful is Sean Bean as James's opponent. Bean brings cold, subtle intensity to the role that shows off the acting skills that got him cast in "The Fellowship of the Ring." General Ourumov, who is in bed with Janus, provides a second bad guy. Gottfried John portrays him as a demonstrative brute, and his style provides a fine foil to Bean's controlled anger. Alan Cumming plays an evil computer nerd who provides most the light moments I referred to earlier. Fellow X-Man Famke Janssen's character is downright demented, and will not be forgotten easily.

My friends, I have just explained why "GoldenEye" is a most superior Bond film that brought Agent 007 back from the dead and won over a new generation of fans. The best way I can think of to conclude this review is to comment on the film's conclusion. At one point it involves a brawl between Bond and Janus (who is referred to by his real name by that time) that buries just about every other one in the series. While it does quite not take the gold from the fistfight that opens "Thunderball," is does serve as a final reminder that Bond is indeed back, and that he is once again a force best not ignored.

Bond is back and better than ever. OK, he may not be better than ever but he's better than he's been in some time. GoldenEye has a great opening scene that is more entertaining than most entire movies. It involves bungee jumping, guns, motorcycles, planes, and nerve gas among other things. Pierce Brosnan's first effort as Bond is a remarkable one. The movie has good acting, good action, and humor. It's great escapism from start to finish. The women are beautiful and Famke Jannsen and Sean Bean play their roles well. GoldenEye also boasts one of the best finales of the series in which Bond must take on the villain atop a gigantic satellite dish. As stated earlier, Brosnan is terrific as Bond. He's suave, witty, charming, looks good in a suit, and has a capacity for action. In conclusion, this is a thrilling Bond from start to finish and should not be missed. Out of 4 stars - 3.5

GOLDENEYE, the long-delayed debut of Pierce Brosnan as James Bond, was a film mired in MGM's convoluted legal problems for six years, problems which had nothing to do with the 007 franchise, but which happened to fall at the worst possible time; after Timothy Dalton's 'Serious Bond' experiment, LICENCE TO KILL, failed to break even in U.S. markets. Despite international grosses that made the film a profitable venture, many American critics, long grumbling that the Bond series had outlasted it's welcome, heaped abuse on the newer, leaner direction for 'Bond', and it's taciturn, less light-hearted star...and, with MGM's decision to put the expensive series 'on hold' until their own legal and financial issues could be resolved, LICENCE TO KILL became the unfair 'scapegoat' for the delay.

Much happened during the six-year hiatus; with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Communist undercurrent of many Bond films (and the subject of most of Ian Fleming's novels) was lost; Richard Maibaum, the series' most prolific screenwriter, passed away, and ill health forced legendary producer Albert ('Cubby') Broccoli to turn over his duties to his daughter Barbara, and stepson, Michael G. Wilson (thus ending the other 'prime' 007 screenwriter's script contributions); many other key production figures would retire, die, or move on; and finally, as the delay continued, Timothy Dalton, nearing 50, announced that he was no longer interested in playing James Bond (sparking rumors that Eon Productions, no longer honor-bound by the senior Broccoli's choices, had given him 'the boot').

While all this opened the door for Pierce Brosnan's long-awaited debut as 007 (after his aborted first attempt, in THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS), with a new 'look' and style for the franchise, whether audiences would even accept a new 'James Bond' adventure was in doubt.

Fortunately, everything 'worked'. Brosnan, now 42, was more ruggedly believable as 007 than he would have been, at 34, and Dame Judi Dench, as the first woman 'M' (referring to Bond as a "sexist, misogynist dinosaur"), proved a perfect successor to the late Bernard Lee. While the plot of the film, involving the master plan of a renegade Russian General (Gottfried John) and an assumed dead 006 (Sean Bean) to use an electronic warfare system (GoldenEye) against England was nothing new, Brosnan's daring-do and one-liners (with humor restored to the franchise), as he proved his value in the new world 'order', found an audience 'primed' for James Bond's return...and the welcome cameo of the series' last original 'regular', "Q" (Desmond Llewelyn, 81, and as cranky as ever), cemented 007's links to both the past and the future.

James Bond's greatest crisis, whether he still had 'Box Office', had been overcome, and with audience favorite Pierce Brosnan in place, his emergence into the 21st century was assured.

Bond 17 welcomes Pierce Brosnan as the tuxedo wearing MI6 secret agent. Besides Brosnan, a lot has changed since the last outing for Bond in the film franchise, and this film sees an almost re-birth of the franchise for the 1990's

Released in 1995 this film was directed by Martin Campbell, who would later go on to direct Daniel Craig in "Casino Royal" too. Campbell replaced John Glen who worked on 5 Bond films and reinvigorated the franchise during the 80's. Michael France steps in as writer replacing Richard Maibaum (who worked on 14 Bond films) and Michael G. Wilson (who stepped into a Production role), with Jeffrey Caine and Bruce Feirstein writing the screenplay. Ian Fleming of course is the mastermind behind the main characters in this, although the story is not based on any of his books - which is the first time that a completely original version of Bond has hit the screen. Eric Serra steps up into music department which John Barry previously monopolised. While some of Barry's original scoring is present still, Serra brings an updated score to a fresh new generation of Bond. The theme song to accompany the open credits was "Goldeneye" which was sung by Tina Turner. Previously the production team for the film would work with the musical artists so that themes of the film were incorporated into the song, but not this time. This time the song was written by Bono and The Edge from the band U2. Also, noteworthy, Albert R. Broccoli took a step away due to ill health and was mainly a consultant, his daughter Barbara took up his production role with his stepson Michael G. Wilson. Unfortunately, Albert would die 7 months after the release of this film. Running at 130 minutes this film had a budget of $60 million and grossed a whopping $352 million - which makes Bond's relaunch a massive success.

The most obvious refresh is in the title character, Pierce Brosnan replaces Timothy Dalton. Dalton was due to come back, but due to legal wrangling this production of this film did not start for 4-5 years, by which time Dalton's contract had expired. He initially agreed he would come back for a single film, but Broccoli wanted him to sign on for 4-6 films which Dalton did not want to do. So rather than renewing Dalton at all, Broccoli turned to Irishman Pierce Brosnan. Brosnan had been considered for the role prior to Dalton, but he was committed to an NBC contract to play "Remmington Steele". The writers did adapt the version of Bond for Brosnan as best as they could, but the fact of the matter remains, the film was written with Dalton in mind for the title role, which is why there is still a darkness to the character. It's amusing to look back at other people considered for the role, the studio considered Mel Gibson (they considered him before choosing Dalton in the 80's too), Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson and even Paul McGann were considered. In his role, Brosnan is brilliant, he manages to combine the approach other Bond actors gave; he manages to be as dark as Dalton, as witty and charming as Moore, and as direct and professional as Connery (sorry Lazenby, you didn't get a mention because in one film you didn't manage to stamp your mark on the franchise). Not only does he manage to combine other Bond performances, but he also manages to put his own classy stamp on the film, he is cool, stylish, and savvy. His Bond is every part an action hero but dressed down in comfortable clothes.

As well as Bond being recast, some of the regular reoccurring characters were recast too. Judi Dench replaces Robert Brown as Bond's MI6 boss "M". This was a bold move but was not the first time a female boss was considered. When Lois Maxwell was about to step away from playing Miss Moneypenny she suggested a female "M" which was actually considered, but the eventual decision was that the world wasn't ready yet. In the 1990's the world was a little more ready for a female boss, but regardless of is it was ready or not, Judi Dench absolutely commanded the role and stole the attention when she was in frame. Miss Moneypenny was recast with Caroline Bliss being replaced by Samantha Bond. She does not appear for a long time, but she is witty and charming for her time on screen. The only actor from the reoccurring characters to survive the refresh was Desmond Llewelyn as Q. There are some new reoccurring characters that are introduced here, which I can mention with the benefit of hindsight. Joe Don Baker is CIA operative Jack Wade, replacing the Felix Leiter character that came before him. The character is portrayed as a bumbling loud, chubby American which is in complete contrast to the mannerisms of Bond. Choosing this stereotype of a character seems like it's very tongue in cheek, but because Wade doesn't get a lot of screen time it works well. Robbie Coltrane's Valentin Zukovsky is also a character that you will see again in the next Bond film. Coltrane's portray is decent but not absolutely necessary. It feels like he is shoehorned in for a little bit of comedic relief - which is further backed up by his on-screen girlfriend (played by Minnie Driver) and her terrible singing.

There are three main villains in this film, General Ourumov (Gottfried John), Xenia Onatopp (Famke Janssen) and Alec Treveluyan (Sean Bean). All three of which give varying but great performances that are different from other villains that Bond has faced before. Ourumov is the maniacal Russian general with a hidden agenda, he is menacing and dangerous. Onatopp is a very over the top henchwoman but she is unmistakably a powerful female in a Bond film who poses as much as threat as 007. Famke Janssen does well in the role and brings to life a performance which I feel could have been a lot cheesier. Sean Bean sits at the top of the bad guy pyramid and he is great. The character is supposed to the decedent of Lienz Cossacks, who worked with MI6 for a long time to cover up his plot for revenge. He does great to play a charming character that is extremely dangerous. I am not too keen on Bean's quintessential English accent in this film, I prefer it when he's true to his Yorkshire roots, but ignoring his accent his performance is very strong. Sean Bean's role could have been played by Alan Rickman or Anthony Hopkins but they turned it down. Hopkins would again be approached for a role in "Tomorrow Never Dies" only to turn it down again then. The use of a former MI6 agent as the lead protagonist in the film was a change from using archetypal bad guys such as Nazi's, drug lords, or mad scientists. This was partly down to the changing times of the era. Worldwide politics had changed dramatically since "License to Kill", this was actually the first Bond film after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and after the end of the Cold War; the Berlin wall in Germany had also come down too. The new bad guys were the ones sat at the end of a computer who had the power to bring down nations with the press of a keyboard button. It was important that Bond changed with the times and it did that by having Alan Cumming's Boris character as the computer whizz, controlled by the former intelligence agent that Sean Bean portrayed.

Izabella Scorupco as Natalya is the typical Bond girl of the film, but with her computer knowledge she is more than just eye-candy. At different times she allows the plot to continue advancing with the information and solutions she puts in front of Bond. It is fair to say without this character the film would not advance the way it does. Scorupco does a lovely job in the role demonstrates a wide range of emotions that she puts on plate for the audience to empathise with her. Alan Cumming is her technical counterpart then nemesis in the role. I found this character to be slightly annoying at times but again he is integral to the plot. The fact that I considered the character to be annoying is testament to Cumming's performance, if he invokes emotion then he has done well.

So, there were a lot of firsts in the film, more firsts came in the studio used. This was the inaugural film to be shot at Leavesden Studios. It was also the first Bond film to use CGI too. Add to that the casting changes and the production team changes, and you have a Bond film that on the surface may look familiar, but the parts are all new. Like a classic car that has had a new engine added, an approach that seemed to work as audiences loved this Bond film and it won plenty of plaudits and awards. The name Goldeneye comes from a manoeuvre that Ian Fleming took part in while with the Naval Intelligence Division, it is also the name of his estate in Jamaica.

All in all, I really enjoyed the film. I consider it to be a fantastic rebirth of the franchise and all the players from cast and the production team do a great job. Its family friendly enough that kids or grandparents can watch it without being upset or offended, but it is equally able to be a grown-up film with lots of action and intelligence in it too. The film is everything that you would expect or want from a Bond film and with Brosnan able to combine all the other Bond performances in his portrayal in this film, it should make fans new and old happy. I am happy to recommend this film and I am certain you'll have fun watching it too.

In terms of Bond films this is a 9 out of 10.

In terms of movies in the long and illustrious history of film I would give this a 8 out of 10.