Directed by Martin Campbell
Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Sean Bean, Izabella Scorupco
Rated PG-13 for a number of sequences of action/violence, and for some sexuality
In 1989, the Bond series was not doing too well with the release of License to Kill not doing so well at the box office. At to the fact that the film series and its producers were in legal battles after the film was released. Soon, their star Timothy Dalton decided to not continue forward with the role as James Bond. The Bond series was in hot water and desperately needed a comeback. Six years later, the Bond series came back with its new star, Pierce Brosnan, and in a new era where the Cold War was over. GoldenEye represented a new era for the Bond series and successfully came back to its former glory.
GoldenEye is 17th film in the James Bond series, starring Pierce Brosnan as Bond. In this film, Bond has to face off against a former MI6 agent, played by Sean Bean, who is set on financially destroying London. Not only does Bond face off against a former MI6 agent, but also a Russian Colonel, a sex crazed female assassin, and a geeky hacker.
GoldenEye is, of course, the first outing of Brosnan as his role as Bond. Brosnan does a fantastic job portraying Bond but as his first film, he is trying to find his footing as Bond. He has the same jokes and one liners as Roger Moore did, but also can be brutal as his predecessor, Timothy Dalton, did. Truth be told, Brosnan is not my favorite Bond due to having poor films under his belt, but GoldenEye is an exception. He does a well enough job here but the action is the main star of the film here.
The action in the film is fantastically made and its all due to director Martin Campbell. The film starts with a great action sequence that begins with a bungee jump down a dam. Although the film logic doesn’t make sense, considering the scene began on a dam, the sequence ends on a mountain with a bang. The entire cold open is great but that’s just the beginning! The highlight of the film is a tank chase in Russia that features the iconic 007 theme.
The only downside is that the plot that the villain reveals is confusing and hard to follow. It is tradition to have complex schemes in Bond films, but I could not follow the film and it’s scheme, despite how many times it is explained. In addition, “M”, played by Judi Dench, is not featured as much as I wanted to. Earlier in the Bond films, “M” would appear in the beginning of the film and explained the mission Bond was going into. They were rarely featured outside the beginning of the film because their role was already used. The same rule applies to Dench’s “M”, she only appears in the beginning/middle of the film. Dench is a talented actress who should have appeared more in the film. Luckily, we got to see more of “M” in future films, the producers probably realized it would be a shame to waste the talents of Judi Dench, and soon Ralph Finnes.
Overall, GoldenEye is a fun and enjoyable addition to the Bond series. Pierce Brosnan plays it safe by playing a mash up of previous Bonds that came before him, but the film is still enjoyable and has top notch action. GoldenEye is a must watch for any fan of the Bond series.
3.5/4
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