GoldenEye 1995

“GoldenEye” is a 1995 film based on the James Bond series. It features Pierce Brosnan, who plays the fictional MI6 character for the first time.

Ah, “GoldenEye”... This film has a very special place in my heart, as Pierce Brosnan is personally my favorite actor to play Bond. I believe I watched “GoldenEye” and the majority of Bond films before when I was a lot younger, but this most recent rewatch is the first time I’ve watched it from start to finish.

Brosnan as Bond was, simply, a great match. His wit, charm, and charisma made the film so fun and enjoyable to watch. Izabella Scorupco, the actress who plays the female lead, was... alright? I don’t really have much to say about her other than that it felt like she was made a “Bond Girl” out of pure convenience. I also don’t have much of an opinion on Sean Bean, the actor who plays the main antagonist. I think the true star of the film was Famke Janssen, the actress who plays Xenia Onatopp, the henchwoman. Onatopp is honestly iconic (name included!). I’m pretty sure that it wasn’t intended to so, but the sheer absurdity of Onatopp’s... passionate way of killing always made me laugh. I think what impressed me the most was how well and how much Janssen committed to the role. I truly loved her character.

I can’t say the same for the plot though. It was forgettable, but made somewhat interesting to watch by the action scenes.

No music stood out to me this time either.

I think I’d rewatch this film solely for how well Brosnan and Janssen did, and nothing more.

So much to like here... but nothing is ever near-perfect in Bond-land.

The casting first of all. Brosnan is the face I see when I imagine Bond. He has the roughness of Connery, is the perfect age, is a very good actor. He sells himself as Bond in the first few moments and you find yourself asking "Moore? Lazenby? Dalton.... who?"

The plot is an interesting one. It's clearly a film left over from the Dalton days that has had the recent computer craze added in to it. It works on the whole but that is more for the use of 006 and the fiery Famke Janssen than anything else. The Alan Cummings character is an enjoyable comedic foil that owes a ot to the Moore years but it just about works.

The downsides... The music - awful electronic stuff that makes a Cold War looking film sound like it is in the wrong era. The budget feels smaller as the whole thing looks a little cheap - some dodgy use of stock footage doesn't help there. (I'm sure something was going on with MGM in the 6 years between films that contributed to that penny-pinching)

What I will say though is that this film offers up Pierce Brosnan as the heir apparent to Sean Connery and promises that he has the skills and talents to be the best Bond ever... If they give him the films.

What a refreshing surprise and a fantastic debut from Brosnan.

7.75/10

Oh, yes, that's more like it. This Bond has a great mix of humor, brutality, a dose of silliness plus tons of action. Brosnan instantly steps into the role of Bond and it feels like he's always been there. The tone of the movie is at times really grim and you sometimes feel you watch Rambo instead of Bond.

But I really need to do something about my memory. I had no recollection of Famke Jansen being in a Bond movie nor that Judy Dench has already been there with Brosnan. And she does a fine job giving us a very different kind of "M". And by that I don't speak of her sex. Famke was great also and she seems to have had a lot of fun with this role.

The theme song by the amazing, and sadly recently passed, Tina Turner is one of the best of the franchise and stands in stark contrast to the at times silly synth music used for the film.

One little weakness in the plot was that you don't believe for a second that Alec is dead simply by the fact you don't hire Sean Bean for a little teaser appearance. And since he then doesn't appear until later in the movie it's a safe bet he's the villain.

But like I said, little weakness. Overall a highly entertaining Bond movie.

The first and likely best of the Pierce Brosnan Bond movies. I remember thinking that Brosnan would make the perfect Bond back after Roger Moore started receiving the senior discount at Denny's. Unfortunately, contract conflicts necessitated the need to sign on the Shakespearean but stiff Timothy Dalton for a while. Once that was over, we got Brosnan to play 007 for a while.

Brosnan was slick and athletic and did a great job playing Bond. He's third on my list of best Bonds right after Connery and Craig (yeah, it's sad that I've personally ranked them). After a few movies, Brosnan seemed a little bored but for "Goldeneye" he was spot on. Maybe he is a little slight for all the brawling he is called upon to do, but when he busts through that brick wall driving the Russian tank, it's as cool of a Bond moment as any.

The final battle with Bean (Sean Bean as baddie Alec Trevelyan) is a bit long and way over the top, but it's quite an action scene. I liked Famke Janssen as hench woman Xenia Onatopp, too. I've never seen her play a character like that before.

This is a solid James Bond adventure and certainly did a lot for the future of 007 movies. It's too bad "Die Another Day" practically killed the franchise a few years later.

The first and likely best of the Pierce Brosnan Bond movies. I remember thinking that Brosnan would make the perfect Bond back after Roger Moore started receiving the senior discount at Denny's. Unfortunately, contract conflicts necessitated the need to sign on the Shakespearean but stiff Timothy Dalton for a while. Once that was over, we got Brosnan to play 007 for a while.

Brosnan was slick and athletic and did a great job playing Bond. He's third on my list of best Bonds right after Connery and Craig (yeah, it's sad that I've personally ranked them). After a few movies, Brosnan seemed a little bored but for "Goldeneye" he was spot on. Maybe he is a little slight for all the brawling he is called upon to do, but when he busts through that brick wall driving the Russian tank, it's as cool of a Bond moment as any.

The final battle with Bean (Sean Bean as baddie Alec Trevelyan) is a bit long and way over the top, but it is quite an action scene. I liked Famke Janssen as henchwoman Xenia Onatopp, too. I've never seen her play a character like that before.

This is a solid James Bond adventure and certainly did a lot for the future of 007 movies. It's too bad "Die Another Day" practically killed the franchise a few years later.

Pierce Brosnan's debut behind the martini glass is easily the best Bond movie since Sean Connery first quit the role, nearly thirty years prior. Everything just seems to click for Brosnan, who deftly balances the tricky contrast between suave, romantic espionage and blunt, campy excess while still, somehow, seeming cool and in-command. He's familiar but replenished, a character we've grown to appreciate over the course of sixteen preceding films, cast in a new light. No growing pains whatsoever - this agent hits the ground running.

The plot's emphasis on post-Soviet decay provides a long-sought modern backdrop to the series (at the time of its release, at least), while opening the door for all sorts of fresh concepts, unique characters and fascinating set pieces. Bond's fleeting showdown with an ex-comrade (Sean Bean, in a fantastic villainous turn) amid a cluster of stylish, discarded Russian monuments is a particular standout in that respect.

It's not perfect, by any means - the tech bits are laughable, the timeline's a mess, it's overly long - but it's undeniably fun to watch, colorful and edgy and hip, and a decided return to form for a series that had been floating, directionless, for quite a while. A new cornerstone, just where one was most desperately needed.