132 replies to this topic

[Double-O Eleven]

Can't fault Campbell though, Brosnan has zero screen presence in this film (he would improve with TND though, my favorite Brosnan film). Probably stemming from a fact that he's a bit unsure of himself being the lead of the film (he has about as much presence in GoldenEye as he did in Mrs. Doubtfire.

A poor first attempt, but luckily Brosnan's second outing was much, much better.

I completely agree--but thankfully I got to quite like Brosnan later. But at the time GoldenEye came out I was close to despair. I was so disappointed not only with Brosnan's performance, but how the film seemed to ignore the character of Bond entirely. After the shot in the arm from the two Dalton performances, what I saw on screen was so bland that it's made GoldenEye so difficult to evaluate for me ever since. I can still taste that disappointment from my initial viewing.

[JimmyBond]

My review

I completely agree--but thankfully I got to quite like Brosnan later. But at the time GoldenEye came out I was close to despair. I was so disappointed not only with Brosnan's performance, but how the film seemed to ignore the character of Bond entirely. After the shot in the arm from the two Dalton performances, what I saw on screen was so bland that it's made GoldenEye so difficult to evaluate for me ever since. I can still taste that disappointment from my initial viewing.

Well, when I first saw GoldenEye I enjoyed it (I always enjoy a Bond movie upon first viewing. It was only until after repeated viewings that I realized the pace of the film was just all wrong. The whole theft of the Goldeneye sequence really slows the film down. Similarly to the theft of the warheads sequence in Thunderball. However that film made up for it by having a great second half, aside from the tank chase and the finale, GoldenEye's second half is pretty mediocre.

i've been watching the opening credits sequence on youtube with the original ace of base song. very good. does anyone have any idea where to find that version ... not the re-written "the juvenile" from the da capo c.d.??

Do you have a link to that version on YouTube?

Edit: Nevermind, just found it.

Wow, suddenly Turner's version sounds like crap compared to this one, not that I was that huge a fan of it in the firs place. What a haunting melody, this is definately a much much better song, love the Piano arrangment in it.

[Harmsway]

Wow, suddenly Turner's version sounds like crap compared to this one. What a haunting melody, this is definately a much much better song.

I don't like it all that much. I'd take the Tina Turner/Bono song.

[Robert Watts]

I like the Ace of Base song better to be honest, while it needs a bit of work (some verse variation, and the replacement of the line 'We're in the 90s') But overall I like it better than the Turner song. As a song, I find the lyrics and the music far more interesting than what we ended up with.

I remember I wrote up a version of the lyrics that combined parts of The Juvenile with parts of the demo:

The Goldeneye, in a time where the night is so cold
The Goldeneye is the key to the end.
The Goldeneye, in the end that is why we are here,
This road will take us to the end,
Tomorrow

[Killmaster]

very nice lyrics.

and jimmy bond is right, the ace of base version is definitley more haunting than the tina turner version. while both are well done, i get the feeling that turner is trying to channel shirley bassey with a brassier sound. ace of base sounds more in line musically with the russian setting of the film.

but i like 'em both, so flip a coin ... and the loser can be played over the closing credits (like sheryl crow and kd lang in "tomorrow never dies").

but to return to my earlier question ... any ides on where we can find the ace of base version suitable for downloading?

[CM007]

Can't fault Campbell though, Brosnan has zero screen presence in this film (he would improve with TND though, my favorite Brosnan film). Probably stemming from a fact that he's a bit unsure of himself being the lead of the film (he has about as much presence in GoldenEye as he did in Mrs. Doubtfire.

A poor first attempt, but luckily Brosnan's second outing was much, much better.

I completely agree--but thankfully I got to quite like Brosnan later. But at the time GoldenEye came out I was close to despair. I was so disappointed not only with Brosnan's performance, but how the film seemed to ignore the character of Bond entirely. After the shot in the arm from the two Dalton performances, what I saw on screen was so bland that it's made GoldenEye so difficult to evaluate for me ever since. I can still taste that disappointment from my initial viewing.

I was the complete opposite.My despair came from watching LTK in the cinema and nearly pucking into my Popcorn watching that awful movie thinking if Dalton does any more Bond movies that

Edited by CM007, 14 September 2006 - 06:45 PM.

[Robert Watts]

very nice lyrics.

and jimmy bond is right, the ace of base version is definitley more haunting than the tina turner version. while both are well done, i get the feeling that turner is trying to channel shirley bassey with a brassier sound. ace of base sounds more in line musically with the russian setting of the film.

but i like 'em both, so flip a coin ... and the loser can be played over the closing credits (like sheryl crow and kd lang in "tomorrow never dies").

but to return to my earlier question ... any ides on where we can find the ace of base version suitable for downloading?

Their 2002 re-write of it is available on their album 'Da Capo' which you can find on most music download sites, the melody is slightly different, a tad more light hearted in spots - utilising some nice strings, the lyrics are crisper and the backing track is also better. I'm not sure where you can find this demo, I'll try and find the person who posted it on MI6 a while back and ask him to upload it to yousendit or something.

Edited by Robert Watts, 15 September 2006 - 12:12 AM.

[Killmaster]

robert watts, as you siggested i found a copy of "the juvenile" on a free music website and downloaded it. it does indeed have a much clearer and crisper sound to it and is slightly more "pop" than the "goldeneye" version super-imposed over the opening credits. thanks much.

but as a collector, i would still love to have an audio copy of the "goldeneye" version.

[Double-0-7]

I gave it an 8. I liked Brosnan in the role, thought it was a good introduction to the new Bond, and loved the opening scenes. Didn't care much for the soundtrack - nothing like the good Barry ones, but I think Tina Turner sounds just right singing the title song.

[Dekard77]

9 is the rating! Brosnan has the onething that makes any actor a great Bond that is "screen presence'. You really look forward to seeing him and he handles the role with more confidence than Moore or Dalton in their first outing.

Campbell is another super addtion to the movie and makes nice shots especially action scenes and cinemaphotography is one of the Best since FYEO. Peter Lamont never does justice to any Bond flick, I simply hate him and wish that Nigel Phelps (In dreams,Pearl Harbour and Alien Resserection) would handle the Bond Universe one day.

The thing I hated about the whole film is M and Moneypenny their dialogue is out of place and they are much better in TND and DAD. Why are they hellbent on proving to the world as Bond being a dinosaur or sexist.................. it is not in place and the usual Bond audience and action film fan fares are used to arrogant leads. This infact really made Sly's career go down the drain along with every other new action flick that comes out as they try too hard to address too many issues(the Rundown, the Island, Legend of Zorro and MI-3).

I loved the music in this movie as its very moody, even Barry would have choosen a moody score for this flick as it involves Russia and betrayel. Serra's score to this date works and the title song is one of the best.

I knew every detail of that film before I saw it as I made the mistake of reading the novel and onething that kept me glued was how nicely Brosnan played 007.

[Auric64]

I gave it a 3. It's not quite the worst Bond film, but it's down there.

JimmyBond, can I ask why you have given GE such a low number?

I`ve always enjoyed your posts, and you seem a very level headed Bond fan, but I just wonder what you didn`t like about it?

Personally, I give it a 9. It would have been a solid 10, but for Serra`s awful score.

I`m really looking forward to your reply.

Best

Andy

[Qwerty]

[quote name='Robert Watts' post='606812' date='14 September 2006 - 00:32']
I like the Ace of Base song better to be honest, while it needs a bit of work (some verse variation, and the replacement of the line 'We're in the 90s') But overall I like it better than the Turner song. As a song, I find the lyrics and the music far more interesting than what we ended up with.

I remember I wrote up a version of the lyrics that combined parts of The Juvenile with parts of the demo:

The Goldeneye, in a time where the night is so cold
The Goldeneye is the key to the end.
The Goldeneye, in the end that is why we are here,
This road will take us to the end,
Tomorrow

[Scottlee]

A solide '8' from me. I can I'm in the majority for a change.

[00Twelve]

I gave it a 9. The very best of the Brosnans in my opinion.

This film contained the most interesting characters, IMO, and was the correct way to hearken back to the classic days (as opposed to the similar attempt made by DAD). One item of note that seems to be constantly overlooked is the downright hilarious scene with Zukovsky. Everything from his boisterous laughter to Minnie Driver to "SILENCE!!!" just cracks me up. And Sean Bean was, simply, brilliant as 006. I always wondered, though, if it would have made more sense to make him 008. That would have carried some wonderful implications with it, based on GF and TLD.

The music was what it was, but I actually LOVED the Bond guitar riff played on timpani in tracks such as the GoldenEye overture. Fortunately, we got a broken taste of the traditional sound in the tank chase, and the slower, romantic themes didn't disappoint in the least.

This film certainly has remained Onatopp of Brosnan's Bond films.

And who knew a script involving Bruce Feirstein could dominate in comparison to anyone else? Thanks for that, P&W!

[JimmyBond]

I gave it a 3. It's not quite the worst Bond film, but it's down there.

JimmyBond, can I ask why you have given GE such a low number?

Sure, I never get tired of talking Bond

Why did I give it a low score you ask? Actually I wrote up a whole thread on the subject of my feelings of the film, but I feel giving you a link would be too lazy of me

To me, it all boils down to Brosnan, he has zero screen presence in this film. That's not helped by the fact that he is overshadowed by every single actor he shares the screen with. This is not more evident than when Bond teams up with Natalya, in the train she orders him around, and even during the finale she gets more to do (altering the codes for the Goldenye, slapping Boris around, telling Trevalyan to shot Bond, etc.). I always feel that in a Bond film, Bond should be the character driving the action, and in this film he's just not.

Whether he's watching the events unfold in the situation room, or getting pushed around by practically every character in the movie, it just seems like Bond is there for the ride. A fellow poster once called this movie: The Adventures of Natalya and her sidekick James Bond and I quite agree with that sentiment.

[BoogieBond]

I do like Goldeneye very much. A solid 7.
There's a lot to like, the bungee jump, great introduction and PTS and a really good first 45 mins. Love the car chase between Xenia and Bond and the subsequent chase after Mishkin is killed. I like Pierce very much in this film. He seems a very instinctive bond, just surviving on his wits. Great scenes with M and Moneypenny also, and the Q scenes are great. A rousing return.

[Nicolas Suszczyk]

Great action scenes, great dialogues, great women, great villians, great stunts, great action scenes, great cinematography, great Bond... what else can I say about the biggest Bond EVER!

Pierce Brosnan is AMAZING

Sean Bean is MEMORABLE

Famke Jansen is GORGEOUS

How could someone forget Robbie Coltrane as Zukovsky

Phil Meheux photography is a "feast for my eyes"

Martin Campbell should be an
example for future Bond directors.

Although some people will disagree with me,
some tracks in Eric Serra's score are very good
(i.e. "The GoldenEye Overture"; "For Ever, James";
"Run, Shoot and Jump")

Michael France, Jeffrey Caine and Bruce Feirstein are
the best screenweiters since Richard Maibaum.

The tank scene with John Altman's music... is essential.

"In a scale of one to five, GoldenEye gets seven stars!"

10/10

Edited by Nicolas Suszczyk, 15 May 2008 - 10:49 PM.

[Aris007]

The last Cold War-related Bond movie is a MASTERPIECE!!!
What can I say, Brosnan in the best moment of his Bond career.
Inspired plot.
Cool atmosphere.
The movie is really INVINCIBLE!

It really deserves the 10 I gave it.

Edited by aris007, 17 May 2008 - 11:17 AM.

[sharpshooter]

The last Cold War-related Bond movie is a MASTERPIECE!!!
What can I say, Brosnan in the best moment of his Bond career.
Inspired plot.
Cool atmosphere.
The movie is really INVINCIBLE!

It really deserves the 10 I gave it.

It definitely deserves a 10. The best of the Brosnan films and a modern classic of the current batch of films.

[Gabriel]

I really dislike GoldenEye. It gets right up my nose. It's the most irritating, self-aware, smug, politically correct entry in the series! A Bond film that's embarrassed to be a Bond film.

On the plus side, I really like Martin Campbell's direction and Phil Meheux's cinematography. Eric Serra's score is different, but fits the darker parts of the movie very well. Sean Bean and Famke Janssen are both very good (in fact Sean Bean should have been the first blond Bond!)

But the rest of the film is hideous. My problem is that the film lacks any coherent identity. Is it serious or is it a spoof? It swings wildly between the two, opening a whole moral can of worms, among other things.

The opening scene sums up this schizophrenia. A wonderful bungee jump stunt is followed by the crass scene of Pierce hanging upside down in the men's loo making a stupid remark before punching out a guard. A wonderfully dark infiltration and confrontation scene is followed by the most crass unbelievable stunt in the history of the series. The aeroplane jump kills all credibility for the whole film.

Tina Turner's talent is wasted with a horrible wannabe Bond song written by two overrated popstars who are so childish that they have to call themselves Bono and The Edge! Grow up!

Then we get a daft road race scene with an irritating woman who starts out as some ill-researched, pseudo-feminist clich

Edited by Gabriel, 06 June 2008 - 10:54 PM.

[ChrissBond007]

10/10!

Very underrated here online! It's AWESOME. By far Brosnan's best peformance, Sean Bean is one of the best villians ever, Famke Jassen in great and the rest of the henchmen is this movie are simply brilliant.

The first Bondfilm I saw and still awesome, it was my favourite, however it's not as good as From Russia with Love and On Her Majesty's Secret Service Service, but this film has the 3th place in my top 21.

The actionscenes are probably the best in the series and yes I like the moterbike jump in the PTS. The plot is great, especially the story of the MI6 traitor Trevelyan is brilliant, finally the real villian is revelead after the first half of the film. Oh, and I like Eric Serra's score a lot!

Six years after the dissapointed LTK, Martin Campbell saved the series with this amazing movie, wich is simply Brosnan's best ever.

[sharpshooter]

wich is simply Brosnan's best ever.

It is. A great movie, followed up with another. Shame it went downhill from there.

[ChrissBond007]

wich is simply Brosnan's best ever.

It is. A great movie, followed up with another. Shame it went downhill from there.

I prefer TWINE over TND. I've been never really inpressed by TND, but I'm a fan of TWINE.

But both are not as great as Goldeneye.

Edited by ChrissBond007, 04 October 2008 - 12:07 PM.

[Joey Bond]

If Goldeneye was the first Bond film you ever saw, you'd love it. Otherwise, it's basically a "Bond's greatest hits" film. You got the femme fatale with a sexually suggestive name, a damsel in distress, some chase scenes, a Shirley Bassey-like title song, crazy gadgets etc

For me, Goldeneye was one of the first Bond films I saw and it has always been my favorite Brosnan films, because it is Bond's greatest hits.

It's got oen of the best gunbarrel, PTS, title sequence and title song in Bond history. Eric Serra's score is almost universally panned by most but I rather like his PTS score.

It starts to go a bit downhill from Serra's cue where Xenia's Ferrari appears. The casino scene was average but in retrospect only serves the purpose of throwing in some one-liners.

Things really slow down from there. Having watched the film on VCD (remember those? Before you could fit entire movies into one disc you had to watch it in two parts) I could tell how slow this is as Bond does not officially receive his briefing from M and go on his mission until near the end of the first disc.

006 rescues the story however. For the first time we see another 00 agent survive the PTS, albeit as a villian but it adds a new angle to the film.

I don't really know what to make of the tank chase. First of all I felt it was too long, as were so many of Brosnan's chase sequences (in fact, all but the boat chase at the start of TWINE I felt were too long) but again this is one of the few occasions where some risks were taken in an otherwise very 'play-it-safe' film, which I'll get to later.

The scene of the Carribean sunset with the whole "How can you be so cold?" was an attempt to give Bond more humanity but given the tone of the rest of the film this scene feels really awkward.

The finale really sticks to the whole "greatest hit" feel with a big, lavish set in some exotic location and Bond basically taking the whole place down.

In retrospect, you have to understand the producers taking a 'play-it-safe' appraoch to Goldeneye. Bond was returning from a 6 year haitus which contained the fall of the iron curtain and he has been all but written off as an icon of the past. They couldn't have taken a 'new direction' the way they did with Casino Royale, when Bond's future was much more assured.

Overall I'd give the film a 7/10, but an honorable mention to the first 10 minutes of the film which is basically the best first 10 minutes to any Bond film.

[Publius]

What hurts Goldeneye for me is all the putting down of Bond. That could have actually worked well if Dalton had returned, since he'd have been an established Bond from the Cold War days proving that the world still needs him, never apologizing for who he is.

With a nervous Brosnan (apparently the dialog scenes were shot before the action, unlike in CR and, I believe, TLD) in the role for the first time, however, it comes across as if Bond is sorry for being a politically incorrect relic and tries to transform for the new world.

Die Another Day, for its million and one flaws, at least featured a defiant, confident Bond who wasn't about to be pushed around by the times.

Anyway, other than that, it's a great film. Maybe it's the underrated Serra score, maybe it's the cold industrial look, maybe it's something else, but this has always felt the least like a "Bond movie" to me, and that's not a knock against it. Refreshingly unusual within the Bond canon, rivaled only by NSNA in that regard.

[dodge]

Good to see this one get due respect. It's always been a fave of mine, though some of the humor--especially with Boris--keeps wearing thinner and thinner. And the tank scene has always seemed a major copout to me. Other than that...what's not to like, or at least admire? Fabulous action from Campbell and crew. Strong villains, especially Onatopp. Excitingly different score. And a new, far more elegant, look.

[Harmsway]

I don't really like the look of it all. I like the basic Cold War vibe, but I think GOLDENEYE does it in a way that's more TV movie than elegant, big-budget thriller.

I like the villains, and I appreciate how daringly different Serra's score is. Other than that, I don't really care for GOLDENEYE.

[PrinceKamalKhan]

The thing I hated about the whole film is M and Moneypenny their dialogue is out of place and they are much better in TND and DAD. Why are they hellbent on proving to the world as Bond being a dinosaur or sexist.................. it is not in place and the usual Bond audience and action film fan fares are used to arrogant leads.

Agreed. It seemed like EON was too busy listening to Bond's critics rather than the fans.

I knew every detail of that film before I saw it as I made the mistake of reading the novel

I read John Gardner's GoldenEye novelization prior to seeing it as well. Big mistake as the movie I pictured in my head while reading it prior to seeing it was better than the one they actually made. I wish they had included Bond and Natalya's escape from Russia to Cuba where he impersonates an old man and Natalya a young girl.

I gave it a 3. It's not quite the worst Bond film, but it's down there.

JimmyBond, can I ask why you have given GE such a low number?

Sure, I never get tired of talking Bond

Why did I give it a low score you ask? Actually I wrote up a whole thread on the subject of my feelings of the film, but I feel giving you a link would be too lazy of me

To me, it all boils down to Brosnan, he has zero screen presence in this film. That's not helped by the fact that he is overshadowed by every single actor he shares the screen with. This is not more evident than when Bond teams up with Natalya, in the train she orders him around, and even during the finale she gets more to do (altering the codes for the Goldenye, slapping Boris around, telling Trevalyan to shot Bond, etc.). I always feel that in a Bond film, Bond should be the character driving the action, and in this film he's just not.

Whether he's watching the events unfold in the situation room, or getting pushed around by practically every character in the movie, it just seems like Bond is there for the ride. A fellow poster once called this movie: The Adventures of Natalya and her sidekick James Bond and I quite agree with that sentiment.

Good point, JimmyBond. It foreshadowed what would happen throughout Brosnan's tenure, i.e. his sometimes turning into a supporting character in his own film. I hope Quantum of Solace doesn't turn into The Adventures of Camille and her sidekick James Bond also.

I really dislike GoldenEye. It gets right up my nose. It's the most irritating, self-aware, smug, politically correct entry in the series! A Bond film that's embarrassed to be a Bond film.

On the plus side, I really like Martin Campbell's direction and Phil Meheux's cinematography. Eric Serra's score is different, but fits the darker parts of the movie very well. Sean Bean and Famke Janssen are both very good (in fact Sean Bean should have been the first blond Bond!)

But the rest of the film is hideous. My problem is that the film lacks any coherent identity. Is it serious or is it a spoof? It swings wildly between the two, opening a whole moral can of worms, among other things.

The opening scene sums up this schizophrenia. A wonderful bungee jump stunt is followed by the crass scene of Pierce hanging upside down in the men's loo making a stupid remark before punching out a guard. A wonderfully dark infiltration and confrontation scene is followed by the most crass unbelievable stunt in the history of the series. The aeroplane jump kills all credibility for the whole film.

Tina Turner's talent is wasted with a horrible wannabe Bond song written by two overrated popstars who are so childish that they have to call themselves Bono and The Edge! Grow up!

Then we get a daft road race scene with an irritating woman who starts out as some ill-researched, pseudo-feminist clich� then gets seduced by Bond with his champagne bottle. The whole scene's an embarrassing riff on the Roger Moore era, only with a less charismatic Bond, who can't pull off the joke. The last time Bond behaved in this manner was 10 years earlier and the joke had worn thin by then!

The problem lies in the script and the acting. The script beats us over the head with politically correct apologies for who Bond is. M and Moneypenny are horribly played by two talented actresses, given appalling dialogue. In fact the dialogue throughout the film is a cross between Star Trek: The Next Generation-style pomposity and woodenness and pre-Scream-style self-awareness. Desmond Llewellyn comes over as senile and I felt desperately sorry for him in a Q sequence laden with the worst sight gags ever used in a Q scene. It's utterly toe curling.

In amidst all this smug jokiness, we witness Xenia Onatopp having an orgasm while committing mass-murder. That's where the film fails: its tone is all over the place. In one scene, we see Bond framed for killing the Russian minister of defence. He then proceeds to murder a large number of innocent Russian soldiers with a machine gun (and it was well known at the time that Russian soldiers were living in virtual poverty and often only working out of loyalty to their country) who are chasing the man they legitimately need to arrest for allegedly killing their democratically-elected minister. These aren't Blofeld henchmen, they're ordinary, innocent people.

Suddenly Bond grabs a tank and we're all supposed to laugh as he drives a tank through St Petersburg crushing cars and presumably killing large numbers of civilians and soldiers . . . except they unconvincingly climb out of their crushed vehicles uninjured afterwards . . . what is this: The A Team? So we're supposed to have a laugh with a man who has just committed mass murder as he destroys a Russian city?!!!

The ending with its cheap imitation of YOLT's underwater base has modelwork about as convincing as an episode of 1960s Thunderbirds. The fight scene between 006 and 007 is great. The bit where 006 manages to stay alive after an organ liquefying fall only to be crushed by girders is stupid.

And that's another failure of GoldenEye: if it's a spoof, it carries every setpiece and gag one step too far and is way too mean-spirited. If it's serious piece of drama, it's ruined by stupid OTT gags. Pierce also fails to convince as Bond on every level, hampered by the fact that the script doesn't quite want him to be Bond.
So there we have it. GoldenEye. Garbage. Politically correct garbage. Garbage so sterile it doesn't even stink! The worst Bond film ever made. A false dawn, creatively, for the series.

There were arguably some worse things to come, but TND saw Pierce become Bond, and Judi Dench and Samantha Bond ease up and be allowed to play their characters, rather than sound like they're reading some out-of-date feminist manifesto. Tonally, the later Brosnans got it right. GoldenEye was too long in development to be anything more than a compromised mess: a Timothy Dalton movie with Roger Moore gags clumsily grafted on. A nasty, sadistic film that's like a comedian who starts randomly murdering members of his audience, yet expects everyone else to keep on laughing.

For me, GoldenEye is the absolute nadir of the series. Overrated tripe, best buried and the ground salted!

Edited to add: I'll put this on the countdown thread!

Don't hold back, Gabriel. Tell us how you really feel about GoldenEye

Excellently written review. I've put in bold some of the parts I really agree with. I'm grateful for GoldenEye's financial success and am grateful that it introduced Bond to a new generation of fans. And I do rank it higher than The World is not Enough since the 1995 Bond film is actually a spy film instead of a soap opera like the 1999 one sadly turned out to be. But as it stands, it's in my lower 3rd rankings. It's even more frustrating because I believe that within GoldenEye, a truly excellent Bond movie is struggling to get out but only does so in bits and flashes not as a whole.

If Goldeneye was the first Bond film you ever saw, you'd love it. Otherwise, it's basically a "Bond's greatest hits" film. You got the femme fatale with a sexually suggestive name, a damsel in distress, some chase scenes, a Shirley Bassey-like title song, crazy gadgets etc

For me, Goldeneye was one of the first Bond films I saw and it has always been my favorite Brosnan films, because it is Bond's greatest hits.

It's got oen of the best gunbarrel, PTS, title sequence and title song in Bond history. Eric Serra's score is almost universally panned by most but I rather like his PTS score.

It starts to go a bit downhill from Serra's cue where Xenia's Ferrari appears. The casino scene was average but in retrospect only serves the purpose of throwing in some one-liners.

Things really slow down from there. Having watched the film on VCD (remember those? Before you could fit entire movies into one disc you had to watch it in two parts) I could tell how slow this is as Bond does not officially receive his briefing from M and go on his mission until near the end of the first disc.

006 rescues the story however. For the first time we see another 00 agent survive the PTS, albeit as a villian but it adds a new angle to the film. I don't really know what to make of the tank chase. First of all I felt it was too long, as were so many of Brosnan's chase sequences (in fact, all but the boat chase at the start of TWINE I felt were too long) but again this is one of the few occasions where some risks were taken in an otherwise very 'play-it-safe' film, which I'll get to later.

The scene of the Carribean sunset with the whole "How can you be so cold?" was an attempt to give Bond more humanity but given the tone of the rest of the film this scene feels really awkward.

The finale really sticks to the whole "greatest hit" feel with a big, lavish set in some exotic location and Bond basically taking the whole place down.

In retrospect, you have to understand the producers taking a 'play-it-safe' appraoch to Goldeneye. Bond was returning from a 6 year haitus which contained the fall of the iron curtain and he has been all but written off as an icon of the past. They couldn't have taken a 'new direction' the way they did with Casino Royale, when Bond's future was much more assured.

Good stuff, Joey Bond.

What hurts Goldeneye for me is all the putting down of Bond. That could have actually worked well if Dalton had returned, since he'd have been an established Bond from the Cold War days proving that the world still needs him, never apologizing for who he is.

With a nervous Brosnan (apparently the dialog scenes were shot before the action, unlike in CR and, I believe, TLD) in the role for the first time, however, it comes across as if Bond is sorry for being a politically incorrect relic and tries to transform for the new world.

Die Another Day, for its million and one flaws, at least featured a defiant, confident Bond who wasn't about to be pushed around by the times.

Indeed, Publius. I watched GoldenEye about a month ago and still found it to be a middling Bond film with great moments but felt much more like a rough draft or screentest for the Brosnan era than a truly satisfying Bond film. Last night I watched huge chunks of Die Another Day and found I enjoyed Brosnan's finale much more than his debut. He just oozed superconfidence in the role and it was much less politcally correct than his first one. This superconfidence in Brosnan's performance spilled over into the film which despite the terrible CGI and Jinx's dreadful lines was much more fun for me than GoldenEye.

Anyway, other than that, it's a great film. Maybe it's the underrated Serra score, maybe it's the cold industrial look, maybe it's something else, but this has always felt the least like a "Bond movie" to me, and that's not a knock against it. Refreshingly unusual within the Bond canon, rivaled only by NSNA in that regard.

I find GoldenEye and Never Say Never Again very similar also. French Riviera, a villainess who's a spoof of Fiona Volpe, lack of traditional John Barry/David Arnold style sounding music, new M and Moneypenny, very self-aware with Bond being seen as a relic who has to prove himself again, searching for stolen nuclear weapon.

[double o ego]

Goldeneye is one of those movies I just couldn't see what all the hoopla was all about. Personally, I think in the advent of the Arnolds, Stallones, Willisis and Van Damms, people, especially Bond fans were way to excited and even more forgiving for GE as it had a 6 year absence. People thought Bond was dead and when he returned in the form of Brosnan, people rejoiced. I didn't and I was only 10 years old at the time BUT I knew enough about Bond and how I expected a Bond film to play out.

The PTS. What the hell?? The bungee jump was fantastic but lacked the bad a rse execution of the parachute jump in TSWLM then, everything goes down hill from there. In fact, the moment I realised Brosnan was miscast was the moment Sean Bean appeared. Bean had the coldness in his eyes as he killed and even the way he moved was a lot more swift and Bond-like. He should have been Bond. Upto the point where Bond starts shooting the canisters and hops onto the assembly line and hauls his a rse out of there, he came off as rookie-ish. The icing on the proverbial cake was when Bond now hops onto a bike and zooms after a plane and proceeds to then, not only free fall without a parachute after it but to then make it inside the cockpit and gain control, escaping death and flying the plane up, up and away.

Then we are forced to bare witness to a rather embarrasing scene where the notion of Bond's existence and relevance in a post cold war and PC world have us in a choke hold. I think the film's biggest crime is it's inconsistency. We have Bond on the verge of apologising for who he is and yet, it's his old tricks of the trade that is on display in full effect, being used to ultimately save the world.

The characters were mediocre. I never cared for Wade, he was useless and any comic relief he was intended to bring fell flat. The Russian defence minister was fantastic. I found Dench's M rather inept, with the whole, "My sources say the GE satellite can't possibly exist" rubbish to be just that. Rubbish. Then there was that rather stupid exchange of identifying and explaining what an EMP was. Huh?? I was 10 years old and I knew what an EMP was and this is something that was heavily made aware of back in the 40s and here we are, in a post cold war world and we have Brosnan feeling as though he's flexing his cerebral dexterity muscles by giving us a Collins dictionary definition of what an EMP is. Urgh!
Onnatop was crazy and a tad too OTT. However, credit to Famke for showing such range and enthusiasm, it's almost hard to imagine she's the same Dr Jean Grey in the X-men movies. Bean's villainous 006 was great. He imo actually had the best dialogue through out the whole movie but was ruined by the fact that his character who is supposed to know Bond so well, routinely under-estimated him. Valentine Sukofski was a great characetr and shamefully over shadowed Brosnan. In fact, Brosnan being over shadowed was a regular occurance in the movie and that's primarily because when it came to acting, he was outclassed by each and every one of his co-stars. Brosnan was just coasting along, saved by the fact that he WAS Bond.

Bond's dialogue and delivery was pathetic. One could see that not once did he ever try to emmerse himself and allow himself to actually become Bond. It's quite clear he was content with just running around pretending to be Bond. His delivery of the name introduction is the worst in the series and where he really FAILED at delivering the line was in TWINE during the escape from then underground cavern with Dr. Christmas Jones...but that's for another review.

Then, there's this business with Brosnan feeling the need to blow the last words out of his mouth through his nose. Why? I never ever understood why he did that through out his entire run as Bond.
Anyway, Brosnan just tried too hard to replicate what had been done before instead of making Bond his own and even replicating what had been done, he failed at miserably. Lazenby pretty much aped Connery and he still to some extent not only made the role his own but he did a damn good job overall, especially when one considers his lack of acting experience. It's pretty clear Brosnan tried to ape the charm of Moore but inevitably came up short (cheesy Brosnan-esque pun intended).

The action overall again was mediocre. Brosnan running around as though he has a stick up his bum, firing guns with his lips pushed out like he's "modelling for, just for men", the hand to hand combat with 006 could have been better but 006's death again was somewhat of a joke. That fall should have killed him instantly. Overall, there were way too many guns firing and explosions for a film about a secret agent. There was no tact, no stealth, it was all, "hey look at me! I'm James Bond now now watch me do this!" Urgh!! Don't even get me started on the tank scene. Everything just seemed so, generic.

Natalya was a good Bond girl but forgettable, Borris was entertaining enough and as for the humour, the only time I laughed was when Onnatop told Bond she wouldn't lose any sleep over him not calling or what ever the convo in the car was about as she pulled up to the statue grave yard, only for Bond to apply his infamouse judo chop to the neck and reply, "sweet dreams". It's not that funny but I had to find something legitimate to laugh at.

It's almost hard to imagine that Campbell is the same guy who directed CR who directed the superiorly inferior GE.

I rate GE a 5/10. I give it props for crossing the confines of the cold war era but the film overall didn't seem to know what it was doing or what it wanted to be. Besides that and the fact that the entire Brosnan era made a killing at the BO, other than that, the Brosnan era is pretty forgettable. In fact, I think more people remember DAD more so than any other Brosnan film for 3 reasons, Halle Berry, the invisible car and of course, just how awful the film was.

I don't hate Brosnan and I don't hate his Bond, I just have a low opinion of his era and tenure and feel that he never ever once really fought to step up to the plate to embrace the role. Instead he settled for the cheques. GE had potential, it shows in various parts of the movie but really, Brosnan looked like a middle aged kid running around in a Bond-inspired theme park. Shame.

[Kristian]

The Adventures of Natalya and her Sidekick James Bond

I actually relished that Natalya had her own plotline and her character introduced to us and developed somewhat way before she meets Bond. She wasn't there just for eye candy.

If you read one of the earlier drafts of TWINE, you will see that movie almost became THE ADVENTURES OF ELEKTRA KING, CHRISTMAS JONES, M, and their SIDEKICK JAMES BOND. According to some literature I read, Brosnan was unhappy with the beefed-up female parts because it drew attention from him. They couldn't really rewrite the M-Elektra plotline because it was at the heart of the film, so they basically made the following changes to Christmas Jones to make Bond more in-focus:

1. Originally, Christmas is the one that figures out that the plutonium was stolen to make a bigger, and better Bomb. In the film, they delay this realization until the Istanbul safe house scene, and switch it to Bond.

2. In the Pipeline COntrol Room Center, it is her that heads out to diffuse the bomb. She asks for help from her fellow IDA physicists, but they all look embarassed and afraid. Instead, Bond offers to help her. - In the film, Bond heads out, and she follows.

3. Christmas is the one be suspicious when Zukovsky mentions that submarine. She grills him about it and figures out that Elektra wants to use the reactor - in the film, it's Bond who figures this out - and Christmas agrees.

4. In the final scene in the reactor, it is Christmas who open the hatch to flood the reactor. Bond is busy fleeing, but she yells at him to come back and help her. - In the film, Christmas is still the one that realizes the reactor could spark and explode, but it is Bond who open the hatch to flood the reactor while telling Christmas to head up to the torpedo bay.

5. That last line about "X-mas coming once a year" was originally uttered by Christmas herself, but she says "You know, James, I think Christmas is coming early this year."

Anyhow, I can sort of understand why they had to rewrite Christmas's character somewhat. Bond was really starting to become a bystander in his own movie.