GoldenEye (1995)
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GoldenEye Movie Review
GoldenEye is a 1995 spy film directed by Martin Campbell and starring Pierce Brosnan. It’s one of the best Bond films so far and a strong step in the right direction.
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“Good, because I think you’re a sexist, misogynist dinosaur.
A relic of the Cold War, whose boyish charms, though wasted on me,
obviously appealed to that young woman I sent out to evaluate you“
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So this is the first film starring Pierce Brosnan in the role. He replaced Timothy Dalton thankfully as Dalton was just not a good Bond. I have to say that Brosnan was an excellent choice. He not only looks the part, but acts the part which is most important. For once, we get James Bond who is charming, funny and a womanizer and thus he is the closest we got to Sean Connery. But still there is a serious nature to him taken from the other Bonds which was a great choice.
So Bond is excellent here, but what about the other characters? They’re pretty good as well. Judi Dench is very good as the new M and Sean Bean plays Alec Trevelyan who is one terrific Bond villain who got a terrific backstory as well. Xenia Onatopp is also quite memorable and competent whereas Isabella Scorupco as Natalya Simonova is a very strong, likable Bond girl.
GoldenEye definitely has a weaker plot, but you never come in a James Bond film expecting strong storytelling, that is almost never going to happen so I did not take issue with this story too much. But the entire Russian enemy and international intrigue is really overdone and tired by now.
As for the technical aspects, the film lacks in terms of the locations which is one of its biggest problems and a big reason why it never comes close to Connery’s classics ‘Dr. No’ and especially ‘From Russia with Love’. The film is also way too long and it has too much action.
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But admittedly the action is very well executed and actually a lot of fun. Because the villain is competent, the cinematography is strong and the stakes are high, the film manages to make use of its action a lot and thus compensate for its obvious lack of surprises. It is one very entertaining film that is well acted, solidly directed and also expectedly well scored. It’s the best Bond film since ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’ which came all the way back in 1977.
GoldenEye has an expectedly weaker plot and an overblown runtime, but fun action scenes, memorable characters including a very good villain and Pierce Brosnan is a very strong, competent Bond, refreshingly reminiscent to Sean Connery. It is a very well executed spy flick and thus the best James Bond film since ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’.
