007 Contra 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.

After a 6 year hiatus due to protracted legal wranglings as to WHO owned the BOND film rights, GOLDENEYE was finally made! It was worth the wait! With the almost impossible assignment of both retaining the quintessential METHOD of the Connery period and the need to drag Bond screaming into the new millennium and its new technology, Martin Campbell actually pulled it off.

Brosnan, though not my personal favorite I have to say, did a damn near remarkable job, by not only bringing elements of Connery, Dalton and Moore to the role, but by stamping it with his own identity (he WAS actually first choice ahead of Dalton but was contractually tied to REMINGTON STEELE and could not gain a release!)

Wishing to link back with the earlier mega successful Bonds, the very title of GOLDENEYE was inspirational, immediately bringing to mind the latent image of GOLDFINGER. Not one half bad title song either compared to some recent efforts.

With Bernard Lee's sad demise, Judy Dench made a brilliant replacement as M, all balls and bravado. Similarly, Moneypenny is now a strictly new-age secretary admonishing 007 for his sexual harassment of her good self! Dearest of all, Desmond Llewelyn still shines as "Q" berating 007 for his behaviour and telling him to "grow up."

Famke Janssen is a throw-back to the good old days of Bond badgirls as the aptly named Xenia Onatopp. Izabella Scorupco however must be the most beautiful of all the "good" Bond girls. Feminine to the core and everything the average man would want to love and protect she is is simply yummy.....no more so than when she chides 007's cold-war repartee with his Russian counterpart as "Boys with Toys" Soo cute!

Action was at a premium from the rip-snorting bungee-jump (pre-credits) to the climactic battle atop the communications tower. Everything gelled in this movie to elevate it to amongst the top 5 Bond films...no question! Top dialog, state of the art fx, innuendos on tap and a really first rate villain. Shame none of the later Brosnan outings have come close to this one!

8.8 out of 10!

This film is the best of the classic James Bond films, i.e. those before the Daniel Craig reboot. It hits the right tone where it is not too serious but also not too silly either. The pacing is exciting and Pierce Brosnan is classy as always.

This movie fully deserves it's status as a classic in the action/thriller/spy/drama category. It's so much fun, well written, solid dialogue and yet it finds that sweet spot with just the right amount of classic Bond ridiculousness. Famke Jensenn playing Onatopp, a soviet assassin who kills men by riding them to death in bed? Yup, sounds like a Bond movie. Judi Dench absolutely kills it as M, I love the gravitas and complexity she brings to the role. Even back in 1995 calling out Bond, what some would consider to be the fictional epitome of toxic masculinity and chauvinism, and saying he's a dinosaur and that she has no problem sending him off to die if she has to. Love her so much in this. As for Bond himself, this may be because I grew up in this period but I have always loved Brosnan in the role. Yes, the later films get exponentially more absurd and the quality absolutely goes down but he is so perfectly cast as the suave, charming and devilish-at-times international man of mystery. That man wears the hell out of those suits, drinks a martini with the best of them and looks just right in that Aston Martin.

Definite recommend for people interested in a solid action flick. The plot is a little crazy, but that was perfectly in line with when it was made and the style of film it's going for. Easily worth a rent.

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