Review 158: GoldenEye

GoldenEye is staggering Bond movie and the perfect example of a Modernisation of the 007 series.

9 years after infiltrating a chemical weapons facility in Russia, where friend and fellow M:I-6 agent Alec Trevelyan 006 (Sean Bean) was killed by corrupt Russian military officer General Ourumov (Gottfried John). James Bond 007 (Pierce Brosnan) is assigned by his new boss, a female 'M' (Judi Dench) to recover "GoldenEye" the access key to a top secret space weapon orbiting the Earth which fires a electromagnetic pulse which shuts down all electronic equipment.

 

It's almost impossible to talk about this film without delving into its long development history: After the disappointment of Licence to Kill, Eon went forward with a new James Bond movie with Timothy Dalton to reprise the role for release in 1991, however MGM/UA was sold to Qintex, which wanted to merge with Pathe: the Bond catalogue was leased to Pathe at a lower-than-market value, without consulting Danjaq – which sued MGM/UA Communications. This legal dispute went on for six years (the longest wait between films) during which time Dalton quite the role.

 
The plot is fantastic. What sets GoldenEye apart from other Bond films is that it has a strong sense of self awareness, that has lost it's innocence and the simplicity of its world view.
The film embraces the changed world that has transpired since the Fall of the Berlin Wall. It establishes Bond in a New World Order and in the process makes for a very self-reflective viewing that does a lot of questioning the relevance of Bond in a post-Cold War world with many character like M (a wonderfully witty and dry Judi Dench) and Miss Moneypenny (Samantha Bond) calling him out on his outdated views. The overall story is fairly standard fare, mixing and matching tropes from the series like nifty gadgets, one liners and car chases. The fact the titular GoldenEye is a satellite weapon making it the best Bond movie since 1977's "The Spy Who Love Me".

Director Martin Campbell's directing is sharp and unobtrusive (keeping the 130 min narrative briskly paced and suspenseful), the cinematography is brilliant, the effects are spectacular, the production design is splendid, the costume design is excellent, the sound effects are catchy, there are some great scenes of suspense, the action scenes are fantastic including an instantly iconic tank chase through Saint Petersberg, the make up is rich, the props are superb, the score by Eric Serra is excellently pulse pounding and reflects Russian/Industrial post-Soviet backdrop. The locations are beautiful, the scenery is breathtaking, the title song by Tina Turner is mighty, there are some brilliant gags and one-liner jokes and the ending was great.

Goldeneye features possibly some of the best acting in the series, Pierce Brosnan is excellent as James Bond. Playing the character as more sensitive, vulnerable and psychologically complete yet somewhat uneasy about his place in the world. Brosnan strikes a good balance of the underlying darkness of character as well as the humor and charasma required for the part of the iconic spy.

Izabella Scorupco is fabulous as Natalya Simanova, not only is she beautiful & sexy, but she's tough, intelligent, resourceful, proactive and doesn't take any nonsense from anyone especially Bond & Alec.
She proves herself to be a valuable asset to Bond on his mission, making her more of his equal than previous Bond girls. Starting off as mearly a Level 2 programmer at the Severnaya Space Weapons Control Centre, her whole world goes to hell when the centre is destroyed by the GoldenEye satellite and is forced to think on her feet to stay ahead of the villains.
and exactly what the franchise needed to get back on top after a lengthy time away from the big screen.

Sean Bean as Alec Trevelyan/006 makes for a spectacular villain. As a former 00 agent, the film presents us with a villain who knows Bond better than anyone else. Trevelyan is purely motivated by revenge on British government because he blames for a personal tradgedy that befell him. Trevelyan conducts himself with pure charisma, able to get under Bond's skin like no else. Trevelyan serves as a dark reflection of Bond; You get the sense that he's what a bad James Bond could have been if he turned to darkness.

Famke Janssen as Xenia Onatopp makes for a simply ingeniously inspired henchwoman. Managing to be beautifully menacing as she is seductive. 

Alan Cumming provides superb comic relief as Boris and his one-liner "I am invincible" is just hilarious

Robbie Coltrane is brilliant as Valentin Zukovsky the Russian gangster and ex-KGB agent through whom Bond arranges a meeting with Janus. Zukovsky has a grudge against Bond for a previous run in.

Gottfried John is as the treacherous General Ourumov

Joe Don Baker is great as Jack Wade A veteran CIA agent on the same mission as Bond

Even the roster of M.I.6 regulars get an update, Samantha Bond is easily the best Moneypenny since Lois Maxwell. She’s a Moneypenny for the 90's. She's a cool, professional, sexy, modern woman with a feisty exterior whose not afraid to stand up to Bond and put him in his place.

Judi Dench makes for possibly the best M since Bernard Lee; she's scolding and motherly to Bond.

The great unline of Dench's portrayal of M is that she's clearly based on Dame Stella Rimington who was the head of M.I.6 at that time. She brings a wonderful sense of authority, weight, power and an icy wit to the part while being appropriately scolding and motherly to Bond.

Goldeneye is a staggering Bond film, the perfect attempt to modernise James Bond and an example to James Bond films in particular, 5/5.

The Anonymous Critic