Goldeneye (1995)
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Goldeneye (1995)
___ BOND#17: Eye on the New 007 for the Nineties ___
SEAN BEAN as 006 * IZABELLA SCORUPCO as Natalya * FAMKE JANSSEN as Xenia Onatopp
JOE DON BAKER as Jack Wade * ROBBIE COLTRANE as Valentin * ALAN CUMMING as Boris
GOTTFRIED JOHN * TCHEKY KARYO * DESMOND LLEWELYN as Q * SAMANTHA BOND as Moneypenny
and JUDI DENCH as M * Directed by MARTIN CAMPBELL
Six years doesn't really sound like a long time but it almost looks like we've entered a new century since the previous Bonder. There's a heavy emphasis on computer technology and both the white hats & the evildoers seem to rely on these new advances, most of which did not exist in the eighties. Some of the dialog reflects this passage of time, such as when M, a female successor to the post, voices her negative overview of what Bond represents - or, what he used to represent.
There's also a decidedly different flavor to the relationship between Bond and MI6 HQ, including Bond's bond with Moneypenny - certainly not the warm relationship we'd seen between Connery & Maxwell, for example. Ironically, there's a coldness here even though the Cold War is over, maybe because they're not teamed against the Soviets any longer. We kind of expect M (the always effective Dench) to criticize Bond, but nice Moneypenny? However, the scene where they all watch an electronic map as the pulse goes off is excellent, suggesting close teamwork.
Brosnan does well as the new Bond and it's fortunate he didn't get the part earlier as planned - he's just the right age here. He doesn't have Connery's power but he also doesn't indulge in as much awful smirking as Moore, creating a well-balanced interpretation. He's a bit more emotional than those two old-timers, letting loose with a great big smile more than once, but he's also very serious when he needs to be, sometimes switching to a grim outlook almost abruptly. The tension is there, unlike the Moore version, but he also has a nearly superhuman competency, which is what 007 needs.
The mission begins in beautiful Monte Carlo (cards, anyone?), featuring the return of the Aston Martin, a spiffy auto race and the theft of a special helicopter. Bond then visits the new Russia in St.Petersburg, where there's a prolonged chase with a tank. He ends up somewhere in Cuba, searching for a huge satellite dish - this reminds of the fake lake from the humongous You Only Live Twice days. The villain ends up being former agent 006, whose closest parallel among past Bond villains is the assassin of The Man With the Golden Gun, who was presented as Bond's opposite number, like an evil brother. Alec, 006, is the scarred, twisted version of 007 and makes a great opponent simply by virtue of his backstory. He's certainly not two-dimensional and you wonder just how bad can this guy really be if he was such good friends with Bond? Since he thinks like Bond and can perhaps out-think him, their final battle has that extra punch.
The super-henchwoman, Onatopp, made quite an impression on me when I first saw this; when I viewed this again, her repeated orgasms during all her action/kill scenes (this is known as being a lust murderer in real life) became a bit silly and tiresome by the 3rd or 4th time. But, her final fight with Bond is also well done. Jack Wade replaces the crippled Leiter as Bond's CIA liaison; actor Baker hams it up. The femme fatale (gorgeous volatile Scorupco), the secondary villain (a Russian general) and a couple of other amusing characters (Boris, Valentin) are well drawn, adding to the overall adventure. This was a pretty intelligent and exciting restart for the series, though individual stand-out scenes are better than the overall uneven structure. Bond (and Brosnan) would return in Tomorrow Never Dies.
BoG's Bond Scores: Bond:8 Villains:8 Femme Fatales:8 Henchwoman:8 CIA:7 Fights:9 Stunts/Chases:8 Gadgets:7 Auto:8 Locations:8 Pace:8 overall:8
Base of Galactic Science Fiction :: SCIENCE FICTION CINEMA :: Semi-Science Fiction Films :: Super Agents - James Bond and his ilk
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