GoldenEye (DVD)

...the new James Bond and Goldeneye was released in 1995.

The Plot

James Bond 007 and his fellow agent Alec Trevelyan, 006, infiltrate a chemical facility, but only 997 escapes, with Trevelyan being captured and shot. Nine years later, Bond finds himself searching for the Colonel who killed 006. He is now a General, and has stolen the systems controlling the dual Goldeneye satellite weapons. Bond must survive against the ...
...Bond, and just look at Goldeneye as a film regardless of anythign else, I would still be impressed. Brosnan's Bond is equipped with flashier gadgets and cars, and the music is slightly changed, with Bond composer John Barry turning down the opportunity to proovide the music throughout the film, and leaving it to Eric Sierra, whose take on the Bond music is refreshing. Tina Turner provides the vocals for the title track, which was written by Bono ... more

Following 1989's Licence to Kill, the 16th Bond film, there was a 6 year gap before another Bond film was made. This was due to many ownership rights of the Bond name, with MGM having sold to Quintex, and EON productions' parent company disputing the back catalogue rights. When the dust finally settled, Pierce Brosnan emerged as the new James Bond and Goldeneye was released in 1995.

The Plot

James Bond 007 and his fellow agent Alec Trevelyan, 006, infiltrate a chemical facility, but only 997 escapes, with Trevelyan being captured and shot. Nine years later, Bond finds himself searching for the Colonel who killed 006. He is now a General, and has stolen the systems controlling the dual Goldeneye satellite weapons. Bond must survive against the mysterious Janus, whom the General is working for, as well as his troops and a whole load of conspiracy, and save the world at the same time!

The Cast and Performances

Pierce Brosnan is the first Bond I remember vividly as an adult. He is a very suave and smooth customer, as he proved in his role in Remington Steele. He delivers the Bond performance with the necessary charm and one-liners, and is very good at the action. More convincing than Roger Moore is many ways. Sean Bean gives a good performance as Trevelyan, and Alan Cumming is excellent as the rogue computer programmer Borish Grishenko. Famke Janssen and Izabella Scorupco excel as Bond girls, while Robbie Coltrane has a very convincing performance as Russian mafia boss Valentin Zukovsky.

Desmond Llewelyn returns as Q, but the revamping of Bond and a six year gap means a change in the character of M. The Minister is now female, with Dame Judi Dench excellent in the role, and the character of Miss Moneypenny is taken by Samantha Bond. The remainder of the cast support very well, particularly Tcheky Karyo as Russian Defence Minister Dmitri Mishkin.

My Opinion

The 6 year gap between Bond films has provided confusion if you look behind the scenes. Dalton had originally signed on to make three Bond films under contract, and the third had actually started production in 1990, with the intention to release in 1991 a strong possibility, before the rights issues started to rise to the fore. In the time lapse, Dalton quit as Bond, not wishing to be caught up in all the scandal, and Brosnan entered the role, as he would have done years previously had not a stipulation in his Remington Steele contract prevented him from doing so.

Brosnan is very good in the role, and works very well with newcomer Bond director Martin Campbell. Campbell was chosen by Cubby Broccoli's daughter, Barbara, who took on a more serious production role for this film as her father's health was waning and he took a back seat.

Political changes had also happened in the world since the release of Licence to Kill, and these changes are handled very well in the film. The fall of the Berlin Wall and the subsequent collapse of the Soviet Union had meant the end of the Cold War. The producers ignored the problems this would potentially give Bond, and embraced them, with a female M (Dame Judi Dench) telling Bond he was a sexist dinosaur and a relic of the Cold War, whilst sending the agent out to save the world anyway. Bond's previous films were largely involving Russian villains, and this is equally true here to some extent, and I think the whole thing is handled very well.

If I were to ignore the political sensitivity of a post-Cold War Bond, and just look at Goldeneye as a film regardless of anythign else, I would still be impressed. Brosnan's Bond is equipped with flashier gadgets and cars, and the music is slightly changed, with Bond composer John Barry turning down the opportunity to proovide the music throughout the film, and leaving it to Eric Sierra, whose take on the Bond music is refreshing. Tina Turner provides the vocals for the title track, which was written by Bono and The Edge from U2.

The whole package of Goldeneye is done very well. The 6 year gap helped in a way to create more of a commotion about its release, and more people were thus anticipating something great - which they got. Goldeneye excelled at the box office around the world.

Conclusion

A welcome return after a 6 year hiatus. Brosnan is a good Bond, and very modern.

The DVD is available from amazon.co.uk for £6.98.

This review may also be posted on dooyoo.co.uk.

Thanks for reading. 

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