universiy physics student... not doing reviews (or rating) for a while, I actually do work here at b...
universiy physics student... not doing reviews (or rating) for a while, I actually do work here at bath uni!!
Member since:19.01.2004
Reviews:140
Members who trust:38
I don't like Bond movies. I never really have. I'm not one of these "Roger Moore was much better than Timothy Dalton". I don't particularly care and haven't seen most the movies. I personally think they show their age quite quickly.
But I am a fan of the Pierce films. I like the new Bonds. I believe that Goldeneye is one of the best films ever made. It's certainly the best Bond film ever made to date. Although obviously I can't be sure having not seen them all.
------------------------- The Story -------------------------
This film was Pierce Brosnan's second appearance as James Bond after Goldeneye.
A secret CIA decoder for their GPS satellites is stolen at an arms deal on the border of Russia. Using this device, Elliot Carver sends a British navy ship off course into Chinese territory to provoke a fight between the Chinese and British. They sink the ship and destroy the Chinese fighter planes. The whole story is reported in Carvers newspaper the next day as he launches a new satellite network for his news group.
Both sides believe that the other provoked a battle without reason and the relationship between Britain and China becomes fragile.
Bond is sent in to investigate the Carver news group and there's a lot of action along the
way. This includes a stealth ship used by Carver and an elaborate car chase.
Will Bond eventually find out about Carver and find the reason for his activities? Will Bond be able to stop Carver from starting a war?
Bond movies are all quite similar and as such they don't require very much analysis. I mean it's all about the action, pacing and flow rather than the actual storyline.
The pace in this movie is good. It flows forward quickly enough for us to ignore the idiocies of the storyline and give us enough breaks from the action when we need it.
An introduction to an opposite number as a Bond girl is an interesting one and it certainly works well and strays a little from the norm. This is a good idea. While in general I don't rate this script too highly.
This film is all about the car. BMW gets a very good advert from this film and I'm sure they're glad to be one of the many product placements on display.
Bond also has his mobile phone as a gadget. But there is no Q lab in this film as such. That was disappointing. But the car chase is just fantastic. It doesn't rival the likes of the Bourne Supremacy but it's a completely different type of chase.
There's a good use of gadgets on the car and a little comedy built in, done only as Bond can.
------------------ The Cast -----------------
Pierce Brosnan plays James Bond. He is fantastic, charming and brilliant. To be honest I think he is the best Bond. Putting in a good performance as the world's most famous spy.
Terri Hatcher plays a Bond girl Paris Carver. She does an alright job I suppose. There's nothing really special about her in this film.
The late Desmond Llewellyn appears for the last time alone as Q. He's as charming and funny as ever.
Jonathan Pryce over acts the villain Elliot Carver. But then, Eliot's personality is eccentric and overacted anyway.
I couldn't imagine anyone but Judy Dench playing M.
I listened to this film on a properly set up professional Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound amp.
There are two things which you should always get right in a film. The start and the end. If you fail to get the start right then your perception is skewed through the whole movie.
This was a mistake with this movie. During the opening sequence I actually went over to my bass speaker to check that it was working properly. Everything, from the explosions to the gunshots was too tinny and high pitched.
Surround sound speakers were blatantly overused and used incorrectly. It was unprofessional and just didn't sound right. It was more like things to make you go "ooooo, my surround system works" rather than "wow, I feel immersed in the action".
But having looked at the rest of the film, it's actually pretty good. Perhaps I got used to the under use of the bass speaker. But it was alright. Gunshots were properly spread through the speakers and surrounds used in the manor they were intended (for ambiance, soundtrack and very occasionally background action such as a bullet shot towards camera)
The actual music soundtrack was really good as usual for a bond movie. I enjoy the bond theme and the soundtrack is worked well around it. As in all Bond movies, it has evolved in the right direction without changing too much.
However, the background music wasn't at the right volume throughout the film. It went loud when it should be quiet and quiet when it should have been a bit louder. This is forgivable though.
------------------------------ Special Effects ------------------------------
Bond is famous for "real" special effects. Explosions, stunts, that sort of thing. This film doesn't disappoint. At no point do you think "that was blatantly green screen.
This film also furthers the effects and improves upon them. I like to think that this film was a good learning platform for everyone involved to push bond into a new era of good special effects and filming techniques.
---------------------------- DVD Extras ----------------------------
I can't comment on the extras contained on the special edition disk. I have the standard disk with no extras whatsoever.
In a long running series like Bond, the films will always be compared to each other. In order to boost your good films, you need a number of "just the next one" films or you risk making the entire series mediocre.
That's what this film is. A bridge between the best Bond film - Goldeneye and the excellent World Is Not Enough. This isn't a fantastic film, it's still a good film though.
I'd suggest this is worth a watch to, well, any fan of action films. But if I had to choose then I'd watch another Bond film, or indeed the mission: Impossible films.
However, this film did mark the start of improved filming techniques and special effects. Goldeneye always felt amateur and had so many continuity errors that it was made famous for them. As the films progress the filming quality improves.
Thanks For Reading. Dean.
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"I believe that Goldeneye is one of the best films ever made. It's certainly the best Bond film ever made to date. Although obviously I can't be sure having not seen them all"... now that's a little bit of an unfair comment then, ain't it? Personally, I think the Timothy Dalton ones are the best. And I am probably the only person in the world who thinks that...!
salem_witch 11.08.2005 03:31
Not my cup of tea. I can't remember when I last saw a Bond film!
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