No limits. No fears. No substitutes.
Rating: 8/10
Running Time: 130 minutes
On DVD
The Bond series really was on it’s knees when Brosnan stepped into the shoes of the British secret agent with the rubbish jokes and a penchant for girly drinks. After the dire and short-lived Dalton era and a longer than usual gap, somehow Brosnan managed to forge at least a fledgling Renaissance beginning with the fun and over-the-top Goldeneye.
As with nearly every other Bond movie and it’s spoofs, Goldeneye centres around an evil bad guy who has got his hands on a deadly weapon that can destroy the world or some such. 007 races to Russia to find the access codes to stop the deadly “Goldeneye” electromagnetic weapon but he comes up against a bad guy who seems to be able to anticipate his every move and Xenia Onatopp (Janssen), a kinky assassin.
Goldeneye opens with one of Bond’s most memorable scenes including a massive dam bungee jump, an impossible leap into a plane and 006’s (Bean) premature end. Bond at it’s most ridiculous but also it’s most watchable as this is the first of many big budget, over-the-top action sequences. We are also introduced to an abundance of cool characters including Robbie Coltrane’s Valentin Dmitrovich Zukovsky and Famke Janssen’s sexy assassin and revamped classic characters like Judi Dench, masterfully put in place as M. There’s also the disturbingly fitting Tina Turner soundtrack and a Bond who is suave and believable.
I believe that the best way to rate a Bond movie is to judge what time of day it will be shown on television in the future. Where as the sterile Roger Moore years should be shown in the afternoon twilight zone and the grown up Daniel Craig offerings are for the late evening, Goldeneye belongs comfortably in the inbetween evening slot.
It's Got: Piece Brosnan being a mighty fine bond, great support characters, ridiculously over-the-top stunts
It Needs: To tone the occasionally incomprehensible Russian accents down a bit
DVD Extras The Special Edition includes an audio commentary, live Tina Turner performance of the theme song, a making of featurette, a made for TV feature on the entire Bond series, TV spots and trailers - pretty good but nothing out of the ordinary
Summary
Undoubtedly ridiculous but hugely entertaining with cool characters, a likeable new 007 and awesome stunts. Just the shot in the arm the Bond series needed.