Rent James Bond: GoldenEye (1995)

Below Average Bond - James Bond: GoldenEye review by GI

Disappointed as he allegedly was not to return as James Bond in 2006 when Daniel Craig secured the part Pierce Brosnan's contribution has not become very memorable in the franchise. This is mostly because he was hampered by weak, often silly original stories (Goldeneye was the first Bond film not to have some link to an Ian Fleming book, story or title) and in this, his first, outing there is a vain attempt to continue the darker edges of the two Timothy Dalton films, return to the Sean Connery days with the screen persona of 007 as playboy and also retain the comedy elements of the Roger Moore years. As a combination it just doesn't work. The Bond films that introduce the character when a new actor takes on the role are interesting to see just how the filmmakers try and do this. The remarkable thing about the Bond franchise is the way they trust the audience to accept little links to previous films while essentially saying this is all a new start. The most successful changeover in this regard is Casino Royale (2006) and the weakest is Goldeneye. Brosnan is a little too cynical and the story has him as more a special forces soldier than a spy but the film benefits from the introduction of Judi Dench as M, which she successfully carried over into the Craig films. The real trouble here is that James Bond has not developed for the modern age, the film actually acknowledges this, no doubt intended as tongue-in-cheek, but sadly she is correct when M calls him a 'misogynistic, sexist dinosaur, a relic of the Cold War', and here in Goldeneye he is just that and it shows too. Bear in mind that just seven years after this film Jason Bourne exploded onto the action cinema scene. 007 missed the boat and then had to play catch up Here Bond, struggling with a change at the top of MI6, is sent to investigate the theft of a Russian weapon system that leads him to an old colleague, now turned bad guy. Sean Bean is not a convincing Bond villain and his plummy accent is really annoying. He does have a train (Bond villain's do so love their trains) and a lair where the climax to the film takes place. Bond replaces his fantastic Aston Martin for a crappy BMW and Minnie Driver has a small role. On the plus side there's a great chase sequence with a tank and lots of shooting, it's actually quite a violent film. But this is a weak addition to the franchise followed by weaker and dafter ones. I think Brosnan effectively missed the boat and was the right actor at the wrong time, so it's a pity he hadn't been able to step in a few years earlier or indeed Goldeneye may have been better with Timothy Dalton still there. We shall never know but this is one of the poorer Bond films.