GoldenEye Review
by Ram Samudrala (ram AT mbisgi DOT umd DOT edu)November 27th, 1995
GOLDENEYE
A film review by Ram Samudrala
Copyright 1995 Ram Samudrala
The opening two minutes of GOLDENEYE contain some of the best stunts that I have seen, and while the rest of the movie does not maintain this level of action, I think it is one of the best Bond movies made.
I'm sure it is old news that Piece Brosnan is the new James Bond. From the trailers I knew that this was going to be a good thing, since I didn't think much of Timothy Dalton. Brosnan has the look, the style, and the voice that James Bond should have (in motion pictures at least). He has in him some of the better characteristics of Connery (the walk and the sophistication) and Moore (the quick one-liners, the cheeky smile, and the furrowed brow), thus making an ideal Bond.
The movie is good mainly because it does not deviate significantly from any of the older Bond movies with Connery and Moore in them. The girls, the cars, the guns, the stunts, and the surrealism in the introductory credits are still there, as are Bond's old colleagues Q (Desmond Llewelyn) and Moneypenny (Samantha Bond).
However, M, the division head, has been replaced by a female (Judi Dench) who thinks of Bond as a "sexist mysogynistic dinosaur." But she needs him to to recover a device codenamed Goldeneye, which is a relic of the Cold War (among many others in the movie). The device, built by the Russians, destroys by detonating a nuclear device in space, resulting in waves of electromagnetic radiation causing damage to electronic equipment on the surface. In order to track down Goldeneye, Bond has to fight his old friend 006 (Sean Bean), who plans to use the Goldeneye device to extract revenge upon England, Xenia Onatopp (Femke Janssen), an ex-Russian fighter pilot with a literal lust for violence, and General Ourumov (Gottfried John), who wants to become the next Iron Man of Russia. On his side, Bond has Natalya Simyonova (Isabella Scorupco), a computer programmer who survived the first detonation of Goldeneye, CIA agent Jack Wade (Joe Don Baker), BMWs that fire missiles, pens that explode, and other Q inventions.
Sean Bean plays a great villain, and the chemistry between 006 and 007 comes off well. Femke Janssen also plays a great villainess, and together they represent a formidable opponent worthy of Bond. The story is typical Bond fare, and while some of the scenes are absurd, it fits in well with previous efforts. Contrary to popular opinion, the plot isn't really outdated---the dangers of devices created in the former Soviet Union during the Cold War falling into the wrong hands is a pretty real threat. The music is about the only thing I think which has been really "modernised", and I don't think it takes away too much from the movie. Tina Turner does a great job on the introductory song (written by Bono and The Edge). GOLDENEYE is an excellent action flick, and a great Bond movie.
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