Goldeneye (1995) Review

 "I am invincible!"
-Boris Grishenko



When a Russian satellite weapon is fired on a base in Siberia, James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) is sent to Russia to investigate.  He is soon set on a collision course with General Ourumov (Gottfried John), the man who killed Bond's friend and fellow 00 Agent, Alec Trevelyan (Sean Bean).


What Works:

This is Pierce Brosnan's first outing as Bond, and it's pretty much unanimously agreed to be his best.  Brosnan is less serious than Dalton, but not as playful as Connery or Moore.  He's a nice mix of everything we've seen before and brings plenty of charisma and intensity to the role.

Alec Trevelyan is an elite Bond villain, in the very top tier alongside Goldfinger and Silva.  Out of every Bond villain, I would say Bond and Trevelyan are the most evenly matched.  Having a 00 agent as a villain is a brilliant idea and Sean Bean gives a fantastic performance.

The other villains are no slouch either.  Ourumov, Xenia (Famke Janssen), and Boris (Alan Cumming) are all very memorable.  Xenia is an elite femme fatale in the series and Boris manages to be both hilarious and despicable.

We also get a nice cast of memorable side characters.  Judi Dench makes her debut as M and is my favorite M of the series.  Joe Don Baker, former Bond villain, returns to the series as a hilarious Bond ally.  And Robbie Coltrane only has a couple of quick scenes, but had such good chemistry with Brosnan that they brought him back in an expanded role in The World is Not Enough.

Izabella Scorupco plays the main Bond girl, Natalya, who is very competent and actually knows a great deal about computers, which Bond doesn't know enough about.  Scorupco gives a very dramatic and emotional performance, while also managing to have a few fun zingers.

Finally, the action is kick-ass, as per usual.  The tank chase and various shootouts are all awesome, but the cream of the crop is the 3rd act confrontation between Bond and Trevelyan.  It's such a good fight because they both have the same training.  It's like watching Bond fight himself.  Plus Bond's defeat of Trevelyan is probably the most dramatic and satisfying kill of a Bond villain in the entire series.


What Sucks:

My only real complain with the movie involves Robbie Coltrane's character, Valentin Zukovsky.  While I love the character and I get his connection to the plot, the jump between Bond's meeting with him to Bond being attacked by Xenia always felt sudden to me.  It feels like there should be another scene there somewhere.  There had to have been a better way for Bond to get set up with the Janus group.  It feels a bit rushed.


Verdict:

Goldeneye is Brosnan's best Bond movie and I would argue the strongest debut of the first 5 Bond actors.  The action is solid, the cast is excellent, the Bond girl is one of my favorites, and Alec Trevelyan is an elite Bond villain with the most satisfying death of the series.  This movie has absolutely got it going on.

 9/10: Great 



#1. Octopussy

#2. The Spy Who Loved Me

#3. From Russia with Love

#4. Goldfinger

#5. Goldeneye

#6. The Living Daylights

#7. Moonraker

#8. On Her Majesty's Secret Service

#9. License to Kill

#10. Live and Let Die

#11. Dr. No

#12. For Your Eyes Only

#13. Thunderball

#14. You Only Live Twice

#15. A View to a Kill

#16. The Man with the Golden Gun

#17. Diamonds Are Forever    

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