GoldenEye [Region 2]

What’s can I say?Boys with toys! Great Bond flick!

It's a classic!

Most Bond fans probably don't realize that the Bond films have switched directors with every film for the last two decades. Only one director, Martin Campbell, has directed more than one film those being Casino Royale and Goldeneye. They are also, in my opinion, the two best films from their respective eras (no offense to Skyfall which was a great movie). The Daniel Craig movies did to the Pierce Brosnan films what Christopher Nolan did to the Burton/Schumacher Batman films; made them look ridiculous. Alone in standing the test of time was Brosnan's first and by far best film as Bond; Goldeneye.Goldeneye started the Pierce Brosnan era with a ton of promise. Judy Densch as M created an entirely new dynamic and her referring to Bond as a "misogynist dinosaur, a relic of the cold war" really set the tone for the movie. With the cold war over the villains in the world became less clear and it was only appropriate that this time the threat should come from one of MI6's own. There is also some Bond deconstruction with Alec Trevelyan pointing out that those sexual dalliances Bond's engaged in over the years have personal consequences on people involved. It brought some reality to the series, not that most of the rest of Goldeneye isn't escapist fun. Just about everything in Goldeneye is done well from the story to the casting and directing. In the next three films the directors seemed to ignore everything that worked in Goldeneye and accentuated everything that didn't. In particular I was never a big fan of the scene in the archives where Bond suddenly becomes a one man army but sadly THAT ended up being the scene that is most representative of the Brosnan films.There are some absolutely fantastic scenes in Goldeneye including one of my all time favorites, the memorial park scene where Sean Bean is revealed as the villain. For over the top action you can hardly do better than the tank chase scene through St. Petersburg which finishes off with the amazing tank vs train collision. The cradle is one of the best villain lairs although it always amused me that Trevelyan feels the need to build this gigantic dish. A giant dish is used to receive signals not send signals. Are we to assume that the Goldeneye satellite will detonate BETTER if controlled by an enormous dish? I loved the entire opening sequence from the bungee jump to the leap into a falling plane. Ok, the green screening on the final stunt was weak but Goldeneye was made on a relatively tiny $58 million budget and was the last Bond film produced for under $100 million. One funny thing in the film is the inclusion of Joe Don Baker as CIA agent Jack Wade. I know that the Bond films like to reuse actors (see Maude Adams, Charles Gray, Shane Rimmer) but Baker had been the MAIN VILLAIN just two films prior. The movie also includes a pre-X-Men Famke Janssen and Alan Cumming, a pre-Harry Potter Robbie Coltrane and a pre-everything Minnie Driver who you'll miss if you blink and of course Sean Bean went on to appear in Lord of the Rings AND Game of Thrones.I recently watch Die Another Day and it is shocking how bad it is. The dialogue is just atrocious but Goldeneye generally keeps its composure. There are some groaners for sure but most of the time Bond speaks like an actual human being not a pun spewing goofball. I am not a fan of the Brosnan era but not because of Brosnan, it's the writers and directors that are to blame. Goldeneye could have ushered in a tremendous decade; instead it was the one lone gem in the batch.

This is bond to me, and always will be. Classy, and quirky. He was truly the best.

This is Brosnan's first appearance as James Bond, and it was a good one. Unlike Roger Moore's cartoonish first effort, "Live and Let Die", there is no bad guy blowing up, (done rather shabbily, too...it was an obvious dummy!) and like the venerable Connery, who, unfortunately, hit his peak as 007 with "Goldfinger", Brosnan hit a winner right out of the box with this exciting, well shot action film with good characters, (Alan Cumming's "Boris" and Famke Janssen's "Xenia Onatopp",) and a techno subplot very reminiscent of "Diamonds Are Forever" and "You Only Live Twice".Famke Janssen plays a maniacal villainess who admires Bond in her own sick way, but the fascinating thing about this character is her slavish pleasure in destruction and killing. She actually takes a lurid GLEE in shooting and blowing up people, actually giggling girlishly as she does it! Her other specialty is squeezing the life out of male lovers with her thighs. No wonder she's a single girl, eh?Alan Cummings plays a self-absorbed computer geek working in Russia in a satellite station monitoring the Goldeneye non-ballistic weapon. This is a weapon that, instead of exploding with any nuclear or explosive force, shorts out connected electrical systems for miles around, ensuring no retaliation from the enemy. Onatopp and her "boss" spur the startup of this device, which Cumming's creepy Boris has allowed to happen through internal weakening of security at the base. One of his coworkers, a rather good looking young woman named Natalia, played by Izabella Scorupco, is caught in the station when Goldeneye targets IT first. This is one of the tensest scenes in the film. Boris, of course, survives this blast, along with Natalia. Onatopp and her boss escape via helicopter.M, played by Judy Dench, watches all this go down via war room maps at MI6, one blanking out completely after Goldeneye parboils the circuits at the Russian base. She sends Bond to look into it, and possibily save the day, but after berating him for being a "Cold War dinosaur", tells him to "come back alive".What follows is a decent tale of excitement, intrigue, betrayal and edgy close calls. The movie doesn't end when you think it will! Everybody's acting in it is pretty good for this type of movie and the cinematography and stunt work make Moore's movies look positively amateurish by comparison...Why, oh WHY did they waste 13 years on Roger Moore and his awful, jumbled, Matt Helm-like rehashes of Connery's old Bond films, with plots that went nowhere?

This is Pierce Brosnan's first outing - and probably his finest hour - as Bond. It's a highly enjoyable flick with a new and sexy Bond, this one with a decided twinkle in his eyes after the rather stern (though equally excellent) Timothy Dalton. There are two very sexy ladies with Famke Janssen and Izabella Scorupco, Sean Bean makes for a memorable villain and Alan Cumming is a real scene stealer as his rather comical henchman. The inimitable Desmond Llewelyn is back as Q and Judi Dench takes over as M. They all work a treat. Samantha Bond, on the other hand, is my least favourite Moneypenny. A bit odd is the appearance of Joe Don Baker (who played the megalomaniac villain in The Living Daylights) in the role of one of Bond's allies. But that's a minor quibble. Tina Turner's theme song is one of the best in the series. Great stunts, great filming locations including the glorious St Petersburg, and the usual fun gadgets make this one of the better films in the franchise.The 2 disc Ultimate Edition DVD I purchased includes the following (very enjoyable) extra features: - Deleted Scenes with Introductions by Director Martin Campbell - Directing Bond: The Martin Chronicles - Building a Better Bond: Pre-Production Featurette - The Return of Bond: The Start of Production Press Event - Driven to Bond: Remy Julienne - Anatomy of a Stunt: Tank vs. Perrier - Making it in Small Pictures: Derek Meddings - On Location with Peter Lamont - GoldenEye's Secret Files - Pre-Title Storyboard Sequence with Martin Campbell - Interactive Guide into the World of GoldenEye - Audio Commentary with Martin Campbell and Michael G. Wilson - "The World of 007" Original 1995 Television Special Hosted by Elizabeth Hurley - The GoldenEye Video Journal - Promotional Featurette "GoldenEye" Music Video Performed by Tina Turner - Original Trailers - TV Spots - Photo Gallery

Goldeneye was Pierce Brosnan's first Bond film and the first film of the 1990s, after Licence To Kill in 1989. I first saw it at the cinema in 1995 on its original release and thoroughly enjoyed it. I then bought the DVD of the film, watched it and enjoyed it all over again.Watching it now, though, it appears a bit dated, but it's still one of the best Bond films and is easily the best of the Brosnan era. The film is notable for it's decision to cast a female (Judi Dench) as M, partly due to the PC sensitivities of the time, which still pervade today. Sean Bean is also good as a rogue secret agent and Robbie Coltrane is also amusing as a Russian gangster, as is Alan Cumming, who has quite a large role in the film. The film also has some great stunts and action setpieces, though it isn't as action-packed as others in the series. The theme song by Tina Turner and written by U2's Bono and The Edge is also decent as well.Potential buyers may also be interested to know that this is the fully uncut version of the film, hence the higher 15 certificate. All this really equates to are a few headbutts during the fight scenes, though, so you shouldn't get too excited at the prospect of seeing uncut material. The material was previously cut by the BBFC, though, so this is as complete a version of the film as you will ever see, in the UK, anyway.All in all, this is a solid and very enjoyable film. If you haven't already seen it, then I highly recommend a purchase. Brosnan's Bond films went a bit downhill after this one, so it's as good as they got in the 1990s. Five stars from me.

In my opinion Pierce Bronson is my favourite James Bond Actor.It even has Sean Bean as the primary antagonist. My favourite actor for being in several good movies and tv series. Also, well known for probably being killed off more times than any other actor I know of.Famke Janssen stars as the secondary antagonist, "Xenia Onatopp". The sexiest bond girl in the entire movie collection in my opinion. Not to mention making one hell of an entrance in the stunning Red Ferrari she drives.Definitely worth watching/buying, especially with all the several bonus features provided.

This is one of those rare occasions where the game is better than the film.I was never a Bond fan until the Daniel Craig films and after watching his last I got a few of the earlier ones.I will never watch Connery or Moore, so I went with Dalton and Brosnan as they’re more my era.Goldeneye was first and after the legendary N64 game I had high hopes. But those high hopes were soon dashed.It looks like a kids film. Really dodgy looking sets and ludicrous stunts. No real story. No interesting dialogue and an absurd female villain.Do yourself a favour and watch The Living Daylights instead.

Everything about Goldeneye was brilliant from the setup to the set pieces, to the way it came across as not being so over budget it tried too hard with the scenery.The blu ray brings out a real quality in the visual and there's not much to criticise here because... well. If you liked the movie you'll want the blu-ray.There's a ton of extras that I've not seen before including how they did the tank scene through the city streets. Just amazing stuff.Even more relevant now that the sattelite dish has collapsed and is no more. They literally couldn't make a movie like this again.