007 December – GoldenEye (1995) – Screenkicker

For today’s next review of GoldenEye (1995), here’s Mikey from Screenkicker with his opinion of it!

Thanks Mikey!

Goldeneye (1995)
Firstly: Go watch Goldeneye
Are you back? Good, we can begin.
The first thing you’ll have noticed is Pierce Brosnan’s hair. It majestic! It’s easy to forget how big it is. It’s an overpowering presence on screen, always threatening to steal the thunder from Bond. Most movies would crumble under the sheer weight of this spectacular barnet so it’s to Goldeneye’s credit that it’s so good it transcends Brosnan’s hair. So what’s so quiffshatteringly great about it?
My opinion is that Goldeneye is a fantastic cover version of Goldfinger. Evil bad guys have a dastardly plan to steal a huge amount of money, Bond gets involved, escapes for certain death a few times, then kills the baddie in a hilarious, over the top way. Goldeneye has all of the elements that make a great 007 film; it has the soundtrack, the girls, the gadgets, the action, and a phenomenal cast. And it’s this cast that are the first delight to emerge from the movie. Well, second after the hair.
The big talking point when Goldeneye was released in 2005 was the introduction of Pierce Brosnan as everyone’s favourite ultrapromiscuous secretagent.
The good news was that Brosnan rose to the challenge beautifully. He encapsulates both Roger Moore’s silly side and
Timothy Dalton’s ruthlessness. One minute he’s bantering with Q, the next he’s brutally murdering a man in a toilet cubicle (Goldeneye has the largest body count of all the Bond films, with Brosnan killing 47 people).
The rest of the cast is also excellent and includes memorable performances by Judi Dench as M, Famke Janssen as the evil Xenia Onatop, and Sean Bean as 006. Fun fact: both Bean and Brosnan auditioned for Bond in The Living Daylights in 1987. Classic scenes like the opening bungee jump, the tank chase, and the final showdown in the villain’s lair, are huge action setpieces that have secured their place in James Bond history.
Goldeneye is the quintessential 007 experience which is like a greatest hits package of the series’ high points. It’s both the birth of a new Bond and a fitting finale to Cold War espionage and best of all features Brosnan’s epic hair which was sadly toned down over the next few films. Goldeneye is a cut above the rest.
9/10