Mission Summary

A mysterious Russian satellite appears to have fallen into the wrong hands, when a research station in Russia is destroyed. Code-named "GoldenEye," the satellite deploys an electromagnetic pulse that destroys anything with an electronic circuit. James Bond (Brosnan) is sent to St. Petersburg to investigate. Using his contacts and the help of computer programmer Natalya Semyonova (Izabella Scorupco), he learns that there is actually a second GoldenEye satellite and a former 00 agent and friend is planning to destroy London.

Analysis

Rank: 10

Ranking "GoldenEye" this high might seem offensive for Bond purists, but there is more going on below the surface that justifies its place in the top 10. After "Licence to Kill" bombed at the box office (and rightfully so), the Bond producers had some legal trouble that kept a film from being released until 1995, so there was a six-year gap between films. With a new Bond in place, "GoldenEye" had to be a commercial success and introduce new fans to the Bond series, which it succeeded on both counts. That being said, there are several moments that make the traditionalist inside me cringe.

Many people assumed that Bond would be irrelevant once the Cold War came to an end with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. While some still consider this to be the case, the plot of the first film since the end of the Cold War needed to deviate from the traditional "play the super powers off each other to start World War III" that was prevalent in many earlier films. Although "GoldenEye" does have an interesting plot involving satellites that can detonate EMPs, I thought the film should have not focused on Russia as much as it did.

One of the reasons this film was such a hit was the action sequence involving Bond driving a tank through the streets of St. Petersburg after a kidnapped Natalya. In typical fashion, the sequence is over the top with several comedic bits during the chase, but somehow doesn't come off as over-the-top; just improbable enough. The scene with Bond driving off a cliff to catch a runaway airplane is cool to watch, but not believable for a second. And as is the case with the newer films, there are several prolonged gun battles that become repetitive.

This film marks the debut of Brosnan as Bond, but several other characters get a face-lift this time around. I think Brosnan did a decent job his first time around, providing a gritty edge while still managing to have a genuine air of sophistication. He could use a little work on some line deliveries, since they appear to be lifeless at times. There are two new faces around the offices of MI6: Judi Dench as "M" and Samantha Bond as Moneypenny. Both are excellent additions to the cast and breathe new life into typically static and stale characters over the years. On the other hand, the supporting characters were fairly weak. Xenia Onatopp (Famke Janssen) comes across as a bizarre character that wouldn't exist in the real world. Boris Grishenko (Alan Cumming) is a fellow programmer from Natalya's station who is really annoying and nearly kills every scene he is in. And lastly, this marks the first film to feature Jack Wade (Joe Don Baker), the bumbling CIA agent.

Aside from all the situational factors I described above, I really like this film since it has a high level of character development, which is usually absent from other Bond films. We find out that the villain this time around is the former 006, Alec Trevelyan (Sean Bean), who was Bond's friend and partner on certain missions. There is scene where Bond is coming to grips with the fact that he must kill his former friend to complete the mission. There is often good banter between Trevelyan and Bond about loyalty to England, a topic which is inexplicably rarely brought up in previous films.

Let me make a quick side comment about the fact that 006 is Bond's friend. In the novels, Bond refuses to work with partners and the few times he has help in the field, it is usually intelligence gathering or following up on a lead, not working side-by-side in the field. This bothers me the most about this film, since 00 agents are supposed to work alone for the very reason that one could be captured, as it depicted in the movie.

While many people condemn this movie for appearing as a standard action movie than a Bond film (I concede that notion has some merit), I'm a sucker for innovative plots and strong characters, and this film has both. Despite having so many new faces, it still felt like a Bond film from the Dalton days with some edge to it. It has some memorable action sequences (although too long at times), which usually appeal to all Bond fans.