While I didn't know it at the time, Goldeneye was my first ever James Bond movie. I was 15 and had no clue who the character was or that there were 16 films to have come before this one. I was simply a teenage boy who loved movies and saw a preview for a cool 90s action film. It would be almost another two years before I became the mega-fan I am today, but this one has always been a top five entry in the series.
1. The bungee jump at the beginning of the pre-title sequence is a big enough stunt on its own to make this one a real winner, but then it wraps up with an unbelievable (and I don't care that how implausible it is) sequence of Bond riding a motorcycle off a cliff-side runway chasing an unmanned plane. The entire thing from beginning to end is riveting and even introduces us to a new actor playing Bond along the way.
2. A theme song written by Bono and The Edge, performed by Tina Turner, and played during one of the better title sequences of the franchise is the perfect return to a film franchise that had been dormant for six years (which at that point was the exception, not the rule). Regarding the title sequence, we still get the silhouetted nude girls dancing on screen, but it at least is done to a theme that matches the film's plot instead of just putting psychedelic lasers, neon nail polish, and gymnastic ladies bouncing up on the screen.
3. The DB5 is back! It becomes an all-too-common thing in the most recent movies, but at this point we hadn't seen the Aston Martin DB5 since 1965's Thunderball.
4. This movie is where 15-year-old me fell in love with Famke Janssen. Following her turn as femme fatale Xenia Onatopp I based my movie-watching habits on what her upcoming projects were.
5. Pierce Brosnan is such a charming guy in these movies. The story behind his casting is an interesting one as he was first discovered by producer Albert Broccoli when he visited the For Your Eyes Only set with his wife at the time, Bond girl Cassandra Harris. He then signed on to star in The Living Daylights but had to bow out after his contract with NBC was picked up for another season of Remington Steele. He finally landed the role in 1995 and in the first 30 minutes shows off his ability to deliver the one liners like Roger Moore and pull off the physicality of Sean Connery. I've always said his greatest strength, and at the same time greatest weakness, was that he seamlessly combined Connery and Moore into one portrayal. You got the best of both of those actors but also didn't really get to see Brosnan bring something new to the role.
6. Along with a new Bond we get a new headquarters, new M, new Moneypenny, and new Bill Tanner. All of them are welcome additions to the series and give us something we hadn't yet seen from these characters. Some fans are a little turned off by Moneypenny's talk of sexual harassment, but she does morph into the more likeable version of the character that fans had grown accustomed to with Lois Maxell as her tenure progresses.
7. But don't worry, not everyone is new to their roles. We get the same lovable Q and another familiar, but great, Q lab scene.
8. "Good, because I think you're a sexist, misogynist dinosaur. A relic of the Cold War, whose boyish charms, though wasted on me, obviously appealed to that young woman I sent out to evaluate you." "Point taken."
9. He only has one scene in this movie, but Robbie Coltrane kills it as Valentin Zukovsky. So much so that he worked his way into a return appearance two films later.
10. The abandoned statue graveyard is inspired set design work. Because of real-world tensions during the Cold War we hadn't seen much of Russia in the 007 franchise, but now that the Soviet Union had collapsed it was time to use the country as a location. The idea that all these Communist-based statues had been removed and placed somewhere to rot was a great one and I am so glad the filmmakers put Bond in this location.
11. Speaking of the filmmakers, the miniature work of Derek Meddings in this movie is incredibly unnoticeable, which means it works. He is an unsung hero of this movie.
12. The tank chase is the action set piece that everyone remembers from this movie. And the shot of the tank crashing through a wall behind the car Bond is chasing is an iconic moment that is consistently used in montages celebrating the franchise. Another great bit from this sequence is Brosnan fixing his tie after a particularly vicious crash, a move he would use again in a later movie. It is the equivalent to Roger Moore's raised eyebrow that he utilized so well throughout his tenure.
13. "Why can't you just be a good boy and die?" "You first. You ... second."
14. I love when a villain or henchman/henchwoman get hoisted by their own petard and Xenia certainly falls into that category.
15. The fight between Bond and Alec Trevelyan at the top of the satellite is what the showdown between Bond and Francisco Scaramanga should have been. It is two equals at the top of their game going toe to toe. While some of the hand-to-hand combat seems a little staged after multiple repeat viewings, the entire thing is nonetheless fantastic.
16. "For England, James?" "No. For me."
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