Review of Goldeneye (1989) by Josh L — 28 Feb 2013

With Goldeneye, the 17th Bond film, we finally get a successor that can pull of the dashing wit and coldness of Bond in the tradition of Sean Connery. Pierce Brosnan is the best Bond since Connery no question (at least until Craig came and shocked everyone).

Goldeneye takes the series back to basics after the atypical Licence to Kill and the result is a slick and satisfying action film that follows the typical formula, but modernizes the look and feel for the first time in decades.

Goldeneye isn't really any different than past successful Bond films, but as far as the formula goes this one applies it in the best ways since the heyday of the Connery era. The story is your typical maniac trying to take over the world with high tech gadgetry, but is actually one of the most intriguing because of the addition of 006.

Sean Bean's 006 won't go down as one of the best villain performances, but he is solid and gets the job done and the character itself is one the better thought out villains. Famke Janssen's Xenia Onatopp is the more entertaining and memorable villain in the tradition of Oddjob.

One of the major differences between this film and the past is that it is self-aware of many of the traditions and cliches of a Bond film and flips some of it on its head in funny and interesting ways.

There's not a whole lot of humor, but what is there works and it's never cheesy (something that can't be said for any Roger Moore film). The action is pretty good in this, and there's tons of it (probably the most of any Bond I've seen up to this point in the series) and helps the film go at a decent pace until it hits a few slower spots in the middle.

One criticism I do have, and it's not just levied at Goldeneye but Bond films in general, is that over 2 hours is starting to be too long and tiresome. Cut about 20-30 minutes off some of these films and they would be much better.

Overall, Goldeneye is the best traditional Bond film since the Connery era and that makes it one of the strongest entries in the storied franchise.