Review of Goldeneye (1989) by John P — 24 Nov 2010

After six years of apprehension and uncertainty about the series' future, Goldeneye was everything fans had hoped for and come to expect. Larger than life villains, exotic locals, death defying stunts, and the world's most sophisticated spy. There was no doubt about it, Bond was back.

Goldeneye begins with the best pre-title sequence of any bond film. Bond is joined by agent 006, Alec Trevalen (Sean Bean), in sabotaging a Soviet chemical weapons facility. Things go south fast, Trevalen is killed, and Bond makes his escape in one of the most astonishing action sequences ever filmed.

Fast forward six years. The cold war is over, and the red menace vanquished. But the Soviets' demise has brought on a plethora of new threats. Agents of the mysterious Janus syndicate have hijacked the Russian Goldeneye satellite weapon, destroying its control center and killing all but one of the operations crew in the process. Bond must locate the massacre's lone survivor and unmask Janus before the weapon's power can be unleashed.

I think we can all agree that the producers made the right choice in casting Pierce Bronson as the new Bond. He might not be the equal of Connery, but he is the most stylish man to ever play the role. Between his looks and his natural charm, it's understandable that his contract forbids him from wearing a tuxedo in any other movie.

The real genius of this movie was to make to make Janus someone that Bond has had a long personal history with. He looked saw this person as a friend and mentor, and when they meet, there's going to be a lot of bad blood. And the villain's big speech, when it comes, lays out not his plans, but his motivations.

And Janus isn't working alone. His right hand man is the corrupt general Ouromov (Gottfried John), head of Russia's space weapons division, and the man who killed 006. There's also Boris Greshvinko (Alan Cumming), a brilliant hacker with the maturity of a fifth grader. But the most fearsome- and alluring- villain is Xenia Onatapp (Famke Jassen). She's combat trained, built like an Amazon, and takes great pleasure from every death she inflicts- especially using her own unique and especially brutal method, which I will allow to discover for yourself.

This film's bond girl is Natalia Simonova (Izabella Scorupco). She's quite pretty, and what she lacks in toughness she makes up for in smarts and programming skills. But Bond doesn't meet her until halfway into the movie, and there are almost no scenes where the two of them are alone, so we never get to see their relationship develop.

This movie is of course action driven, and there are several striking action sequences besides the opener. Both of Bond's encounters with Onatapp are suitably physical, and one of the film's high points comes when he chases Ouromov through downtown Saint Petersburg- in a tank! The effects, though usually recognizable as such, are quite good, and the bad guy's hideout is the most impressive since Moonraker.

Goldeneye may not be without its flaws, but it's still a solid thriller, and one of my favorite Bond movies.