Review of GoldenEye (1995) by Cameron J — 14 Jan 2012

"Gol-den-Eye... one look at you and I can't disguise, I got Gol-den-Eye... I feel the magic between you and I-ah-ah-I!" Hey, as cheesy as these "Bond" theme songs have been getting lately, they may as well, especially if they're going to get a big cheese-ball like Pierce Brosnan. Yeah, I bet I know which ear is "Pierced"; am I "right"? No, but seriously though, I was really looking foward to this film, especially after I saw the trailer, and around the time Bond busted out a tank, I couldn't help but think that this installment might finally break the streak of "just okay" "Bond" films. Of course, then I remembered that the streak had just taken over "six" - count 'em "six" - installments in a row, so it seemed as though the series was out of luck, which isn't to say that a single "007" film that I've seen has been bad, but the streak of "just average" installments stretched so far and so long, that it could only mean bad news for this film; and sure enough, I've got to say that this film did, well... break the streak and make the series genuinely cool again, and it only took seven consecutive films, so I guess you could say that this was the lucky "007", which, unfortunately means that we're probably about to get a streak of more not-so-impressive "007" films. Oh, I'm sure that won't happen, because as everyone knows, any "James Bond" film with Pierce Brosnan has to be good, or at least that's what I think people have been saying. Sarcasm aside, while this film isn't a knockout, it's hard not to respect it, seeing as it is the long-awaited return to form for the "007" series, in my book, which isn't to say that it doesn't have its fair share of flaws.

Now, the whole film isn't like one of those cuttable opening missions from the last few films (which I'm bringing up, almost entirely because I'm celebrating the fact that this film has an opening mission that actually does pertain to the main storyline), where development is completely out of the window, but the film is a touch underdeveloped, or at least it feels that way after the opening mission sequence. Don't get me wrong, as soon as they unveiled a big tie from the main to the opening subplot, I all but started dancing in joy, but the opening mission is overlong, particularly - nay - only in the action department, and yet the opening action sequence is one of the tightest of the entire film. After that, we get James Bond playing a game of cat-and-mouse with cars with some girl, and that whole sequence just goes on and on, and if you're not totally unengaged by the end, then you're fearing that every other action sequence will be like this. Well, ladies and gentlemen, allow me to tell you that you're wrong, because it's not just action sequences that are loosely-edited. While there are scenes that are quite tighter than others, you get a lot of moments that just keep flowing on and on, further plagued by either quietness, or a sometimes weak, often cheesy choice in score pieces that create an almost overly meditative atmosphere, and after a while, you forget what's going on, thus landing a serious blow against emotional resonance. Were it not for this slow, loose and rather meditative storytelling, I'll go so far as to say that this would have been the stand-alone best "Bond" thus far. However, as it stands, while Martin Campbell's storytelling is slick to a fault, he still brings uniqueness and a cool smoothness that really kicks this film up and leaves it standing as one of the best "Bond" installment's thus far.

I once heard someone say that, with this film, Martin Campbell made "James Bond" cool again, and boy, that person was not even mildly joking, because this is the smoothest, slickest and most theatrical storytelling I've seen out of the series so far, and sure, as I said, it's the overwhelming slickness of the storytelling, itself, that keeps this film from rising far above the call of duty, but no matter how much you fall out of the film, it's not long before you're snapped back in by the cool and charismatic tone that we've come to expect from the series, only with a dose of humanity and intellegence, whether it be through the often great, snappy dialogue, or just the way Campbell directs his performers, becuase, I've got to say, everyone's showing up for work, and that's something that you can rarely, if ever say about a "007" film. However, when we get down to brawn over brain in the heat of battle, Campbell delivers, for although his taste in action overstays its welcome, sometimes to the point of being unengaging, just one glance back at the overlong action, and you're right back in it, enjoying every bit of slick choreography and unique staging, all complimented by excellent cinematography, solid effects, as well as a tone of smoothness that Campbell incorporates so organically and so effortlessly, that you just fall into the world and buy into everything. As overlong as the opening action set piece is, I've got to say, Campbell knows how to wake you back up at the end, because Bond's big, daring escape from a Soviet base ends with him getting knocked out of an active and moving escape plane, and after taking out the people on his tail, he rides a jacked motorcycle off of the cliff, swan dives at the plane, pulls himself in through the side door, takes the controls and makes a clean getaway just before he hits the mountains; and that one sequence sets up the whole tone of wit in this film, for if a stunt like that were in the hands of John Glen, or Guy Hamilton, or maybe even Lewis Gilbert, the over-the-top aspect would have been brought to the forefront. Campbell totally gets substance-over-style, and sure, he has style - and plenty of it -, but Campbell breathes intrigue and grit into most every major piece of this film, whether it be through not shying away from heavy brutality, or even going so far as to actually "seriously" injure Bond in the heat of battle. True, Campbell's too proud of his work to tighten things up at points, but it's hard not to be engaged by the brilliant uniqueness that he's brought to the table it needed to be laid upon for the longest time. However, seeing as this is "James Bond" and that nerdy ol' New Zealander is most definately not fit to do anything but "direct" the role, the real star is, of course, our new man for the job, Pierce Brosnan, who may not deliver on the charm as sharply as Roger Moore or Sean Connery, partially because he doesn't have the voice for it, but still looks the part and doesn't let that go to waste by bringing in charm and charisma, as well as should-have-always-been-there aura of mystery to the James Bond role. However, it's not just the charismatic aspects that Brosnan nails well enough to be compelling, for as much as I joked about him being a touch of a wimp, we need someone very in touch with a vulnerable aura in this role, as it reflects the humanity the Campbell is really playing up in the James Bond character, and Brosnan executes that vulnerability broadly enough to bring humanity to the role, yet subtley enough for you to still see him as the strong, cool protagonist that we all remember and love the icon as.

In the end, through a deal of overlong and sometimes overstylized scenes, the film emits too sharp of an aura of slickness to the point of being periodically unengaging and incapable of achieving its potential as the best "Bond" yet; but as it stands, with Martin Campbell's cool wit, sharp taste in believable, yet still delightfully stylish action and brilliantly gritty substance-over-style sensibilities, as well as Pierce Brosnan's slickly charismatic, yet still humanly vulnerable portrayal of the icon, "GoldenEye" still stands as one of the best installments yet, as well a refreshing revelation that the "007" series still has plenty of juice left in it.

3/5 - Good.