Pierce Brosnan as James Bond: 1994–2004

After Timothy Dalton retired from the Bond role in 1994, Eon turned to the actor they had considered after A View to a Kill: ***Pierce Brosnan***. He was offered a three-film contract, with an option on a fourth; his salary for his first film, GoldenEye, was $4 million, which rose to $16.5 million for his fourth and final outing, Die Another Day. Brosnan had first met Broccoli on the set of For Your Eyes Only, when Brosnan's wife, Cassandra Harris, was appearing in the film as Countess Lisl von Schlaf, and the couple lunched with Broccoli during filming. Brosnan went on to play a criminal-turned-private investigator in Remington Steele in the 1980s, where he captured some of the traits of previous Bonds in playing the role: like Moore, he exemplified a high degree of suavity, elegance, charm and wit, but displayed a masculinity and grittiness on occasion reminiscent of Connery's Bond, both successfully "combine the character's Englishness with a classless internationalism that is highly knowing".

With Brosnan, the Bond writers knew that because of the changes in public attitudes, he could not be as overtly sexual and dominant over women as Connery's Bond, and was denounced by M in Goldeneye to be a "sexist, misogynist dinosaur, a relic of the Cold War". Brosnan was seen by many as the quintessential James Bond in appearance and manner; displaying an air of coolness, elegance and a grace which made him believable as an international playboy, if not purely as an assassin.

Brosnan's Bond was introduced in Goldeneye; Brosnan's characterisation of Bond was seen as being "closer to the Fleming novels than Moore yet also lighter and less intense than Dalton". Brosnan was clear he wanted to change Bond's smoking habit, saying "I don't give a damn about everyone's perception of the character: I think smoking causes cancer therefore he doesn't smoke", although he did smoke a Cuban cigar in Die Another Day. Brosnan continued with the use of humour prevalent with other portrayals, and provided a "mix of action and danger threaded through with the right amount of wit and humour".

After four films in the role, Brosnan stated he wished to do one final Bond film. Although plans were made for a film to be released in 2004, negotiations stalled and Brosnan announced his intention to leave in July 2004.

### GoldenEye (1995)

> *"No limits. No fears. No substitutes."*
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**GoldenEye** is the seventeenth spy film in the James Bond series to be produced by Eon Productions, and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 officer James Bond. The film is the first in the series not to take story elements from the works of novelist Ian Fleming. In the film, Bond fights to prevent an ex-MI6 agent, gone rogue, from using a satellite against London to cause a global financial meltdown.

GoldenEye was released on November 17, 1995 (US) and November 24, 1995 (UK) after a six-year hiatus in the series caused by legal disputes. M was also recast, with actress Judi Dench becoming the first woman to portray the character. The role of Miss Moneypenny was also recast, with Caroline Bliss being replaced by Samantha Bond; Desmond Llewelyn was the only actor to reprise his role, as Q. GoldenEye was the first Bond film made after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, which provided a background for the plot.

The film accumulated a worldwide gross of US$350.7 million, considerably better than Dalton's films, without taking inflation into account. The film received positive reviews, with critics viewing Brosnan as a definite improvement over his predecessor. The film also received award nominations for "Best Achievement in Special Effects" and "Best Sound" from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

The name "GoldenEye" pays homage to James Bond's creator, Ian Fleming. While working for British Naval Intelligence as a lieutenant commander, Fleming liaised with the American OSS to monitor developments in Spain after the Spanish Civil War in an operation codenamed Operation Goldeneye. Fleming used the name of his operation for his estate in Oracabessa, Jamaica.

#### Plot Summary

Nine years after infiltrating a chemical weapons facility in Russia, where friend and fellow M:I-6 agent Alec Trevelyan 006 (Sean Bean) was killed by corrupt Russian military officer General Ourumov (Gottfried John). Seductive British secret agent James Bond 007 (Brosnan) is assigned by his new boss, a female 'M' (Dench) to recover "GoldenEye" the access key to a top secret space weapon orbiting the Earth which fires a electromagnetic pulse which shuts down all electronic equipment. The "GoldenEye" has been stolen from the Severnya space research station by General Ourumov and the lethal and deadly Xenia Onatopp (Famke Janssen) and slaughtered everyone at Servernya. Helped by Russian computer programmer Natalya Siminova (Izabella Scorupco), who was the sole survivor of the Servernya massacre and witnessed Ourumov and Xenia steal the "GoldenEye", Bond learns Ourumov and Xenia are working for Alec Trevelyan, now a renegade M:I-6, and 006 plans on using GoldenEye to wipe out London. 007 and Natalya set out to Cuba where Bond faces Trevelyan in a thrilling showdown as 007 sets out to save London from destruction. IMDb.com

#### Notable Cast

* Pierce Brosnan as James Bond (007)
* Sean Bean as Alec Trevelyan (006) / Janus
* Izabella Scorupco as Natalya Simonova
* Famke Janssen as Xenia Onatopp
* Joe Don Baker as Jack Wade: A veteran CIA officer on the same mission as Bond.
* Judi Dench as M
* Gottfried John as General Arkady Grigorovich Ourumov
* Robbie Coltrane as Valentin Dmitrovich Zukovsky: A Russian gangster and ex-KGB officer through whom Bond arranges a meeting with Janus (Trevelyan).
* Alan Cumming as Boris Grishenko: A computer programmer at Severnaya secretly affiliated to Janus.
* Desmond Llewelyn as Q
* Samantha Bond as Miss Moneypenny
* Michael Kitchen as Bill Tanner: M's Chief of Staff.
* Minnie Driver as Irina: A Russian nightclub singer and mistress of Valentin Dmitrovich Zukovsky.

#### Soundtrack

***GoldenEye: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack*** was released by EMI on November 14, 1995. Éric Serra composed and performed a number of synthesizer tracks, including the radically reworked version of the James Bond Theme that plays during the gun barrel sequence, while John Altman and David Arch provided the more traditional symphonic music. The producers hired composer John Altman to write a more traditional, orchestral score piece for the tank-chase scene in St. Petersburg. Serra's original, unused track for that sequence can still be found on the soundtrack album as "A Pleasant Drive in St. Petersburg".

The theme song ***"GoldenEye"*** was written by Bono and The Edge of rock band U2 and was performed by Tina Turner. The song was released as a single on November 7, 1995 and reached number 10 on the UK Singles Chart.

The Swedish pop band Ace of Base was also involved at one point, producing a different theme song—also called "GoldenEye"—which does not appear in the film or soundtrack. This song was later released with slightly revised lyrics as "The Juvenile" on their 2002 album Da Capo, replacing the word "GoldenEye" with "Juvenille".

The soundtrack does not feature the comedic rendition of the Tammy Wynette song "Stand By Your Man" from the film, which was sung by Minnie Driver.

Listen to the soundtrack on Deezer.

#### Novelisation

***GoldenEye*** was the second and final Bond film to be adapted to a novel by novelist John Gardner (the other being Licence to Kill). Published in January 1996, the book closely follows the film's storyline, but Gardner added a violent sequence prior to the opening bungee jump in which Bond kills a group of Russian guards, a change that the video game GoldenEye 007 (released August 25, 1997) retained.

Find out more at jamesbond.wikia.com.

### Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

> *"The Man. The Number. The License...are all back."*
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***Tomorrow Never Dies*** is the eighteenth spy film in the James Bond series to be produced by Eon Productions, and the second to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Directed by Roger Spottiswoode, the film follows Bond as he attempts to stop Elliot Carver, a power-mad media mogul, from engineering world events to initiate World War III.

The film was produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, and was the first James Bond film made after the death of producer Albert R. Broccoli, to whom the movie pays tribute in the end credits. Tomorrow Never Dies performed well at the box office and earned a Golden Globe nomination despite mixed reviews. While its performance at the domestic box office surpassed that of its predecessor, GoldenEye, it was the only Pierce Brosnan Bond film not to open at number one at the box office, as it opened the same day as Titanic, but instead at number two.

Tomorrow Never Dies opened on December 12, 1997 (UK) and December 19, 1997 (US).

#### Plot Summary

Someone is pitting the world's superpowers against each other - and only James Bond (Brosnan) can stop it. When a British warship is mysteriously destroyed in Chinese waters, the world teeters on the brink of World War III - until 007 zeros in on the true criminal mastermind. Bond's do-or-die mission takes him to Elliot Carver (Jonathan Pryce), a powerful media mogul who manipulates world events as easily as he changes headlines from his global media empire. After soliciting help from Carver's sexy wife, Paris (Teri Hatcher), Bond join forces with a stunning yet lethal Chinese agent, Wai Lin (Michelle Yeoh), in a series of explosive chases, brutal confrontations and breathtaking escapes as they race to stop the presses on Carver's next planned news story: global pandemonium! IMDb.com

#### Notable Cast

* Pierce Brosnan as James Bond (007)
* Jonathan Pryce as Elliot Carver
* Michelle Yeoh as Colonel Wai Lin
* Teri Hatcher as Paris Carver
* Judi Dench as M
* Joe Don Baker as Jack Wade
* Vincent Schiavelli as Dr. Kaufman, a professional assassin used by Elliot Carver.
* Desmond Llewelyn as Q.
* Samantha Bond as Miss Moneypenny
* Geoffrey Palmer as Admiral Roebuck, M's contentious military contact.
* Colin Salmon as Charles Robinson, M's Deputy Chief of Staff.
* Julian Fellowes as the British Minister of Defence, who orders Admiral Roebuck to send the fleet to the China Sea. He is the successor to Sir Frederick Gray (Geoffrey Keen).
* Gerard Butler gets one line as a crewman aboard the Devonshire.
* Hugh Bonneville as Air Warfare Officer – HMS Bedford.

#### Soundtrack

David Arnold composed the score of ***Tomorrow Never Dies***, his first full Bond soundtrack. Arnold came to the producer's attention due to his successful cover interpretations in Shaken and Stirred: The David Arnold James Bond Project—which featured major artists performing classic James Bond title songs.

The theme tune was chosen through a competitive process. There were approximately twelve submissions; including songs from Swan Lee (on their 2001 album *Enter*), Pulp (a song later retitled "Tomorrow Never Lies" on the 1998 album *This Is Hardcore*), Saint Etienne ("Tomorrow Never Dies", on the exclusive 1999 fanclub release *Built On Sand*), Marc Almond ("Only the Moment" from the 1998 album *The Stars We Are*), and Sheryl Crow. Crow's theme was eventually picked by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In the meantime, a bold, brassy number in the classic John Barry/Shirley Bassey vein that Arnold himself wrote with David McAlmont and lyricist Don Black with the intent of being a theme, was relegated to the end credits with the title "Surrender". While McAlmont recorded the demo, "Surrender" was eventually recorded by k.d. lang after an extensive selective process.

The single, "Tomorrow Never Dies", was released December 1, 1997. The song was co-written by Crow and the song's producer Mitchell Froom, and became her fifth UK Top 20 hit, peaking at No. 12 in 1997.

At the 55th Golden Globe Awards, "Tomorrow Never Dies" received a nomination for Best Original Song, but lost to "My Heart Will Go On" by James Horner and Will Jennings. The song also received a nomination at the 41st Grammy Awards for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media, losing again to "My Heart Will Go On".

The score itself follows Barry's classical style in both composition and orchestration, together with modern electronic rhythms present in most cues. Because the title song was changed so close to the film's release date, there was no time to work Crow's melody into any of the score. As a result, melody patterns from "Surrender" appear prominently many times in the score, mainly in the action cues, but it can also be heard in the dramatic "All in a Day's Work" track.

Scoring of the film had not been completed when the soundtrack was released so on January 11, 2000 a second album was released by Chapter III Records which removed the theme songs, Moby's Bond theme remake and "Station Break", and had additional music, as well as an interview with David Arnold.

#### Novelisation

***Tomorrow Never Dies*** was the first of three Bond films to be adapted into books by then-current Bond novelist Raymond Benson. Benson's version is expanded from the screenplay including additional scenes with Wai Lin and other supporting characters not in the film. The novel traces Carver's background as the son of media mogul Lord Roverman, whom Carver blackmails into suicide, later taking over his business. The novel also attempts to merge Benson's series with the films, particularly by continuing a middle-of-the-road approach to John Gardner's continuity. Notably it includes a reference to the film version of You Only Live Twice where he states that Bond was lying to Miss Moneypenny when he said he had taken a course in Asian languages. Tomorrow Never Dies also mentions Felix Leiter, although it states that Felix had worked for Pinkertons Detective Agency, which is thus exclusive to the literary series. Subsequent Bond novels by Benson were affected by Tomorrow Never Dies, specifically Bond's weapon of choice being changed from the Walther PPK to the Walther P99. Benson said in an interview that he felt Tomorrow Never Dies was the best of the three novelisations he wrote.

### The World Is Not Enough (1999)

> *"As the countdown begins for the new millennium there is still one number you can always count on."*
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***The World Is Not Enough***is the nineteenth spy film in the James Bond series to be produced by Eon Productions, and the third to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film was directed by Michael Apted, with the original story and screenplay written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and Bruce Feirstein. It was produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli. The title is taken from a line in the 1963 novel On Her Majesty's Secret Service.

The film's plot revolves around the assassination of billionaire Sir Robert King by the terrorist Renard, and Bond's subsequent assignment to protect King's daughter Elektra, who had previously been held for ransom by Renard. During his assignment, Bond unravels a scheme to increase petroleum prices by triggering a nuclear meltdown in the waters of Istanbul.

Despite mixed critical reception, The World Is Not Enough earned $361,832,400 worldwide. It was also the first Eon-produced Bond film to be officially released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer instead of United Artists, the original distributor.

The World Is Not Enough opened on November 19, 1999 (US) and November 26, 1999 (UK).

#### Plot Summary

When oil tycoon Sir Robert King (David Calder) is assassinated in a bombing at M:I-6 headquarters, after recovering $3 million British pounds from a Swiss Bank in Bilbao, Spain. Seductive British secret agent James Bond 007 (Brosnan) is injured in the line of duty trying to pursue the assassin ("Cigar Girl", Giulietta da Vinci, played by Maria Grazia Cucinotta) who killed herself by blowing herself up in a hot air-balloon. Fearing Sir Robert's beautiful daughter and heiress Elektra King's (Sophie Marceau) life is in danger, M (Judi Dench) assigns 007 to protect her as Elektra has inherited her father's legacy and has taken over the business, and is constructing a new oil pipeline. Bond learns a evil terrorist known as Renard (Robert Carlyle), who has a bullet in his head cutting off his senses so he can't smell, touch and feel no pain, was responsible for the assassination of Sir Robert. With help of nuclear scientist Dr. Christmas Jones (Denise Richards) and former enemy, Ex KGB agent Valentin Zukovsky (Robbie Coltrane), Bond sets out to foil Renard's plan as he plots to wipe out Europe with a nuclear bomb. The World is not enough for James Bond 007 as he not only tries to stop Renard, but also begins to question Elektra's motives. IMDb.com

#### Notable Cast

* Pierce Brosnan as James Bond, 007.
* Sophie Marceau as Elektra King
* Robert Carlyle as Victor "Renard" Zokas
* Denise Richards as Dr. Christmas Jones
* Robbie Coltrane as Valentin Zukovsky
* Judi Dench as M
* Michael Kitchen as Bill Tanner: M's Chief of Staff.
* Colin Salmon as Charles Robinson: M's Deputy Chief of Staff.
* Desmond Llewelyn as Q
* John Cleese as R: Q's assistant and successor. The character is never formally introduced as "R" – This was simply an observation on Bond's part: "If you're Q....does that make him R?"
* Samantha Bond as Miss Moneypenny
* Serena Scott Thomas as Dr. Molly Warmflash.
* Goldie as Bull: Valentin Zukovsky's gold-toothed bodyguard. Although listed as 'Bull' in the credits, Zukovsky refers to him as 'Bullion' in the film.
* Maria Grazia Cucinotta as Giulietta da Vinci, credited in the film as "Cigar Girl"
* David Calder as Sir Robert King

#### Soundtrack

*The World Is Not Enough* is the second Bond soundtrack composed by David Arnold. The score features more instances of electronic music, which Arnold included to "make the thing a little more contemporary". To add an ethnic flavour to tracks that conveyed the film's Turkey and Central Asia setting, Arnold brought in percussionist Pete Lockett, qanun player Abdullah Chhadeh, and singer Natacha Atlas.

Arnold broke tradition by not ending the film with a new song or a reprise of the opening theme. Originally, Arnold intended to use the song "Only Myself to Blame", written by David Arnold & Don Black and sung by Scott Walker and inspired by the failed romance between Bond and Elektra King, who turns out to be a villain. However, director Michael Apted "felt it was too much of a downer for the end of the movie" and Arnold replaced it with a techno remix of the "James Bond Theme". "Only Myself to Blame", is the nineteenth and final track on the album.

The soundtrack was recorded across six days in September 1999 by an 83-piece orchestra conducted by Arnold collaborator Nicholas Dodd and was released November 9, 1999. Dodd described The World Is Not Enough as his favourite Bond score.

Elektra King was provided with her own theme, most prominently heard in "Casino," "Elektra's Theme" and "I Never Miss." Arnold added two new themes to the Bond repertoire with this score, both of which are reused in Die Another Day. The first is an action theme, performed on the upper-registers of the piano, heard during "Pipeline" and "Submarine." The second is a romance theme, first heard in the film during the skiing sequence, but not heard here until the "Christmas in Turkey" cue, in a simple arrangement for piano.

***"The World Is Not Enough"*** is the theme song performed by American-Scottish alternative rock group Garbage. The song was written by composer David Arnold and lyricist Don Black, previously responsible for four other Bond songs. "The World Is Not Enough" was composed in the style of the series' title songs, in contrast with the post-modern production and genre-hopping of Garbage's first two albums. The lyrics reflect the film's plot (told from the viewpoint of antagonist Elektra King), with themes of world domination and seduction.

The song was released on October 4, 1999 (US), November 15, 1999 (UK) and December 7, 1999 (Europe). Praised by reviewers, it reached number 11 in the UK Singles Chart.

#### Novelisation

Published in 1999, ***The World Is Not Enough*** was adapted by then-current Bond novelist Raymond Benson from the screenplay by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Bruce Feirstein. It was Benson's fourth James Bond novel and followed the story closely, except in some details. For example, Elektra does not die immediately after Bond shoots her; instead, she begins quietly to sing. The novel also gave the Cigar Girl a name: Giulietta da Vinci, and retained a scene between her and Renard that was cut from theatrical release. Also, Bond is still carrying his Walther PPK instead of the newer P99.

### Die Another Day (2002)

Pierce Brosnan starred in his fourth and final Bond movie, ***Die Another Day***, in 2002. Thus, it falls outside the remit of this wiki.