GoldenEye

***GoldenEye*** is a 1995 spy action thriller film and the first film to star Pierce Brosnan as James Bond. It was also the first Bond film to be released in six years after 1989's *Licence to Kill*.

## Plot

In 1986, Bond and a fellow MI6 agent, Alec Trevelyan (Sean Bean), infiltrate a Soviet chemical weapons facility inside a dam in Arkhangelsk commanded by Colonel Arkady Ourumov (Gottfried John) with the intention of destroying it using explosives. Although Trevelyan was seemingly killed in the process, Bond successfully destroys the facility.

Nine years later, Bond embarks on another mission to investigate the Janus crime syndicate, which has hijacked control of a Soviet EMP satellite weapons system called GoldenEye. Bond tracks Janus down to the city of St. Petersburg and soon finds himself confronting the past...

## Why We Were Not Expecting Anyone Else

1. Resuscitated Pierce Brosnan's career in the years after *Remington Steele*.
2. Awesome and intense action sequences, including an amazing tank chase.
3. Nice theme song by Tina Turner.
4. Well done characterization.
5. Great acting, from actors like Sean Bean, Alan Cumming, Famke Janssen and Izabella Scorupo, as well as Pierce Brosnan.
6. Very memorable and likable characters, such as Alec Trevelyan, Judi Dench's M, Valentin Zuchosvky, and Xenia Onatopp.
	* Speaking of Alec Trevelyan, he is a very well-written villain.
7. A storyline with an introspective tone, which is neat given the movie's post-Cold War setting.
8. Great cinematography.
9. Good title sequence by Daniel Kleinman.
10. Two years later, it spawned an awesome licensed game for the Nintendo 64 and later on, a remake that were also revolutionary, following the film's success.
11. The music score of the film by Éric Serra can be pretty good, however, this is rather contested (see BQ #1).
12. Some of the dialogue is memorable, such as:
	* **She always did enjoy a good squeeze.**
	* **-For England, James? -No, for me.**
	* **I am invincible!**
13. Good direction by Martin Campbell, who would later direct the 2006 remake of *Casino Royale*, another Bond film.
14. After six years, this film saved the James Bond franchise, following the poor box office performance of *Licence to Kill*.
15. Xenia Onatopp's method of killing is very frightening.

## Bad Qualities

1. As mentioned above, the soundtrack is polarizing, as there are some viewers who disliked it and felt that it's inappropriate for a Bond film.
2. Some characters are quite unlikable. For example:
	* Moneypenny is very unlikable in this film, being incredibly rude to Bond and accusing him of sexual harassment for no clear reason. Fortunately, the next three Brosnan Bond films made her a lot more likable.
	* M's accusation that Bond is a "sexist, misogynistic dinosaur" is also a little over the top, though at least that line has the excuse of foreshadowing Bond nearly getting himself killed by under-estimating Xenia.
3. As typical for Bond movies, the traps Bond ends up in are easily escapable, and Trevelyan gives him enough time to escape, all of which would serve as the inspiration for the Austin Powers series.
4. Alec Trevelyan falling from the satellite dish can scare some viewers.

## Reception

*GoldenEye* was commercially successful, earning $355 million out of a $60 million budget.

The movie has also received mostly positive critical reception, with a 78% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes; Roger Ebert gave it 3 out of 4, and *Entertainment Weekly* ranked it as the eighth-best Bond film.

## Videos

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## External Links

* Template:IMDb
* Template:Rotten Tomatoes