Customer Reviews

GoldenEye (Widescreen)

5 star:		(88)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I loved Goldeneye because of:
a) Tank chase through St. Petersburg
b) The bungee jump off the dam
c) The humour
d) Isabella Scorupco's performance
and e) Famke Janssen's absolutely perfect, deadly femme fatale Xenia Onnatopp. She's the best, absolutely, the best Bond villain/girl EVER! Ilove Famke Janssen, but I've only seen her in this and X-Men. I can't find others anywhere.
But I'm sure you ain't reading this to hear about me going on about Famke Janssen.
The plot- Bond (superb Pierce Brosnan) is investigating a French anti-electric tampering helicopter, the 'Tiger', when it's stolen by Xenia Onnatopp, a fellow car enthusiast who is linked to a Russian terrorist group Janus.
At MI6, it is discovered a Russian satellite base was struck by an EMP weapon from space known as 'Goldeneye'.
Bond then begins his search for 'Janus', the head of the terrorist group, and soon meets up with one of 2 survivors from te EMP strike, Natalya, Isabella Scorupco, and soon discovers a global threat to technology, banking resources, and people's lives.
Excellent new Bond here. Brosnan's first Bond's is one of his best.
Cheesy explosion sounds annyoed me, and the missing action sequence with Bond's car, the BMW Z3 Roadster is completely missing.
But good casting and sets etc. prove that Bond could go on forever, or at least until the films become unprofitable. (Hee hee)

Goldeneye is one of those films that you know, from the first second, is going to please. It is an almost perfect movie from the awesome beginning to the slow unraveling of the plot to the love interest(the Russian) to the woman villianess (Xenia Onatopp - LOVE THAT NAME and what an entrance!!!!). On top of that we get Judi Dench as the new "M" and what a great bit of casting that was! Exciting, beautiful, sexy - the return of the spy himself.

brosnan's inevitable debut.<unlike connery, moore and dalton, BR>he really hasnt put much of his own stamp on the character and his portrayal is more an eclectic mix of the previous bonds.
that said, this is a fun debut.
there isnt much of a plot but theres plenty of ambience and some great character acting.
the images of the ghost like stalinesque graveyard are appopriately creepy and a not so subtle visual statement on the fall of the soviet union.
the main heroine and the main villian are a bit colorless but the two side villians (alan cummings and famke janssen) are great fun and sadly remind us that its been some time since we've seen bond villians with this much personality.
too, judi dench brings a much needed 'oomph' to the franchise and one hopes she'll be around for some time.
goldeneye seemd to promise new life to the franchise.
alas, the two sequals that followed fell flat.

GoldenEye is one of the best Bond movies ever made! Pierce Brosnan does a great job in his first outing as 007, just as Samantha Bond as Miss Moneypenny and Judi Dench as M. Sean Bean portrays Alec Trevelyan, Agent 006, who betrays Bond and becomes his enemy. Playing the baddie seems to be Bean's specialty (i.e. Patriot Games). The Bond girls are great as well. Izabella Scorupco plays computer programmer Natalya Simonova and Famke Janssen plays sadistic femme fatale Xenia Onatopp. My favorite scene (besides the pre-credits sequence) is the tank chase through St. Petersburg. Bond driving a tank! Just great! Next to "The World Is Not Enough", "GoldenEye" is one of the best Brosnan Bond films.

GoldenEye is the best Bond-movie since Goldfinger. It has the best sound effects I have ever heard. It has some of the best Bond-villians ever. It has the best Bond-storyline (and I have seen everyone). It has incredibly good actors suuch as Sean Bean and Pierce Brosnan. Overall it is the best Bond-movie!! Buy it NOW!! If you paid (...) for the video....it would be worth it!!!!

The 17th James Bond movie. After a six year hiatus from LICENCE TO KILL, major political upheaval would drastically envelop: the fall of the Berlin Wall, communism collapses in Eastern Europe, and the Soviet Union being dissolved. As the Cold War came towards its' end, fans may have felt weary the James Bond series would end with it. It wasn't until producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli (under supervision from Albert R. Broccoli) now owned the franchise and gambled to bring new life to the character and series. The ongoing events of global alliances, superior weaponry, and advanced technology inevitably set the standard for action, excitement, and suspense. Of course the major component is casting Pierce Brosnan in the role of James Bond. With a riveting performance by Brosnan, and a new thrilling adventure blessed with exotic locales, high-tech gadgetry, beautiful women, deliciously evil villains, and a new female M as portrayed by Dame Judi Dench, GOLDENEYE proves 007 once again a true hero of lethal charm and ruthless determination.

THE ASSIGNMENT: In 1986, Bond and Agent 006 collaborated for a mission in Archangel that went aury with 006 being murdered. Now in the present year (1995, the films' release) Bond has an encounter with mysterious Soviet Xenia Onatopp who has a flair for stunt driving and erotic pleasure. Unaware to Bond or MI6, Onatopp works for the now General Ourumov (who was the enemy in the 1986 mission) under the Janus Crime Syndicate in Russia. Ouromov and Onatopp burst into the Severnaya Computer Facility, kill everyone, and test-fire the GoldenEye satellite in space, obliterating the entire facility. M assigns Bond to seek those responsible and why. He has only two leads; streetwise yet infamous crime boss Valentin Zukovsky, and Natalya Simonova, the sole survivor of the Severnaya disaster, who is out to seek revenge of her own.

THE VILLAINS: Sean Bean as Alec Trevelyan, Famke Janssen as Xenia Onatopp, Gottfried John as General Ouromov, Alan Cumming as Boris Grishenko, and Tcheky Karyo as Defense Minister Dimitri Mishkin.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! BUY IT!

I liked Roger Moore as "James Bond" and enjoyed Timothy Dalton very much as "James Bond" in License To Kill (1989). I had hoped Dalton would return a third time as Bond, but due to legal negotiations, another James Bond film wasn't made until 1995. While Timothy Dalton was filming "Scarlett", the tv-miniseries sequel to Gone With The Wind (1939), Dalton had announced that he no longer wished to play "James Bond" and was moving on with his career. Afterwards, a settlement had been made with EON and "James Bond" would return. Pierce Brosnan was selected. Goldeneye would be Brosnan's first "James Bond 007" film. I was so much in tone with Timothy Dalton as James Bond, it took me the second film with Brosnan to accept him. The scene with Teri Hatcher in the bedroom in Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) I think did it. Now it had been six years since a "James Bond" film had been made. Goldeneye burst through the envelope in sexuality. And was the very first time CGI special effects were used on a "Bond" film. As a Bond girl, Izabella Scorupco was chosen. Judi Dench was selected as the first female "M". Samantha Bond chosen as the new "Miss Moneypenny". Perhaps it was the line Pierce brosnan said, "No more foreplay!" that did it, but Goldeneye proved to be a mega-hit success and the James Bond films where back on track. Famke Janssen plays the unforgettable villaness. She can kill during sex. My first DVD movie I ever bought was "License To Kill (1987). The next "James Bond 007" films with Pierce Brosnan were: Tomorrow never Dies (1997), The World Is Not Enough (1999), Die Another Day (2002). The plans for the next James Bond film is currently on hold.

"Goldeneye" is the seventeenth overall James Bond film and Pierce Brosnan's first, highly celebrated, performance in this role that he is so seemingly suited for. While I thought Timothy Dalton did a great job with the two films he was able to perform in, Pierce Brosnan just that much more emulates the qualities desired of a James Bond. It was interesting during the time leading up to this great Bond film, hearing all about the negotiations and such for Pierce Brosnan to take the mantle as, if I remember correctly, the powers that be when it comes to the James Bond series, were waiting for Pierce Brosnan to age properly before handing that mantle over to him.

In this, his first and strangely enough, his best performance as the British super agent, Pierce Brosnan takes the role and readily makes it his own in an exemplary manner. It will most certainly be interesting to see, in the final analysis, how many Bond movies he does get to do before the series producers start looking in another direction. I don't believe I've seen any actors out there as of yet that could come close to filling his or any of the other great Bond actor's shoes. Credit also goes to Sean Bean for his performance as one of the villains in this great film. Up until his incredible performance in "The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring" as Boromir, he had been pretty much been typecast as the villain in most films as he does perform them so well.

As with all great Bond films, there are the Bond babes and the extraordinarily beautiful women that get to take those roles. "Goldeneye" has the great fortune to have Famke Janssen as an outstanding villainess. She is best known of late in her role in the "X-Men" movies or for Star Trek fans, her most memorable role as Kamala in one of Star Trek The Next Generation's best and most emotionally touching episodes. Starring in the love interest role is the ever gorgeous Russian beauty, Isabella Scorupco whose performance in the great Bond film is extraordinarily memorable. Unfortunately for her, it seems to have typecast her and although her career since this film hasn't flopped, it didn't quite do for her what I'm sure she was hoping for.

Making her first appearance as M in this film is Judi Dench, who after watching this film and the following three has proven to be a great decision in getting that pivotal role. She plays a perfect M in countering many of Bond's quips. Also of interest is Joe Don Baker's appearance in this film and "Tomorrow Never Dies" as a somewhat eccentric CIA agent is played perfectly.

Director Martin Campbell who may best be known for "The Mask of Zorro" does an absolutely wonderful job with "Goldeneye," bringing out the exceptional script perfectly and displaying exceptionally well the balance between action sequences and drama.

The score for the film is as perfect as they normally are for all Bond films. Its great seeing and hearing the famous Bond tune in conjunction with Pierce Brosnan who is now forever indelibly linked with that particular tune.

The Premise:

One of the most important elements in a Bond film is the pre main title action packed opening sequence, which for most Bond films fall into one of three categories; doesn't quite work out, works fairly well or works spectacularly. "Goldeneye's" version of the pre main title opening sequence works spectacularly, to say the least. I would definitely have to say that it is one of the most exciting ones out of the series of twenty films to date.

This incredible Bond film, like most of them, takes us all over the globe as James Bond finds himself on the trail of Russian's who have taken over the controls to a secret Russian satellite which has the capability of destroying London or any other major city on the planet. Along the way to saving the planet or at the very least the Crown, Mr. Bond takes the time to enjoy the "scenery" in the best way he knows how...

Simply put, "Goldeneye" is an incredible Bond film, starring one of the best Bonds yet in Pierce Brosnan. I highly recommend this film to any and all who are fans of the Bond series or at the least, fans of great action packed movies that are extremely well written and performed as well. {ssintrepid}

Special Features:

As this was the first Bond film starring Pierce Brosnan, MGM went out of their way to pack it with some great Special Features, all of which are highly informative and entertaining to watch.

-A newly created widescreen master for optimal picture and sound quality
-Audio commentary featuring Director Martin Campbell and Producer Michael G. Wilson
-"Making-Of" Featurette: The GoldenEye Video Journal
-The World of 007 Documentary
-"GoldenEye" music video by Tina Turner
-Behind-The-Scenes Featurette
-Collectible "Making-Of" Booklet
-Original Theatrical Trailers and Television Spots

After a six year hiatus brought on by legal matters (the late Cubby Broccoli was angry with MGM-UA for leasing the series to TBS), James Bond returned to the screen in the person of Pierce Brosnan in "Goldeneye," a title taken from the name of Ian Fleming's estate.

The pre-title sequence is spectacular, but then it's downhill as our ears are subjected to the worst title song in 007 history, an unlistenable piece of drek co-written by Bono and screeched out by Tina Turner.

Thankfully, that's as low as things go for this 17th official entry in the series. Brosnan, though physically more in the Roger Moore mold (a tad fluffy, if you ask me), wisely seems to pattern his performance on the more rugged image of Sean Connery. Famke Janssen makes for an effective bad girl, and in another example of the series' total disregard for continuity, Joe Don Baker, the villain of 1987's "The Living Daylights," returns as an ally.

After 33 years of mining box-office gold with the Bond formula, it would be silly to mess with the ingredients and "Goldeneye" neither shakes nor stirs the series to new heights. It's more of the same, but it's well-done and is a fine introduction to Brosnan's 007.

Brosnan's debut as James Bond is pretty solid, after all, have you ever heard anyone complain about him playing, perhaps the most difficult part to cast in the history of film ?!?
I love the part where Bond chases his plane off a cliff! When I saw it in a theater the audience spontaneously burst into applause. What a great way to introduce a new actor in this illustreous (I hope that's how you spell it) part!