When secret agent James Bond emerged from production hell in 1995 after six years, the world looked very different when he left it. The Soviet Union was a thing of the past, CGI had developed into a common technical aid in films, and the depiction of gender relations in films also required an update.
That’s why James Bond 007 – GoldenEye was not only Pierce Brosnan’s first Bond film, but also an important step in rescuing a series that many in the ’90s were wondering if it was even up to date.
GoldenEye jumps headfirst into the Wild East
The legendary beginning of GoldenEye, in which James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) jumps off a dam to infiltrate a Soviet chemical weapons factory, takes place in 1986. Nine years later, the country has transformed into a kind of lawless Wild East, at least that’s what they say vision of the film. Generals (Gottfried John) and psychosexual Venustraps (Famke Janssen) steal guns for a crime syndicate while the state authorities look on (or get shot). It’s hardly noticeable that 007 is in a highly megalomaniac and fantastical action sequence with a tank through St. Petersburg rolls.
©MGM
Pierce Brosnan and Famke Janssen
This is one of many expertly directed smash moments in the film from Martin Campbell, who proved his mastery of Bond reboots with GoldenEye and James Bond 007 – Casino Royale. Brosnan’s premiere was that though first film in the series to use CGI, but the action is still stunt-oriented. Invisible cars should creep in later.
The Bond film shines with a new M
Aside from the setting, GoldenEye also moved with the times when it came to the casting. Judi Dench relishes the role of Superior M and immediately makes it clear how little she thinks of the death-wishing macho agent. The Bond girls seem comparatively competent and developed in character, with every respectability being thrown out the window by Famke Janssen’s famous Xenia Onatopp or killed during lovemaking. When Xenia is the Licks lips while killing innocents or takes on Bond in an orgasmic bathhouse fight, not only does she, but also the film, reach its wonderfully absurd peaks.
With GoldenEye, Bond’s modernization wasn’t complete. Brosnan rescued the character into a new era without fundamentally changing the secret agent himself. That task fell to Casino Royale and Daniel Craig 11 years later.
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