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The opening scene of “Goldeneye” was the perfect way to start it. It had mystery, espionage, great stunts and didn’t fully reveal its newest Bond until just the right moment. The scene opens on an extremely high dam, which stands empty and quietly, guarded by a plane that flies overhead. Suddenly, a man in dark clothes runs along the top of the dam, and then hooks a rope onto the railing. Gracefully standing up on the very edge, he leaps off without a moment’s hesitation, and practically glides a thousand feet down to sneak his way into a secret military bunker inside the dam. As we know it’s Agent 007, who also rendezvous with Agent 006 inside the facility.
Silently and skilfully, they infiltrate the place, with a clear mission to achieve. That is until the Russian army gets wind of their intrusion and comes after them. Unfortunately for our hero’s predecessor, 006 is captured and killed, leaving 007 to escape the facility, rigged to explode at any minute. This scene uses the elements of action and humour very well, setting the tone for the entire film to follow. Certain moments of Bonds escape defy all laws of gravity and physics, and he is pitted against the worst soldiers in the world, who seem to run towards his gunfire and can never defend themselves quick enough to avoid being killed by the secret agent. Then, in one of the greatest and most absurd stunts I had seen in a film ever (by the age of 13 at least), Bond chases after his escape plane on a bike, as it runs out of tarmac and flies over a cliff. Bond rides his bike over the edge without thinking twice, falling in a desperate bid to catch it. Just in the nick of time, Bond catches up to the plane… in mid air mind you… pulls himself inside, takes control of the plane and flies away just as the facility blows up, killing all the Russian soldiers and sadly leaving his co-agent behind. At least, that’s what this scene would lead us to believe…
Although this was a new Bond in a new decade, Goldeneye still has many traces of previous James Bond films. The new Bond, played for this generation by Pierce Brosnan, was suave and charming. Goldeneye and the style of the 1990’s was the perfect compliment for Brosnan’s style, but it may have happened earlier. When the producers of MGM were looking to replace the ageing Roger Moore with a new Bond for the 1980’s, Brosnan was offered the role but had to turn it down due to contractual agreements on his TV show at the time, “Remington Steele”. Instead, Timothy Dalton took on the mantle and appeared in only 2 films. Often seen as the underdeveloped James Bond given his short run and inability to star in landmark films (and legal disputes) the series was shelved again for another six years. Brosnan was approached yet again, said yes straight away and stepped into the role of the world’s most famous secret agent at the age of 42. The revitalised Bond also saw the casting of Judie Dench in the integral role of M, Bond’s mentor and also the first female to be cast in the role. The plot of the film, set in the post-Cold War and Soviet Union era, sees Bond track down the culprit who’s commandeered a top secret satellite weapon, capable of incinerating entire cities. Along the way he does the usual Bond thing; walks around Casinos sipping Vodka Martini’s, shags the first woman he sees and tackles the bad guys with an array of nifty gadgets and daring escapes. And all of these trademark Bond moves are used tastefully and with a few laughs thrown in for good measure. This was James Bond reinvented.
Although this was a new Bond in a new decade, Goldeneye still has many traces of previous James Bond films. The new Bond, played for this generation by Pierce Brosnan, was suave and charming. Goldeneye and the style of the 1990’s was the perfect compliment for Brosnan’s style, but it may have happened earlier. When the producers of MGM were looking to replace the ageing Roger Moore with a new Bond for the 1980’s, Brosnan was offered the role but had to turn it down due to contractual agreements on his TV show at the time, “Remington Steele”. Instead, Timothy Dalton took on the mantle and appeared in only 2 films. Often seen as the underdeveloped James Bond given his short run and inability to star in landmark films (and legal disputes) the series was shelved again for another six years. Brosnan was approached yet again, said yes straight away and stepped into the role of the world’s most famous secret agent at the age of 42. The revitalised Bond also saw the casting of Judie Dench in the integral role of M, Bond’s mentor and also the first female to be cast in the role. The plot of the film, set in the post-Cold War and Soviet Union era, sees Bond track down the culprit who’s commandeered a top secret satellite weapon, capable of incinerating entire cities. Along the way he does the usual Bond thing; walks around Casinos sipping Vodka Martini’s, shags the first woman he sees and tackles the bad guys with an array of nifty gadgets and daring escapes. And all of these trademark Bond moves are used tastefully and with a few laughs thrown in for good measure. This was James Bond reinvented.
In the months leading up to the release of Goldeneye, I was in the supermarket with my mum, trailing behind her and the trolley, being useless. In the toiletries aisle I was passing the deodorant section and reached out for a can of Lynx, which had just launched that year if I’m not wrong and was the fragrance of choice for every teenage boy – because girls loved the smell of it. And still do. You’ll find some in my bathroom cabinet today. Anyway, at the end of this aisle was a cardboard stand with the new James Bond’s face planted on it. He looked right at me, ready for adventure, surrounded by flames and action! “Win a trip to Spy Camp!” the sign read. Wow! Yes please. I ripped off an application form and convinced my mum I needed a can of Lynx, as I had to write the barcode of a can on my entry form. Once home, I read through the details. It said something like, “In celebration of the latest James Bond film ‘Goldeneye’ how would you like to win a trip for 2 to a real Spy Training camp in Switzerland?” How could I resist. A dream for any teenage boy, and my ticket to the outside world as I saw it. So I entered, explaining in 25 words or less why I needed spy training. From memory I said something about wanting to protect my friends at school from bullies (which wasn’t happening), and ended my paragraph with “I would really, really love to go to Spy Camp. Please pick me” Alas, I wasn’t the chosen one, but received two free tickets to the movie instead. Hooray!
On opening weekend, I conned my cousin into coming with me. He liked movies, but not the type where you had to actually watch it or think. But he couldn’t pass up a free trip to the movies, and he came along. He would come along to many others over the years, and I felt like I was just dragging him along. But then he surprised me one day by convincing me we had to go see this new Bill Murray film called “Rushmore” which I knew nothing about and had no interest to see. As he had come willingly to so many movies of my choices, I gave in and went along. And little did I know I would fall in love with film and see it enter my Top 10 Favourite Movies of All Time. You can read that story, and my review for Rushmore in the section of this blog called ‘Brian’s Top Picks’. But don’t go there yet! Keep reading…
Goldeneye was a hit with critics and audiences, and brought James Bond to a whole new generation who weren’t that impressed by the adventures of the 60’s and 70’s incarnations. Special effects, gadgets and villains had evolved and the 90’s was racing toward to the 21st century with attitude. The film’s influence was even felt in the gaming community, as Nintendo embarked on a project which would later be seen as a stroke of genius, creating a Goldeneye video game for their emerging “Nintendo 64” console. The latest gaming revolution by the giant company needed it’s signature game, like Super Mario Brothers 3 was for the Nintendo Entertainment System and Sonic the Hedgehog was for the Sega Genesis – Goldeneye on Nintendo 64 would go on to be so popular, it separated itself from the movie, becoming it’s own entity. It also paved the way for many other 1st person shooter games and still holds up today as one of the greatest video games ever made.
And with a great first film and five more years of a millennium to inhabit, Brosnan’s Bond went on to start in 3 more films, including “Tomorrow Never Dies” , “The World is Not Enough” (my personal favourite) and “Die Another Day”, which cemented the death of Brosnan as Bond and didn’t guarantee he would come back another day. No bother. He had his era and smashed it out. Up until this time, Brosnan was, in my and many other people’s opinions, the best Bond since Connery. That was until 2006 when Daniel Craig stepped into the role and changed everything. But this is not The Movies of my Twenties we’re talking about here (those reviews will come next year). So thanks Pierce Brosnan for being my James Bond for the teenage years. You did Alright!
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And with a great first film and five more years of a millennium to inhabit, Brosnan’s Bond went on to start in 3 more films, including “Tomorrow Never Dies” , “The World is Not Enough” (my personal favourite) and “Die Another Day”, which cemented the death of Brosnan as Bond and didn’t guarantee he would come back another day. No bother. He had his era and smashed it out. Up until this time, Brosnan was, in my and many other people’s opinions, the best Bond since Connery. That was until 2006 when Daniel Craig stepped into the role and changed everything. But this is not The Movies of my Twenties we’re talking about here (those reviews will come next year). So thanks Pierce Brosnan for being my James Bond for the teenage years. You did Alright!
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