GoldenEye (1995)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Martin Campbell

Writers (WGA):

Ian Fleming (characters)
Michael France (story)

Release Date:

17 November 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

Tagline:

You know the name. You know the number.

Plot:

James Bond teams up with the lone survivor of a destroyed Russian research center to stop the hijacking of a nuclear space weapon by a fellow agent believed to be dead.

Plot Keywords:

Russian | Agent | James Bond | Satellite | General

Awards:

Nominated for 2 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Pierce Brosnan	...	James Bond
Sean Bean	...	Alec Trevelyan / Janus
Izabella Scorupco	...	Natalya Fyodorovna Simonova
Famke Janssen	...	Xenia Zirgavna Onatopp
Joe Don Baker	...	Jack Wade
Judi Dench	...	M
Robbie Coltrane	...	Valentin Dmitrovich Zukovsky
Gottfried John	...	General Arkady Grigorovich Ourumov
Alan Cumming	...	Boris Grishenko
Tchéky Karyo	...	Defense Minister Dmitri Mishkin (as Tcheky Karyo)
Desmond Llewelyn	...	Q
Samantha Bond	...	Miss Moneypenny
Michael Kitchen	...	Bill Tanner
Serena Gordon	...	Caroline
Simon Kunz	...	Severnaya Duty Officer

Also Known As:

Bond 17 (UK) (working title)
Golden Eye (International: English title) (alternative spelling)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for a number of sequences of action/violence, and for some sexuality.

Runtime:

130 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English | Russian | Spanish

Color:

Color | Color (Rankcolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Iceland:12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #34064) | UK:15 (uncut) (2006 ultimate edition) | Philippines:PG-13 | Brazil:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Denmark:16 | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 | Ireland:15 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:PG | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:12 (cut)

Filming Locations:

Admiralteysky, St. Petersburg, Russia

Company:

Eon Productions

Trivia:

Pierce Brosnan hurt his hand in his bathroom at home in Malibu before shooting began, so in several shots his hands were doubled by his 22 year old son Christopher, who was the third assistant trainee on the second unit. These include: pulling on a hand-brake in the Aston Martin DB5, flipping open the glove compartment to reveal a bottle of chilled Bollinger champagne, using the laser in the opening bungee jump and cutting through the floor of the train with the laser in 007's wristwatch.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: The Russians must identify themselves to the base security system, in English, in order to gain access. Russian computer prompts are in English as well. In all probability, these security systems would be designed in Russian, not English.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[Russian in toilet cubicle looks around his newspaper to see Bond hanging from the ceiling]
James Bond: Beg your pardon, forgot to knock.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Alien Autopsy (2006)

Soundtrack:

The James Bond Theme

Brosnan Makes A Remarkable Debut As 007

Pierce Brosnan debuts as 007, and this is one of the best films of the franchise. When I first saw Brosnan as Bond, I was amazed at how fast he nailed down the part, and this recent viewing of the movie confirmed my initial thoughts. He lacks Dalton's emphatic magnetism, but he is warmer than Connery, as agile as Lanzeby and he is as sophisticated and witty as Moore; he is probably the second best Bond, right behind Dalton. He gets plenty of support from an excellent script. The story (the first film that doesn't borrow anything from Ian Fleming's work), is really a pastiche of elements from previous movies, but somehow the writers make the entire thing look fresh and exciting. The cast is also above average. Thankfully, Brosnan is surrounded by beautiful and talented girls. Famke Janssen (future X-Men Phoenix) is a memorable bad girl. Izabella Scorupco is the good girl, and this (usually) decorative character actually makes perfect sense within the context of the film. Scorupco succeeds in making her role a breathing-living person. Judi Dench is a saucy "M", spicing up the few scenes she's in. Peter Lamont's sets deserve special attention. The last third of the movie was filmed in and around Puerto Rico's radar (the largest in the world), a place I have visited numerous times. Watching the movie I had a hard time separating the actual location from Lamont's recreation. Lamont's work is very different from Ken Adam's larger than life style, but he is a brilliant set designer. I didn't like Eric Serra's score, which alters Bond's famous theme - if ain't broken, don't fix it! I didn't care much for the title song (sung by Tina Turner) either, and the absence of Maurice Binder's genius is noticeable (Binder died before the movie was made). However, I think the movie did a great job in introducing the character to a new generation of fans. This is one of the most satisfying Bond movies, modernizing the formula in a most effective manner.