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The Cold War is over, but its legacy lives on in the shape
of the GoldenEye, a Russian satellite-control device that
could cripple the computer systems of an entire nation. When
the device is stolen from a remote Russian outpost, James
Bond finds himself crossing paths with an old friend - and
some old enemies...
This
is the film that brought Bond back to the cinema after a gap
of six years. In view of this prolonged hiatus, and the relative
lack of financial success experienced by Licence to Kill,
a change of artistic direction was almost inevitable, although
it is open to debate whether this was for the better.
One
aspect that Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli went on record as wishing
to emphasise in this comeback was that Bond should never become
a "superhero". It's ironic, therefore, that this movie should
feature a free-falling Bond managing to catch up with a plummeting
plane and a chase sequence with 007 driving a tank in which
he devastates St Petersburg without even getting dusty.
The
movie also exhibits an awkwardly cautious attitude, betraying
fears that the movie-going public of the 1990s might find
Bond a bit old hat. Thus we are reminded, with little subtlety,
that the Cold War is over (ignoring the fact that the movie
series had never really relied upon the Russians as bad guys
anyway) and that 007 is a "sexist, misogynist dinosaur". At
least these lines are delivered by an actor of the calibre
of Dame Judi Dench as the new M, one of the movie's master
strokes of casting. Having acknowledged these shortcomings,
the film then proceeds to have Bond behaving every bit as
sexist as before. This attempt to please all of the people
all of the time leads to a slightly wishy-washy result.
Similarly,
Brosnan appears to be trying to cover all the bases rather
than establish a characterisation of his own, amalgamating
the harder edge of Dalton and Connery with the suave sophistication
of Moore. He makes a decent enough debut performance, but
he would not consolidate his position as a true action hero
until 1997's Tomorrow Never Dies.
The
supporting cast is generally excellent, including Michael
Kitchen as Bill Tanner, a character who was a mainstay of
Fleming's novels, but who only now becomes a movie regular.
Samantha Bond's Moneypenny holds her own against Bond, although
her line, "As far as I can remember, James, you've never had
me," is far too in-yer-face for comfort. Leading lady Izabella
Scorupco enjoys the chance to make an essential contribution
to the plot as computer-programmer Natalya Simonova, while
future X-Men star Famke Janssen is wonderfully wicked
as another X-woman, the fetishistic assassin Xenia Onatopp.
Amusing cameos are played by Joe Don Baker as Jack Wade, a
kind of anti-establishment Felix Leiter, and Robbie Coltrane
as Valentin Zukovsky, both of whom would make welcome returns
in subsequent Brosnan films. Sean Bean is okay as Alec Trevelyan,
although the home-counties accent sounds strange coming from
a Yorkshireman's lips. Unfortunately, the identity of the
main villain, who is effectively set up as a corrupt version
of 007, was spoiled by the movie's pre-publicity.
On balance, though, this is a swish production with a stylish
script - barring the aforementioned imperfections and the
hidden transmitter dish, which owes far too much to You
Only Live Twice. Of course, the Bond series has repeated
itself continually, but rehashing Blofeld's secret volcano
base is something that the creative team should not have even
hoped to get away with.
The
screenplay is surprisingly high on plot development rather
than action, an aspect that is underscored by the music of
Eric Serra, who is extremely good at generating mood, but
proves to be less successful at the traditional style of Bond
action themes. However, the production does boast one of the
series' best-ever title sequences, in terms of both relevance
to the plot and sheer eroticism. This comes courtesy of Daniel
Kleinman, who makes effective use of the icons of old Russia
that are also central to the movie.
With
a wealth of contemporary behind-the-scenes and promotional
material available for use among the special features, none
of the Brosnan DVDs include documentaries of the type that
we have seen accompanying all the previous Bonds. This means
that we get precious little pre-production or historical information,
such as details of the legal dispute that kept the Bond films
on hold for so long. However, we do get two featurettes as
well as the 1995 World of 007 documentary, hosted by
Elizabeth Hurley in what is practically a dress rehearsal
for her role in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.
The music video to Tina Turner's powerful title song, and
no fewer than 14 theatrical and TV trailers round off the
presentation of this flawed but well-polished piece.
Well
worth keeping an eye out for.
Richard
McGinlay
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