Goldeneye, best Bond film ever?

SurrieSurrie Surrey, UKPosts: 79MI6 Agent
For me Goldeneye was the apitimy of Bond. I loved everything about it. I was 7 when I first saw it and can still remember that time today. I spent hours playing the Nintendo 64 Game 'Goldeneye' with my brothers. I know the in's and out's of the film. I have watched it countless numbers of times. But I never get bored. It had everything you need from Bond. It was also a new generation of Bond. Past the Dalton years (which should of been Brosnan) and into the 21st Century. All of the Bond films are beyond the description of words. You cannot begin to describe what you feel when you watch a Bond film. All of the different emotions. You may think I dont know what I'm talking about 1. because I'm a girl and 2. because I'm only 16. But I can asure you what I get from all of the Bond films, novels, games, the whole franchise is beyond description. I can't even begin to describe what I feel when I hear the Bond music or a famous witty line the man himself has said. You may think I am taking things too far but I don't really care this is how I feel and I love it. Goldeneye is my favourite because it settles my passion for Bond and my desire to one day have his occupation.

Discuss.
What counts is what the heroine provokes, or rather what she represents. She is the one, or rather the love or fear she inspires in the hero , or else the concern he feels for her, who makes him act the way he does.

Author of 'Pussy Galore - A Representation of Women in James Bond Films'.
Active tweeter and tumbler - https://twitter.com/surrie_fullard

Comments

  • SteedSteed Posts: 134MI6 Agent
    It's not my favourite ever, but it's definitely the best one Brosnan did, imho. I feel it was a more consistent film than any of the Dalton films were, Brosnan is a better choice for the role and better in the role than Dalton was, imo, and it has a kind of traditional feel to it. If all his films were of this quality, I'd have put Brosnan higher in my estimation. As it went, they had a great actor in the role and after that a fair amount of pretty poor material, which nobody could have saved.
  • s96024s96024 Posts: 1,519MI6 Agent
    I actually really liked Goldeneye as well. Partly because I also spent so much time playing the game.
    Surrie wrote:
    All of the different emotions. You may think I dont know what I'm talking about 1. because I'm a girl and 2. because I'm only 16.

    We all know how emotional women can be ;)
  • SurrieSurrie Surrey, UKPosts: 79MI6 Agent
    lol, I expected someone to make that joke.
    What counts is what the heroine provokes, or rather what she represents. She is the one, or rather the love or fear she inspires in the hero , or else the concern he feels for her, who makes him act the way he does.

    Author of 'Pussy Galore - A Representation of Women in James Bond Films'.
    Active tweeter and tumbler - https://twitter.com/surrie_fullard
  • Scribe74Scribe74 San FranciscoPosts: 149MI6 Agent
    GoldenEye was the best of the Brosnan films, but I would not say it's the best Bond film ever. I think CR is better than any of Brosnan's outings as 007.

    My current contenders for top Bond film is either Craig's recent debut, Thunderball or The Living Daylights.
  • Dan SameDan Same Victoria, AustraliaPosts: 6,054MI6 Agent
    edited December 2006
    I love GE. I think it's Brosnan's best film and it's 8th on my list. However I don't think it's perfect. IMO the film's bigest flaws are the psychoanalyzing (the beach scene, some of Alec's dialogue and M's 'dinosaur' speech.)
    "He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back—that’s an earthquake. and then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you’re finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory." Death of a Salesman
  • bluemanblueman PDXPosts: 1,667MI6 Agent
    Welcome to AJB, Surrie. I get what you're talking about, the Bond theme and The Line being uttered, it's movie magic. :007) GE did bring a lot of that Bond magic back after a too-long hiatus. I share some of Dan's complaints, also the invincible computer nerd really bugged me, didn't seem to belong in a Bond film IMHO. But oh well.

    What did you think of TND?
  • SurrieSurrie Surrey, UKPosts: 79MI6 Agent
    I thought TND wasnt as strong as GE but still an amazing film. The things that let it down where the villians. There personalitys whernt strong in the film. The plot was really good. But Carver wasnt evil enough for my liking. But I may feel let down by this film because it had to follow such a good film before.
    What counts is what the heroine provokes, or rather what she represents. She is the one, or rather the love or fear she inspires in the hero , or else the concern he feels for her, who makes him act the way he does.

    Author of 'Pussy Galore - A Representation of Women in James Bond Films'.
    Active tweeter and tumbler - https://twitter.com/surrie_fullard
  • Willie GarvinWillie Garvin Posts: 1,412MI6 Agent
    Although I definitely respect your opinion and understand why you like GoldenEye,I don't agree that it's the "best" James Bond film ever.I certainly like it, but I think there are better films among the 21 movies.Of course,it always comes down to personal taste and individual expectations,doesn't it?

    For my money,the "best" (and I try not to throw that word around loosely)James Bond film is From Russia With Love.I think it has a perfect cast,an excellent storyline and everything in the film is in just the right proportion.No overabundance of gadgets.No big explosions.No unbelievable villains.Bond is clearly a spy and assassin.There's a real sense of danger permeating the story.And Bond has to use his wits in order to survive.

    And also--with only a few minor alterations--the From Russia With Love movie remains a remarkably faithful adaptation of one of Ian Fleming's very best novels.It's a good story well told.

    But we all like different things and happily there are plenty of James Bond films for almost every taste.:)
  • jbfreakjbfreak Posts: 144MI6 Agent
    I too disagree that it is the best Bond ever. Don't get me wrong, I love the film because it was also my first Bond movie, and I think it is definately better than any of the other Brosnan films with TWINE in a close second. Its MHO that OHMSS is the best Bond film. I think that it is one of the most least recongnized Bond films and most criticized but I don't think it deserves it.
  • HankHank Posts: 37MI6 Agent
    THe writing and character development for Goldeneye could easily make it one of the best Bond flicks.

    Its not flawless, but its easily one of the best bond flicks.
  • heartbroken_mr_draxheartbroken_mr_drax New Zealand Posts: 2,073MI6 Agent
    Only one element letting it down: Eric Sierra

    Otherwise yes its great
    1. TWINE 2. FYEO 3. MR 4. TLD 5. TSWLM 6. OHMSS 7. DN 8. OP 9. AVTAK 10. TMWTGG 11. QoS 12. GE 13. CR 14. TB 15. FRWL 16. TND 17. LTK 18. GF 19. SF 20. LaLD 21. YOLT 22. NTTD 23. DAD 24. DAF. 25. SP

    "Better make that two."
  • bluemanblueman PDXPosts: 1,667MI6 Agent
    Surrie wrote:
    I thought TND wasnt as strong as GE but still an amazing film. The things that let it down where the villians. There personalitys whernt strong in the film. The plot was really good. But Carver wasnt evil enough for my liking. But I may feel let down by this film because it had to follow such a good film before.

    Awww, I kinda liked the TND villians, Carver and Stamper seemed throw-back to me, very 60s. A little too cartoony maybe, but that's been the case since the 70s. Oh well. Bean was indeed a great villian, I wished he had more to do in GE, splitting time with that Russuan General dude didn't work for me I guess. They had a nice original set-up, but the follow-through got kinda meandering in the middle, like they were trying to fit too much in (for me at least)...although that last fight was a good one. {[]

    Both films had good stuff in them (and a few things I'd change if I had my drothers...but I could say that about darn near all of 'em, I'm so picky :p ). Loved the action scenes in TND, the car chase scene in the parking garage and the motorcycyle chase were both very good IMO. I also thought Brosnan had a more balanced Bond his second time out, just seemed more comfortable in the role IMO.

    Anyway, cheers!
  • Dan SameDan Same Victoria, AustraliaPosts: 6,054MI6 Agent
    blueman wrote:
    A little too cartoony maybe, but that's been the case since the 70s.
    Perhaps, but I actually think the 70's villains (Kananga, Scaramanga, Stromberg, Drax) are among the best villains in the series; while Carver and Stamper struck me as just poor knock-offs. ;)
    "He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back—that’s an earthquake. and then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you’re finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory." Death of a Salesman
  • SteedSteed Posts: 134MI6 Agent
    I thought Carver was a pretty good villain yet was very exaggerated, the typical 'diabolical mastermind' you get in more tongue in cheek shows like 'The Avengers'. However, for all the hamminess of Jonathan Pryce's performance, he was one of few memorable villains of the Brosnan era. The next two films are an almost complete washout for that, imo.
  • spectre7spectre7 LondonPosts: 118MI6 Agent
    Goldeneye is an OK film. It might be Brosnan's best film but none of his films are particularly good, marking Brosnan as the only actor of the six not to have a great Bond film to his name.

    The film is badly paced, the direction is mediocre (far too many close-ups an static camera) and Eric Serra's music stinks. It's also full of things that are just rubbish, like Alan Cumming's comic relief that would embarass a five-year old.
  • SteedSteed Posts: 134MI6 Agent
    I watched it Saturday as I hadn't seen it for a while. For me, it is as near perfect as any film in the Brosnan era came. It's not quite that, but imo very few Bond films achieve that distinction anyway.

    There are some flaws- as has been said, the character of Boris is often embarassing and is the archetypal 'computer geek' which you can't wait to see the back of (yet,his death is quite ludicrous though...). And I agree the score is often completely off beam. There's also a bit too much emphasis on the scene in the Severnaya plant which imo over-runs drastically.

    Other than that though, it's easy to see why this is viewed as Brosnan's best. I think he nailed Bond better than Dalton did (or perhaps never had the chance to due to one slightly indifferent film and one which was a bit atypical), the scenes between Bond and Trevelyan are superbly written and Bond's sadness upon discovering his friend is a traitor and he may partly be to blame is wondrous and well played. Also, there's a lot of first grade action with the tank chase, the brilliant PTS and best of all the monumental punch-up between Bond and Trevelyan at the end. Great scene between Bond and M which finally restored some of the tension of the Connery era, and Xenia Onatopp was the most memorable Bond girl in years after years of rather indifferent ones (to me at any rate).

    So it gets 4.5/5 from me as what flaws there are are fairly minor, all things considered. It has a consistency that Brosnan's other films lacked, imo, and also the clearer sense of direction the Dalton era needed too, again imo. It did indeed invigorate a franchise that had been flagging for a few years and as such, cannot be overstated.
  • Number24Number24 NorwayPosts: 22,424MI6 Agent
    I think GE is one of the better Bonds, because of and despite of the fact that they do allmost everything according to audience expectations.
    They introduced a Bond who is almost a mixture of all the previous Bond actors. The song is good but reminds us of the classic title songs like Goldfinger. They have a evil mastermind, a control center, a ticking clock, a space orbiting weapon etc. The few surprises are the female M and the villan being a former 00-agent and Bond's friend. Goldeneye is good, but perhaps they had to live up to expectations because the time since LTK and the low box office in the US for LTK.
  • jrdoo7jrdoo7 Posts: 12MI6 Agent
    it was a very good and best of the brosnan films. everyone has their best film. i saw a list where someone put avtk as their best. i think the best was goldfiner.
  • Klaus HergescheimerKlaus Hergescheimer Posts: 332MI6 Agent
    edited December 2006
    GoldenEye is one of six films currently on video release that I always get excited when it comes time to watch (the others being FRWL, LTK, TLD, DN, and TB). It's the second Bond movie I saw in the theatres, and when I watch it, I get just sheer enjoyment every time. It has a terrific Flemingesque plot line and tone, and Brosnan gives a performance that is among the best ever. The only flaw, IMO, is that it suffers from some rediculous action pieces at times (Brosnan turning into Superman to catch the descending plane; the chase scene through Moscow is too much for me).

    After rewatching it last night, I remembered just how great it was. I'm going to have to give this one a big boost into the #4 slot of all time in Bond films.
Sign In or Register to comment.