Movie Review: GoldenEye (1995)

The movie stars Pierce Brosnan, Sean Bean, Izabella Scorupco, Famke Janssen and Judi Dench.

It's been a while since I had an opportunity to see a classic James Bond film so, when I had the opportunity to do so this morning and saw it starred Brosnan (one of my favorite Bond actors) in the lead role, I decided to take the time to watch it. And, at least in my opinion, it turned out to be a great decision.

The thing I like about this particular movie is it exactly what I would expect a James Bond movie to be. There's plenty of action from the start with some intense fight scenes and very little lull time in between (a big pet peeve of mine when it comes to action films). Yet, at the same time, Brosnan's Bond manages to be calm and charming, just like his character is supposed to be. 

The twist involving his friend (Bean) being the bad guy wasn't much of a surprise since I've learned, from experience, people in these movies don't always stay dead. However, while the twist wasn't anything overly unexpected, it did add a new level of difficulty for him since his friend, in addition to trying to carry out his terrorist agenda, was seeking revenge.

Of course, as is usually the case with these films, the bad guys purposely pass up plenty of opportunities to simply kill the secret agent in favor of a more elaborate (and easy-to-escape) death. But, I also think that is half the fun of films like this so I really can't complain about that.

I did find I liked Scorupco in her role as Bond's love interest. Her character was both beautiful and had a great personality. I personally loved how she would stand up to him when the situation called for it, something that isn't always the case with women in other Bond movies. It made her much more fun to watch and kept the film, and their relationship, interesting.

This was my first time watching this movie in its entirety and it ended up being well worth my time. It's one of the best Bond movies I've watched and one I do recommend taking the time to watch if you have an opportunity to.

My Grade: A