GoldenEye

1995 Action/Adventure

Pierce Brosnan made his first appearance as James Bond in this action thriller, the 17th in the series (excluding the 1967 Casino Royale and the 1983 Never Say Never Again) featuring the suave British super-agent. As the story begins, Agent 007 and his partner, Agent 006 (Sean Bean), pull a daring raid on a chemical weapons plant in the Soviet Union; however, they are captured by Russian troops, and while Bond is able to escape, 006 is not so lucky. Several years later, the Soviet Union and the Cold War are a thing of the past, but Bond is still at work ferreting out evildoers everywhere. Xenia Onatopp (Famke Janssen), a beautiful but vicious villain working with the Russian Mafia, spearheads the theft of the controls to GoldenEye, a high-tech satellite weapons system, and with her gunmen, she kills most of the soldiers and guards at a top-secret military facility in the process. Bond joins forces with Natalya Simonova (Izabella Scorupco), one of the base's few survivors, to help track down Onatopp's minions and the controls to GoldenEye, which can destroy all electronic circuits in a given area in a matter of seconds; however, in time, Bond discovers the true identity of the criminal mastermind who is behind this bid for unholy power and world domination -- none other than Alec Trevelyan, the man Bond once knew as 006. In addition to Brosnan, GoldenEye also marked another significant cast change for the Bond series -- Judi Dench made her debut as M, Bond's superior. Minnie Driver also has a cameo as a nightclub singer. Sadly, this was the last film in the Bond series for special-effects supervisor Derek Meddings, who died in the midst of production; the film was dedicated to him. more..

Director: Martin Campbell

Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Sean Bean, Izabella Scorupco,Famke Janssen, Joe Don Baker

Reviews

  • This is the best bond movie since "On Her Majesty's Secret Service".

    - Empire

    26 April 2013

  • Most crucially, Brosnan makes the grade as 007. He handles the action capably and gets the standard quips out in a commendably straightforward way that's wry but not dismissive.

    Todd McCarthy - Variety

    26 April 2013

  • This is the first Bond film that is self-aware, that has lost its innocence and the simplicity of its world view, and has some understanding of the absurdity and sadness of its hero.

    Roger Ebert - The Chicago Sun-Times

    26 April 2013

  • When the action is extreme, GoldenEye is supercharged with spectacular, thundering, brain-numbing fun.

    Peter Stack - The San Francisco Chronicle

    26 April 2013

  • The writers get the mix just about right, and first-time Bond director Martin Campbell moves things along fairly briskly.

    Maitland McDonagh - TV Guide

    26 April 2013

Awards

  • Best Action/Adventure Film

    Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films (1996)

     
  • Best Achievement in Special Effects

    BAFTA Awards (1996)

     
  • Eric Serra

    BMI Film & TV Awards (1996)

  • Golden Screen, Germany (1996)

  • Best Fight

    MTV Movie Awards (1996)