Goldeneye: Review By Raoul Duke

Unlike most Bond films, GoldenEye is not based off of the work of Ian Fleming. An original story written by Michael France and directed by Martin Campbell, GoldenEye is a revisualization of the famous British espionage series. Arguably one of the best Bond's ever, Pierce Brosnan steps up for the first time as the British 00 Agent. Taking over for Timothy Dalton, Brosnan delivers us an excellent performance as 007, simultaneously paying tribute to his predecessors as well as giving us a new spin on our favorite spy.

The story starts off with a flashback scene of Bond on an older mission of his with a fellow double agent. Alec Trevelyan(Sean Bean). While infiltrating a chemical weapons facility, Bond and Trevelyan' cover is blown. Bond escapes but 006 is not so lucky and is caught and shot by Colonel Arkady Ourumov(Gottfried John). His remains are presumed lost in the explosion of the facility. In true bond fashion, 007 escapes by skydiving off a mountain to catch up with a plummeting plane that ran out of runway. James catches up to the plane, mid plummet, enters it and corrects it in the nick of time, flying off into the open sky...obviously.

9 years later, Bond is still at it. We find him on a mission surveying a suspected female member of a crime syndicate known as Janus. Xenia Onatopp(Famke Janssen) is a psychotic who gets off on killing her enemies with her powerful thighs while making love. Using her sultry looks, Onatopp gains the confidence of a naval officer only to kill him and steal his credentials for her commander, Ourumov, who is now a General. The two use their new identities to take control of a helicopter with the capabilities to withstand electromagnetic pulse. Bond makes an attempt at apprehending Ourumov and Onatopp before they make off with the chopper, but to no avail.

Ourumov and Onatopp use their new helicopter to fly to a weapons control system in Severnaya. Severnaya is the control base for a satellite weapons system launched in the Cold War, named GoldenEye. They take command of the site and steal the control data for the weapon. Xenia assassinates all employees of the base, save for one survivor, Natalya Simonova(Izabella Scorupco), who survives by hiding in a cupboard. The two arm the satellite and direct it at Severnaya, destroying all evidence. They make their escape with their guy on the inside, a perverted computer genius by the name of Boris(Alan C*mmings). A traitor who provided Ourumov with the necessary information to enter Severnaya. The trio flee the scene of the crime, and because of their choppers high-tech capabilities, their systems aren't shut down by the EMP that followed the Severnaya explosion.

In London, MI6 is investigating the attack and theft. M(Judi Dench) assigns Bond the task of uncovering the leader of Janus and recovering all GoldenEye related data. Meanwhile, Natalya, who luckily survived the explosion at Severnaya, comes into contact with with Boris the traitor in St. Petersburg, Russia. Boris betrays her and she is taken captive by Janus. Bond meanwhile is on his way to St. Petersburg as well, where he pays a visit to an old "acquaintance" of his and a rival of Janus, Valentin Zukovsky(Robbie Coltrane). Zukovsy arranges a meeting with the head of Janus which turns out to be Alec Trevelayan, Bonds former colleague who was presumed dead. Having faked his death, Trevelyan seeks revenge against the British government who he blames for the death of his parents and plans to use the GoldenEye satellite against his former homeland. Bond is overpowered by Janus and tied up with Natalya inside the stolen helicopter used at Severnaya, which is set to self destruct. Bond though, badass that he is, manages to escape with Natalya before the helicopter explodes. He sets out, Natalya in tow, to end Trevelyan' reign of terror, once and for all.

This is by far, one of the most entertaining Bond films of all time. I don't want to say the best, but it is definitely up there. It gives us an original premise with the style and flair of Ian Fleming's story telling. All of the actors are perfect in their roles. Sean Bean plays the complex Trevelyan excellently, making him almost somehow cooler than Bond. Famke Janssen is sexy as hell in this movie. She plays a horny killer awesomely and delivers her lines in a rich and hot Russian accent. Judi Dench delivers us the first female performance of 007's superior, M. She is convincing in her role as the strict and orderly boss of James, who is constantly causing her problems. Alan C*mmings is hilarious as Boris. He plays the sex obsessed computer whiz perfectly, making you simultaneously hate him and feel pity for him. Robbie Coltrane plays Zukovsky, Bond's inside guy in St. Petersburg. His veteran experience allows him to deliver us a wonderful performance as well as a believable Russian dialect. And of course it just wouldn't be a Bond movie without Q. Desmond Llewelyn returns as his legendary character, adding an old school element to this modern day thriller. As always, he makes a few wisecracks at 007 expense as well as supplies him with some gadgets that he knows, as always, will never be seen in one piece again.

This is Bond at his best. Pierce Brosnan takes the iconic character and delivers his performance with pride and conviction. Not only does this movie rule, but the video game that followed it is one of the funnest first person shooters ever made. Countless hours I have spent of my life playing multiplayer mode with my buddies. Those who know, know how much that game kicks ass. An awesome story line and an action packed movie, GoldenEye gives us our first modern take on the legendary franchise, proving to us that 007 is a timeless character that will never go out of style.