Project Bond: GoldenEye

 "For England James?"

"No, For Me."

I was 14 years old when Goldeneye came out in 1995. I remember seeing it at the cinema with my friends and being blown away by the action sequences and the special effects. It was the first Bond film I had ever seen at the cinema, and it quickly became one of my favorites.

This was the debut of Pierce Brosnan as 007, Judi Dench as M and Samantha Bond (no relation) as Moneypenny. The film also stars Sean Bean as Alec Trevelyan, Famke Janssen as Xenia Onatopp (seriously?) and Izabella Scorupco as Natalya Simonova. I've watched Goldeneye so many times over the years, and it still holds up today. 

The story is exciting, the characters are well-developed (as well developed as they can be in a Bond film). The action scenes are some of the best ever put to film. If you're a fan of James Bond, or if you just enjoy a good action movie, then I highly recommend checking out Goldeneye. 

The film opens with a daring raid on a Soviet chemical weapons facility. I really love the Bungee scene right at the start and although the VFX are a bit dated now it is still one of my favourite Bond scenes. The raid is carried out by everyone's favourite British secret agent James Bond and his bestie and fellow 00 agent, Alec Trevelyan.

However, Trevelyan is captured and assumed killed by one of the films antagonists Colonel (later General) Ourumov, the facility's commanding officer. Bond manages to escape, but the facility is destroyed. Years later, Bond is on assignment in Monte Carlo, where he is tasked with preventing Xenia Onatopp, a member of the Janus crime syndicate, from stealing an attack helicopter during a military demonstration. 

Bond is unable to prevent the theft, but he does manage to track Onatopp down. Bond teams up with Natalya Simonova, a Russian intelligence officer who has been working on GoldenEye a secret russian weapon which uses and EMP launched from a satalite. Together, they track down Onatopp and Trevelyan and stop them from using GoldenEye on London.

I really like Judi Dench as M and this casting gave a new dynamic to James Bond and his superiors. The twist of the villain being Bond's fomer friend is a high point in the 007 franchise. I also loved seeing Desmond Llewelyn back as Q. However my favourite part is the Cameo by Robbie Coltrane, absolutely eating the sceanery as Russian mobster Valentin Zukovsky. 

I have a lot of nostalgia for Goldeneye. It was the first Bond film I ever saw in the cinema and it was a huge part of my childhood. I used to watch it all the time, and I knew all the lines by heart and I loved the GoldenEye Game for the Nintendo64, it's still one of my favourite games. 

GoldenEye is an excellant James Bond Film, it is my favourite of all James Bond films but more than that it is just a great action movie and it's a lot of fun to watch.

Here is the Trailer...

Project Bond Will return with Tomorrow Never Dies

Well, that's all for now.

S