GOLDENEYE
A film review by Sue Roberts
Copyright 1996 Sue Roberts
Directed by Martin Campbell
Starring Pierce Brosnan, Izabella Scorupco, Joe Don Baker, Sean Bean, Judi Dench, Famke Janssen.
Review by Sue Roberts.
The EVIL plot- to steal the "Goldeneye," which controls a space ray capable of knocking out electric's for a thirty mile radius on earth. Can Bond find it before they cause terminal damage to all those computers? And just how many satellites are there?
Best opening graphics ever- fab. montages! I could have sat through two hours of just that. And don't you just love that theme music?
All the glamour and sweeping scale of the best 007 movies is on display. However Brosnan is an entirely new kind of Bond, who views his opponents with a hint of boyish amazement, (I mean, how could the cads behave like that?) And , of course, he charms the sox off the ladies!
Scorupco is excellent and plays the heroine, Natalya, using wide eyed innocence to disguise her intelligence. A beautifully judged parody of this role.
They play the "Brit" card for all its worth. M's upstairs entourage stiffly maintain a facade devoid of panic, no matter how serious the situation, while downstairs in the gadget department the mask slips and we see a more genuine U.K. response to a crisis from Q, in a great cameo from David Llewelyn, and his backroom boys.
The photography is excellent and in the second half we really get the benefit with all those great vehicles and effects. Cute helicopter, smashing train, and best of all, a car chase which is an absolute CLASSIC. "St. Petersburg" looks devastating..Anyway, the movie is worth seeing for that alone.
Oh, and I loved the "Post- Stalinist" graveyard. Totally surreal. I felt these touches worked best of all and were a nice contrast to the high tech. interiors.
They stick to the formula, but manage to get plenty of variety into their locations.
What the heck this is all good Saturday night stuff. And the complexity of it! But come on guys- live dangerously! Just remember, we LIKE to be blinded by loads of scientific jargon. When you do the video, how about running some of that dialogue at 27 frames a second? It'll then match the momentum your SFX team have worked so well to create. It looks wonderful, but pace was always the hallmark of a Bond.
Sue Roberts SRoberts@griffin.compulink.co.uk
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