Diary entries forGoldenEye
GoldenEye
A very strange film, Goldeneye doesn’t really feel like a Bond. Natalya was a good Bond girl, the villain being 006 was a fun twist and Brosnan is a good Bond. However, Onatopp was a bit too crazy to believable and the locations and story were a bit dull.
GoldenEye
And here we are. Reckoning (as the perfectly cast Judi Dench states) with "a sexist, misogynist dinosaur. A relic of the Cold War" in the midst of slick high-production, high-adrenaline action filmmaking of presumably more enlightened times. What to do with Bond and alllllll the baggage that comes with him. Brosnan seems to pool a couple of the forms—like the aristocratic playboy, poised professional, and angry avenger—but modifies it with that dawning awareness of a world around him beginning to demand compensation for past wrongs. The bill is coming due, with even the character's former philandering being painted in a newly flawed light. (Though I don't think we get much further critique on that till Casino Royale? My memory of the next three films is hazy. On the external side, it was a big surprise to learn Timothy Dalton was in talks to return as late as 1994! The path for the character really did have its germination in the 80's after all. Also saddened that we no longer have Maurice Binder involved with the opening credits sequence—he died in 1991—though this one's intro and every other owe their entire existence to Binder's technicolor/surrealist/psychedelic compositing. In some ways, those opening sequences of his probably did more than anything else to differentiate a James Bond Film in the popular consciousness.) The wild space weapon plot acts as a kind of absurd tether to Bonds past, as does yet another romp with cartoon Russians, but now it's all blended with a new action-adventure standard and production model which sorta' diffuses its quaint history. What *is* left of a Bond when you strip away a lot of the previous eras' shitbaggery and it begins to melt into the form and manner of any other action film? Hell, it's the first one that could reasonably be turned into a playable videogame. Boy did we love that videogame. For now at least this is the single most interesting (alright, alright! and entertaining) development since 1969.
GoldenEye
“Am I supposed to feel sorry for you?” “No. You’re supposed to die for me.” Anyone else feel the unspoken sexual tension between Bean’s 006 and Brosnan’s 007? No? Just me? That’s fine, because I know what I saw and it was real. While I have fond memories of playing Goldeneye on the N64 with my cadre of cousins back in the day, I had never actually seen the film nor did I know anything about the plot. Which makes sense after having finished it. The film, unlike the game, has left little to no impact on me. It’s bland, trope-y (in a bad way), and does a disservice to Brosnan as our first introduction to his version of the character. Truly, the only interesting bit to me was his rivalry with 006 and even that was underwritten. Same for his relationship with this film’s “bond girl”, just lacking. But it’s fine…it’s aggressively fine. Though, the opening song is stellar.
GoldenEye
Im like 99.9% sure that Chris McQuarrie and Tom Cruise watched the opening of this movie and Tom said: "Chris, please, i have to do this..."
GoldenEye
where da bitches at!!! 🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️
GoldenEye
finally watched it as part of the bondathon and i chose the blu-ray this time instead of the 35mm that i loved—i liked it a little less, though it was mostly because of the pacing. at least 10 mins could have been cut especially in cuba. in terms of visuals, what the blu-ray loses in colors and graininess it makes up for in clarity and detail, and that was definitely appreciated in some scenes. others, i definitely preferred the 35mm scan. maybe in the future i can work on a hybrid, or recolor part of the blu-ray. onto the other 3 brosnans i hated!
GoldenEye
more like goldenmid
GoldenEye
okay i get the hype!! this feels like the best possible bond film—brings the franchise into a new era without changing things too much, and keeps all the classic elements without being a silly homage or self parody. the film looks even better in grainy, colorful 35mm.
