James Bond Blu-Ray Roundup Part Two (1995 - 2002)

GOLDENEYE

Directed by Martin Cambell.  Written by Jeffrey Caine & Bruce Fierstein.
Starring Pierce Brosnan, Sean Bean, Izabella Scorupco, Famke Janssen, Joe Don Baker, Judi Dench, Robbie Coltrane
1995, 130 minutes, Color, Rated PG-13, Panavision 2.35:1

Commentary:
There was a six year gap between LICENSE TO KILL (1989) and GOLDENEYE (1995).  The reason for this began all the way back in the 1960's.  Producer Kevin McClory worked with Ian Fleming in the late 1950's on a proposed James Bond movie that was not based on any of the books.  When the movie didn't materialize, Fleming used the plot in the 1960 novel THUNDERBALL, without acknowledging (or paying) McClory.  This led to a lawsuit that resulted in EON Productions (the owners of all the other stories except for Casino Royale) and McClory joining forces on the 1965 THUNDERBALL film.  Additionally, McClory retained the rights to the story and certain elements that were introduced in it, notably Blofeld and S.P.E.C.T.R.E.

Flash forward to 1990, where MGM/UA was sold and the new owners decided to put the rights to the Bond franchise up for sale.  This began a series of legal battles over who had the rights (due to both issues with CASINO ROYALE and THUNDERBALL) that were resolved when MGM/UA was again sold and the new owners decided to keep the franchise.  Work began on the next Bond film finally began in earnest in 1994, at which time Timothy Dalton announced that he was stepping away from the role.  A search for a new Bond was started and the role was ultimately offered to Pierce Brosnan, who accepted it.*

GOLDENEYE represented something of a new beginning for the series since many of the faces behind the scenes were different.  Richard Maibaum, who had a hand in writing 13 of the Bond films up to that point, died in 1991.  Martin Campbell ware hired to direct meaning the 5 film streak by John Glen was ended.  Campbell brought an entirely new energy to the series, straddling the line between escapism and realism better than most directors tasked with helming a Bond film.  John Barry was either unavailable or not asked so the music chores were handled by Michael Serra, who brought a decidedly 90's sensibility to the score.  The script was handled by two new writers, Jeffrey Caine and Bruce Fierstein, and they concocted a tale that contains equal parts realism and escapist fun.

GOLDENEYE has an exceptional cast.  Brosnan excels as Bond, bringing a truckload of charisma and presence to the role.  He's more reminiscent of Sean Connery's physicality than any of the other three actors who had played the role up to that point.  He could not quite pull off the physical presence that Connery had, but he brought a real swagger back to the role and is always believable in the fight scenes**.  He also is shown frequently doing many of the stunts.   Sean Bean makes for a different kind of Bond villain, and the backstory between he and Bond works well for the film.  The film also features two attractive female leads in Izabella Scorupco and Famke Janssen.  Janssen especially is a memorable villain and brings real panache as Xenia Onatopp.  Lastly, this was the film that introduced Judi Dench as 'M'.  She would go on to appear in the next six Bond films.

With the "Goldeneye" killer laser satellite, the plot brought a global threat back to the series for the first time since OCTOPUSSY and it was a welcome return.  The visual effects, incorporating both miniature work by Derek Meddings and some early CGI helped sell the story immeasurably.  (The CGI effects have dated far worse than Meddings' work, which I think is outstanding.  Of course, I am partial to such miniature work so your mileage may vary.)

Also welcome is GOLDENEYE's humor, which is somewhat more sophisticated than had been seen in the most recent Bond films. Bond's interactions with Onatopp are especially humorous.  Played down are the pithy one-liners that Moore made famous (and that Dalton could never quite bring off), with most of the humor being decidedly situational in nature.  It's a welcome change, although this too would change as the Brosnan years progressed.

All in all, GOLDENEYE seemed to hint at greater things to come.  Unfortunately, the Brosnan films (for me) never quite live up to the potential on display here. It earned $350,000,000 on a budget of $60,000,000.

Stuff To Like:

• Great special effects add immeasurable scope to the proceedings.  This would prove to be Derek Meddings final film, and he went out on a high note.
• Brosnan brings an entirely different energy to the part than Timothy Dalton.  Dalton was never cool, but Brosnan is.
• Action scenes are well handled.  Especially the tank chase.
• Famke Janssen steals every scene she is in, in a good way.
• Humor veers to the puerile.  

Stuff to Dislike:

• Bond is seemingly always confronted by bad guys who can't aim well.  While not as bad as the subsequent Brosnan films, GOLDENEYE nevertheless set the path towards the increasingly laughable action scenes for Brosnan in the role.  The escape from the Russian prison is ALMOST too much...almost.
• CGI really dates the film to the mid-1990's.
• Eh, not really a fan of Serra's music score.

Notes:
*Brosnan had been offered the role in 1986 but NBC refused to release him from his Remington Steele television contract.  This was a dick move since NBC had previously announced that the series had been cancelled.  However, when Brosnan star heated up due to the Bond talk they un-cancelled the series and held him to his contract.  In hindsight, this was probably a good thing as he may have been too young for the role in 1986.  Nine years later he was aged both in years and personal tragedy, and both worked well for him in the role.

**This is notable because Brosnan is not a muscular guy.  There is the odd shot in GOLDENEYE where you see how slight a build he really has.

TOMORROW NEVER DIES

Directed by Roger Spottiswoode.  Written by Bruce Fierstein.
Starring Pierce Brosnan, Joanthan Pryce, Michelle Yeoh, Teri Hatcher, Joe Don Baker, Judi Dench
1997, 119 minutes, Color, Rated PG-13, Panavision 2.35:1

Commentary:

SPOILERS BELOW!!!

Coming quickly after GOLDENEYE, TOMORROW NEVER DIES is not one of my favorite Bond films.  It does have some redeeming qualities, but by and large, I consider this a misfire.  It is tempting to chalk this up to miscasting, as the villain and one of the leading ladies are woefully ineffective in their roles.  However, I think the film's screenplay is more to blame.  Bruce Fierstein, one of the two credited writers on GOLDENEYE, was brought back to do the sole honors on this film, though one gets the sense that the film was constructed by committee, so maybe it's not fair to lay the blame on him.  The film's production seems to have been more chaotic than usual for a Bond film, and this more than anything else probably resulted in the final film's shortcomings. 

We know right off the bat that something is amiss, as the pre-credit sequence is rote, lifeless and utterly lacking in tension.  Bond's superhuman ability to avoiding bullets is possibly at its worst in TOMORROW, and it is on full display in the opening.  Whereas GOLDENEYE spent some time building character arcs, TOMORROW just throws action at the screen hoping that no one notices that there is not much story to be had.  Once we are shown that the film will largely be a paint by numbers affair, it has to work all the much harder to try and surprise us.

I am aware that everything I've said so far could be leveled at MOONRAKER, another chaotic production with a surfeit of character development and an overabundance of mindless action, which I've previously called an enjoyable Bond film.  The difference--for me anyway--is in the details.  MOONRAKER has a majestic John Barry score, quality widescreen photography, and is edited for maximum impact.  TOMORROW looks decidedly cheap in comparison.

Jonathan Pryce is surprisingly ineffective as the villain in TOMORROW, partially because of how he plays him--breathless and impatient--but mostly because his plan makes little sense.  With a nonsensical plan it becomes pointless watching him try to achieve it.

Terry Hatcher is likewise ineffectual, and this is one hundred percent due to the writing.  Playing a past love of Bond's, there is not enough screen time spent building their history.  We are supposed to be moved by her story, not because the film has done anything to support that, but because the film tells us we are supposed to.  This is essentially the film's greatest flaw--it takes for granted that we will be invested in the story.

For me, the film finally starts to work when Michelle Yeoh becomes a co-lead.  It is only during the scenes she shares with Brosnan that film finally generates the tension that has been lacking up to that point.  This is because she is decidedly NOT rote and uninteresting. She is presented as very much the equal of James Bond, and the chemistry between her and Brosnan show up how poor the chemistry was between Hatcher and Brosnon.  How disappointing that the film ultimately relegates her character as needing to be saved by Bond.

For me, TOMORROW NEVER DIES was a crushing disappointment after GOLDENEYE, which while not perfect, was a lot of fun.  This film is only sporadically fun.  It grossed $330,000,000 on a budget of $110,000,000.

Stuff To Like:

• Michelle Yeoh!
• Motorcycle chase is well done, apart from the ridiculous helicopter shenanigans.
• Brosnan is adept at the role, but an aloofness has crept into his performance.  To a large degree, this prevents much of the film from having an emotional impact.  However, his interaction with Yeoh is fabulous.  The film really only works in these sections.

Stuff to Dislike:

• Bond is seemingly always confronted by bad guys who can't aim well.  How lucky for him.
• The story tries to parlay a manufactured character history into meaningful emotional story points.  It didn't work in LICENSE TO KILL with Bond and Leiter's best buddy routine, and it doesn't work here with Terry Hatcher.
• Jonathan Pryce is a good actor, but I don't like his breathy delivery in this role.  It also doesn't help that the character is pretty one dimensional.

THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH 

Directed by Michael Apted.  Written by Neal Purvis & Robert Wade.
Starring Pierce Brosnan, Sophie Marceau, Robert Caryle, Denise Richards, Judi Dench
1999, 128 minutes, Color, Rated PG-13, Panavision 2.35:1

Commentary:

THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH was something of a rebound from TOMORROW NEVER DIES.  Overall it is far more cohesive than the previous film, with more character development, bigger set pieces, and an involved, complicated plot.  It feels more like a "classic" Bond film than either of the two films Brosnan had made up to this point.  So compared to TOMORROW, WORLD is a considerable step up.   If that sounds like damning it with faint praise, well yeah, it is because this film also has some problems.  

The film was directed by Michael Apted, who is not exactly know for his action film work but nevertheless made a fair number of films that I really like, namely GORKY PARK (1981), GORILLAS IN THE MIST (1988), EXTREME MEASURES (1996), ENIGMA (2001). This doesn't even get into his documentaries.

The film begins with the longest pre-credit sequence of any Bond film (at just over fourteen minutes). Featuring an extended boat chase in the Thames River, it is exciting and expertly photographed and edited.  Seeing Brosnan in the boat actually doing some of the sequence goes a long way to getting you immediately sucked into the action.  It's a great sequence that ends with Bond getting injured, which was one of the few times that Bond actually appeared mortal in the series.  

Brosnan is relaxed and confidant in the film, and as noted does many of his own stunts.  Made around the same time as THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR remake--where Brosnan was also relaxed and confidant--he was on something of roll with regard to effectiveness in his films.  It wouldn't last, of course, but even if I have problems with many of his films I can't really say that he was ever bad in the role of Bond.

For the first time in many Bond films Bond is given a female character with real depth to play off of with Sophie Marceau.  While it is not hard to see where the film ends up, she is still fantastic in the role, bringing a real pathos to the proceedings.  Her character arc brings a much more personal bent to the proceedings than is usual, and it remains the best thing about the film.

On the other end of the spectrum is Denise Richards playing a, ahem, nuclear scientist.  In a very tight shirt.  To be fair she is only moderately bad in the role, which  is poorly written.  Not Tayna Roberts bad, but pretty bad nevertheless.  Judi Dench continues her long association with the franchise in this film.  She’s good, but because she is such a good actor she was injected too much into the plot.

The film starts off strong and features more character development than usual (up to this point in the series anyway), but ultimately is a by the numbers Bond film.  Big loud action sequences with explosions?  Check.  Bad guys who can’t aim? Check.  Beautiful women that throw themselves at Bond? Check.  Bad guy who wastes times explaining everything to Bond instead of just doing away with him?  Check.  There is much more scope in this film than the previous two, and the film feels expensive, but aside from the opening never surprises.  This ultimately makes it predictable.  It is mostly fun, though, which was an improvement at the time.

All in all not bad, but not great either.  It grossed $360,000,000 on a budget of $135,000,000.

Stuff To Like:

• The opening boat chase
• Sophie Marceau is a much better actress than usual for a Bond film.
• Brosnan is much more confident in the role than he was in the TOMORROW NEVER DIES.
• Desmond Llewelyn's last go round as Q.  
• Robbie Coltrane is amusing.

Stuff to Dislike:

• Bond again is preternaturally lucky when being shot at by the bad guys. 
• I'll never get behind M being in danger in a Bond film. Judi Dench was in danger far too many times for my taste.
• Denise Richards does not shine in her role.
• John Cleese never worked for me in the Bond films.
• Helicopter saw sequence, while admittedly impressive given that it was done full scale, is still a bit ridiculous.
• Sophie Marceau's character is ultimately not terribly convincing overall.
• An ever so slight smarminess has taken root in Brosnan’s performance.