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I've discussed this before, so pardon the repetition, but: GoldenEye is a deeply personal movie for me, something I dove into in that short bit of life after college where you're on your own and have no effing clue what the rest of your life will be.
The entire Bond franchise became my comfort food, but GoldenEye especially.
And ever since, it reminds me of that time, and all the good and bad that came with.
And ever since, it reminds me of that time, and all the good and bad that came with.
Plus, Joe Don Baker shows his ass, so there's that.
I can't quite explain how big a deal this was in terms of James Bond Will Return. The gap between Licence to Kill and GoldenEye was six years, just like the gap between Spectre and No Time to Die.
But unlike the latter, where the delays were merely production (and later pandemic) related, and where we knew Craig's next movie was just a matter of time, the former was a huge stretch of uncertainty.
The franchise was caught in legal tangles, Dalton eventually bowed out, and then... nothing. It felt like the Bond series was over.
Even VHS box sets felt complete, a single 16 film package of an era now finished.
Even VHS box sets felt complete, a single 16 film package of an era now finished.
So when GoldenEye landed, it wasn't just a sequel. It was a revival. Bond is back! And with the actor everyone wanted finally in the role! And in a new high tech decade!
The term "reboot" hadn't yet been coopted into the movie world, but we knew that's what this was. New cast, new look, the whole thing updated for the 90s. Bond 2.0.
In retrospect, it flows nicely with its predecessors, the dividing line blurrier. But at the time? Oh MAN. Bond was back. Big time.
The opener to this teaser (my nomination for best trailer ever) captures just what it felt like in 1995.
"How can you make a James Bond movie in a post-Soviet Union, pro-safe sex era?" was a huge question. That the films never really used the USSR as a villain, and that the Dalton era embraced monogamy, didn't matter; 007 had a reputation, and that was that.
The movie lampshades it, then just steamrolls ahead, full speed. Audiences ate it up (both the lampshading and the steamrolling).
Weird memory, from the analog days: there's a reel change immediately after Sean Bean steps out from the shadows. I always wondered if that was intentional - a great place for an intermission break or "to be continued" slate.
If it was just a coincidence, it's a hell of one.
If it was just a coincidence, it's a hell of one.
GoldenEye and Casino Royale don't look like they're from the same director. The producers had different agendas with the two movies, and Campbell delivered, creating distinct tones, looks, moods. It's an impressive feat.
Detail I never noticed before: a couple of normies in business casual roaming the satellite base carrying paperwork, as if they're from human resources and yeah, yeah, gotta destroy London, but first, gotta get these forms to payroll.
Thanks for tolerating this slide down the memory chute.
Hot damn, I still love this movie.
Hot damn, I still love this movie.
