James Bond #17 - GoldenEye / 1995
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This series has been put out in honor of my favorite action hero - James Bond, Secret Agent 007.
GoldenEye (1995) is the seventeenth spy film in the James Bond series, and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film was directed by Martin Campbell and is the first film in the series not to take story elements from the works of novelist Ian Fleming. The story was conceived and written by Michael France, with later collaboration by other writers. In the film, Bond fights to prevent an arms syndicate from using the GoldenEye satellite weapon against London in order to cause a global financial meltdown.
GoldenEye was released in 1995 after a six-year hiatus in the series caused by legal disputes, during which Timothy Dalton resigned from the role of James Bond and was replaced by Pierce Brosnan. M was also recast, with actress Judi Dench becoming the first woman to portray the character, replacing Robert Brown. GoldenEye was the first Bond film made after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, which provided a background for the plot.
The film accumulated a worldwide gross of US$350.7 million, considerably better than Dalton's films, without taking inflation into account. Some critics viewed the film as a modernisation of the series, and felt Brosnan was a definite improvement over his predecessor. The film also received award nominations for "Best Achievement in Special Effects" and "Best Sound" from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
The name "GoldenEye" pays homage to James Bond's creator, Ian Fleming. While working for British Naval Intelligence as a Lieutenant Commander, Ian Fleming liaised with the American OSS to monitor developments in Spain after the Spanish Civil War. The operation was codenamed Operation Goldeneye. Fleming's estate in Oracabessa, Jamaica is also known as Goldeneye.
PLOT
In 1986, MI6 agents James Bond – agent 007 – and Alec Trevelyan – agent 006 – infiltrate an illicit Soviet chemical weapons facility at Arkhangelsk and plant explosive charges. Trevelyan is shot by Colonel Arkady Ourumov, but Bond steals an aeroplane and flees from the facility as it explodes.
Nine years later, Bond arrives in Monte Carlo to follow Xenia Onatopp, a suspected member of the Janus crime syndicate, who has formed a suspicious relationship with a Royal Canadian Navy admiral. She murders the admiral to allow Ourumov (now a General) to steal his identity. The next day they steal a prototype Eurocopter Tiger helicopter that can withstand an electromagnetic pulse. They fly it to a bunker in Severnaya, where they massacre the staff and steal the control disk for the dual GoldenEye satellite weapons. They program one of the GoldenEye satellites to destroy the complex with an electromagnetic pulse, and escape with programmer Boris Grishenko. Natalya Simonova, the lone survivor, contacts Boris and arranges to meet him in St. Petersburg, where he betrays her to Janus.
In London, M assigns Bond to investigate the attack. Bond flies to St. Petersburg to meet CIA agent Jack Wade. He suggests Bond meet Valentin Zukovsky, a Russian Mafia head and business rival of Janus. After Bond gives him a tip on a potential heist, Zukovsky arranges a meeting between Bond and Janus. Xenia is sent to meet Bond at his hotel and attempts to kill him, but he overpowers her and she takes him to Janus. Bond meets Janus who reveals himself as none other than Alec Trevelyan, now badly scarred from the explosion at Arkhangelsk. A descendant of the Cossack clans who collaborated with the Nazi forces in World War II, Trevelyan faked his death, having vowed revenge against Britain for their involvement in his parents' deaths. Just as Bond is about to shoot Trevelyan, Bond is shot with a tranquiliser dart knocking him out.
Bond awakens tied up with Natalya in the Tiger helicopter programmed to self-destruct, from which the two escape. They are immediately arrested by the Russian police and are brought to the military archives, where the Russian Minister of Defence Dimitri Mishkin interrogates them. As Natalya reveals the existence of a second satellite and Ourumov's involvement in the massacre at Severnaya, Ourumov bursts into the room, shooting Mishkin. As Ourumov calls for his guards, Bond escapes into the archives with Natalya, where a firefight ensues. Simonova is captured and is dragged into a car by Ourumov. Bond steals a tank and pursues Ourumov through St. Petersburg to Janus' armoured train, where he kills Ourumov as Trevelyan escapes and locks Bond in the train with Simonova. As the train's self-destruct countdown begins, Bond cuts through the floor with his laser watch while Simonova locates Grishenko's satellite dish in Cuba. The two escape just before the train explodes.
In Cuba, Bond and Natalya meet Jack Wade and trade Bond's car for Wade's aeroplane. While flying over a Cuban jungle, Bond and Simonova are shot down. As they stumble out of the wreckage, Onatopp rappels down from a helicopter and attacks Bond. After a struggle, Bond shoots down the helicopter, resulting in the death of Onatopp. Bond and Natalya then watch a lake being drained of water, uncovering a satellite dish. They infiltrate the control station, where Bond is captured. Trevelyan reveals his plan to steal money from the Bank of England before erasing all of its financial records with the remaining GoldenEye, concealing the theft and destroying Britain's economy.
Meanwhile, Simonova programs the satellite to initiate atmospheric re-entry and destroy itself. As Trevelyan captures Simonova and orders Grishenko to save the satellite, Bond triggers an explosion with his pen grenade and escapes to the antenna cradle. Bond sabotages the antenna, preventing Grishenko from regaining control of the satellite, before turning and fighting Trevelyan. The two end up on the antenna platform, five hundred feet above the dish, and Bond kicks Trevelyan off the side of the platform, but grabs him by the foot and after a brief and personal exchange, Bond lets go of Trevelyan and he falls to the bottom of the pool. The cradle explodes, resulting in the deaths of both Trevelyan and Grishenko. Meanwhile, Simonova commandeers a helicopter and flees with Bond, and the couple is then rescued by Wade and a team of Marines.
CAST
Pierce Brosnan as James Bond (007): An MI6 agent assigned to stop the Janus crime syndicate from acquiring "GoldenEye," a clandestine satellite weapon designed and launched by the Soviets during the Cold War.
Sean Bean as Alec Trevelyan (006) / Janus: Main antagonist. Initially another 00 agent and Bond's friend, he fakes his death at Arkhangelsk and then establishes the Janus crime syndicate in the following nine years.
Izabella Scorupco as Natalya Simonova: The only survivor and eyewitness of the attack of GoldenEye on its own control centre at Severnaya. A skilled programmer, she helps Bond in his mission.
Famke Janssen as Xenia Onatopp: A Georgian lust murderer and Trevelyan's henchwoman. A sadist, she enjoys torturing her enemies between her strong thighs.
Joe Don Baker as Jack Wade: A veteran CIA agent on the same mission as Bond.
Judi Dench as M: The head of MI6.
Gottfried John as General Arkady Grigorovich Ourumov: Commander of Russia's Space Division, secretly an agent of Janus who nefariously misuses his authority and position for helping Janus gain access to the GoldenEye.
Robbie Coltrane as Valentin Dmitrovich Zukovsky: A Russian gangster and ex-KGB agent through whom Bond arranges a meeting with Janus (Trevelyan).
Alan Cumming as Boris Grishenko: A computer programmer at Severnaya secretly affiliated to Janus.
Tchéky Karyo as Defence Minister Dmitri Mishkin: The Russian Defence Minister.
Desmond Llewelyn as Q: The head of Q Branch (research and development division of the British Secret Service). Llewelyn was the only actor to reprise a role from a previous Bond film.
Samantha Bond as Miss Moneypenny: M's secretary. Samantha Bond made her first of four appearances as Moneypenny.
Minnie Driver as Irina: A Russian nightclub singer and mistress of Valentin Dmitrovich Zukovsky.
Serena Gordon as Caroline, MI6 psychologist evaluator, whom Bond seduces.
Billy J. Mitchell as Admiral Chuck Farrel of the Royal Canadian Navy, who is in a sexual relationship with Xenia Onatopp.
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