James Bond in review - Goldeneye (Martin Campbell, 1995)

"Bond... come back alive"

It's June 1994 and it has been almost five years since audiences were last treated to a Bond adventure. Timothy Dalton has kissed goodbye to his three picture Bond contract after two films and the world has changed. The Berlin wall has fallen, communism has disintegrated and the Cold War is over. With John McClane, Rambo and so many other action heroes permeating the genre, many felt that Bond had had his day. Goldeneye, thankfully, proved the naysayers wrong. The task was for Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli (the producers, taking over from an ailing Cubby Broccoli) to reinvent Bond for the nineties audience. The public welcomed Pierce Brosnan as 007 number five and within a year he would be deemed 'the best Bond since Connery'. Whether this is true or not it is undeniable that Brosnan's debut as Bond is as assured a return for Fleming's secret agent as anyone could have hoped for.

Pierce Brosnan sets the screen alight as 007 number six

Daniel Kleinman has modified the traditional Maurice Binder gun barrel to give it a 3D effect and created a memorable title sequence playing on the fall of Communist Russia and dictatorship whilst taking care to incorporate the titillating images of scantily clad women with guns now synonymous with the world of the Bond titles. It is Eric Serra's score that proved most controversial with its electronic synthesizers arguably tearing the traditional Bond theme to shreds in favour of sporadic melodies and musical jumps that feel somewhat out of place in the Bond universe. There are some classic action cues but the best thing about the music in Goldeneye is the brilliant Tina Turner belting out Bono and The Edge's lyrics in the title song in true fashion reminiscent of the mighty Shirley Bassey in the early Bond years.

Bond and his ally 006 (Sean Bean) in the pre-titles sequence

First and foremost, Pierce Brosnan gives a strong debut performance as the secret agent. He has the wit and self deprecating nature of Bond to a tee even if he does at times appear a little young to play the spy - Brosnan was 42 in Goldeneye though you would never guess it! Backing up Brosnan are the strongest supporting cast of any of his Bond films. Famke Janssen is a brilliant femme fatale and Izabella Scorupco is a gorgeous and resourceful leading lady who is crucial to the story and forms a strong relationship with Bond. There was a time when I felt Sean Bean's portrayal of 006 Alec Trevelyan and Janus was a 'play it safe' performance but on further viewing it is clear that he plays this assertive, conflicted character with great nuance and vengeance. Brosnan and Bean work very well together on screen - the break in to the Arkangel plant in the pre-credits demonstrates their buddy relationship brilliantly which makes the betrayal all the more convincing in the film's second half. The only weak casting link is Alan Cumming, hamming up the unnecessary role of Boris Grishenko. The character is played for laughs and comic relief but rarely generates either.

The film's two leading ladies - Onatopp (Famke Janssen) and Natalya (Izabella Scorupco)

The star of the picture is both the sparkling dialogue from Michael France - particularly between Bond and the new M (played effortlessly by Dame Judi Dench) and in the graveyard confrontation between Bond and Janus, but also New Zealand-born director Martin Campbell. Here is a man who it would be hell to work with due to his no nonsense approach to directing and short fuse but nevertheless a man with a keen eye and enough understanding of the Bond character that he can reinvent the wheel with a new Bond not once but twice, most recently in 2006 with Daniel Craig's Bond debut in origin story Casino Royale. Both are conflicted Bonds - Brosnan's for the guilt in watching Trevelyan 'die' and then in having to hunt him down, as well as adapting to changes in society in the nineties, Craig's in falling in love and being betrayed by the woman he was prepared to give up his life for.

With Goldeneye fans could ultimately relax. Quite the antithesis to M's insistence that Bond is a "relic of the Cold War", 007 ignited the box office on release in November 1995 making more than $350 million domestically, the best Bond film gross since Thunderball 30 years previously. James Bond had returned, and in hindsight, Cubby must be smiling from the grave. An impressive debut for Brosnan and a welcome return for the world's greatest secret agent. It is perfectly justifiable to say that had Goldeneye failed at the box office we would not now be nearly celebrating half a century of James Bond. 'The trick is to quit while you're still ahead" suggests Onatopp. "That's one trick I've never learned" quips Bond. Quite!