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By
NICK ZEGARAC
The late 1980s were not kind
to the James Bond franchise. After the departure
of Roger Moore from the series, United Artists
campaigned hard for television's Pierce Brosnan to
take over the role of Britain's most suave super
spy. But Brosnan was bound to a commitment to NBC
and the highly successful series "Remington
Steele." After Brosnan suggested that perhaps a
happy settlement could be reached by all, NBC
enforced their contract just long enough for
United Artists to choose an alternative Bond,
before canceling Brosnan's series at the height of
Steele's popularity. These mean spirited
shenanigans resulted in Brosnan effectively
disappearing from television and movies for nearly
a decade, doing Coke commercials and ads for Rolex
watches in Japan to make ends meet, while Timothy
Dalton took over as 007. However, audiences did
not take to Dalton as producers had hoped. Though
"The Living Daylights" proved a remarkably
detailed and resiliently dark tale of betrayal and
intrigue, the subsequent "Licence To Kill" proved
unequivocally that Dalton was not what audiences
had in mind as their James Bond. Once again
Brosnan came to the forefront of choices, only
this time, he was available and free to accept the
offer.
In "Goldeneye" 007 finds himself in familiar Bond
territory, hunting down a rogue element in the
Russia army, Gen. Ourumov (Gottfried John), who is
plotting to use U.S. defense satellites as
catalysts for nuclear destruction. In keeping with
the tradition of villainous henchmen, Famke Jensen
costars as bad girl, Xena Onatopp, a psychotic sex
freak whose claim to fame is that she can kill a
man while having sex by wrapping her thighs around
her victim's waists and shattering their pelvic
bones. Isabella Scorupco is breathtaking as
Russian satellite expert, Natalya Simonov, the new
and revised resourceful Bond girl. The formidable
and talented Dame Judith Dench appears for the
first time as Bond's boss, "M." Though perhaps
less of a rollicking good time and without a tinge
of the usual humor associated with the best Bond
flicks, "Goldeneye" is dark but nevertheless
compelling and always entertaining.
MGM/UA's DVD is anamorphic 2:35:1 widescreen and
exhibits a stunning transfer. Colors are bold,
vibrant and natural looking. Black and contrast
levels are bang on. Edge enhancement and
shimmering are kept to a bare minimum. Film and
digital grain are practically non-existent. The
5.1 soundtrack is explosive, with aggressive
engagement in all channels. Dialogue sounds very
natural. Some of the explosions may be too intense
for your speakers at regular listening levels.
Extras include "The World of 007" documentary
hosted by Liz Hurley (for what reason, I'm not
sure; perhaps because she's British) that covers
the whole franchise quite nicely with interviews
from many of the classic Bond girls, as well as
many cast members. There's also a featurette on
the making of "Goldeneye," stills, audio
commentary and a theatrical trailer. |
