Goldeneye (1995)

Entertainment Weekly
"...State-of-the-art stunt work, a brouhaha about weapons systems in space...and gorgeous, super-competent female sidekicks....[Brosnan] puts a much-needed glint in GOLDENEYE." -- Rating: B 05/24/1996 pp.106-7

Variety
"...A dynamic action entry in its own right....Brosnan makes the grade as 007. He handles the action capably..." 11/20/1995

ReelViews 8 of 10
Like everything else, James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) has had to change for the nineties. The venerable 007, coming off a long hiatus, has taken on his sixth face (the other five being Sean Connery, David Niven, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, and Timothy Dalton), changed his mode of transport from an Aston- Martin to a BMW, and now answers to a female "M" (played dryly by Judi Dench). Bond's attitudes towards women have been modified -- although not greatly. Also, there's more action in Goldeneye than in previous 007 entries -- enough to keep a ninety-minute film moving at a frantic pace. Unfortunately, this movie isn't ninety-minutes long -- it's one-hundred thirty, which means that fully one-quarter of Goldeneye is momentum-killing padding...Despite the mostly-cosmetic alterations, the majority of fans won't be disappointed by Pierce Brosnan's debut as their favorite spy. His Bond still quips at danger, takes his vodka martinis "shaken, not stirred", enjoys gadgets and toys, and introduces himself as "Bond, James Bond"...Goldeneye keeps Bond's comic book-like stunts at an appropriately absurd level. Even given that we're in a reality where spies are more like Superman than Bernard Samson (Len Deighton's popular MI6 agent), suspension of disbelief occasionally becomes a challenge, especially with visual effects that could be charitably called "subpar." Some such liabilities, however, can be forgiven in the name of fun. And, with its mixture of humor, interesting locales, high-speed chases, explosions, and action, Goldeneye possesses that quality. It is perhaps the best entry in the series since The Spy Who Loved Me, and, while that's not saying much, this updated Bond should be able to stand toe-to-toe with today's crop of heroes. - James Berardinelli
 
Chicago Sun-Times 8 of 10
"GoldenEye" looks exactly like a James Bond film. It begins with a stunt (a bungee jump from the top of a towering dam). It tops that with an even more spectacular stunt (Bond chases an airplane heading off the side of a cliff, then jumps after it, free-falls, catches up with it, climbs aboard and flies to safety). In the Pussy Galore tradition, it has a villainess with a lubricious name: Xenia Onatopp...And of course it involves a plan for world domination, and a madman presiding over a secret headquarters staffed with obedient hirelings...So all of the parts are in place. And yet, in an important way, this James Bond adventure, the 18th (or 19th, if you count the non-standard "Casino Royale"), marks the passing of an era. This is the first Bond film that is self-aware, that has lost its innocence and the simplicity of its world view, and has some understanding of the absurdity and sadness of its hero...The plot involves an Earth satellite that has been lurking in secret orbit and can disrupt Earth communications, giving the person who controls it power over governments and markets. After Xenia Onatopp (an ex-fighter pilot) and her accomplices steal a priceless Tiger helicopter that is invulnerable to the satellite, Bond traces her to St. Petersburg, Russia, where the Janus arms syndicate is located. This leads to a sex scene involving Onatopp that owes a lot to Sumo wrestling...Watching the film, I got caught up in the special effects and the neat stunts, and I observed with a certain satisfaction Bond's belated entry into a more modern world. Brosnan was quite adequate, although all of the later Bonds suffer from the reality that no one else will ever really replace Sean Connery. I had a good enough time, I guess, although I never really got involved. I was shaken but not stirred. - Roger Ebert