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Yes, too much praise there.
I remember at the time it being received by the public and critics as a new and exciting update. I saw it 4 times in the cinema thinking it was brilliantly different and thrilling yet familiar and like the Bond fare I grew up with. I don't now, things change, times move on, people alter opinion.
Far from the "safe, uninspired territory" described by Suavejmf it was fresh, modern update on the series etc, etc. But I kinda agree with your description, time has not being kind to GE (or indeed Brosnan) but then we are looking at it through our post CR 2017 eyes. Maybe the future direction will allow us to reappraise it.
Brosnan's Bond in GE was indeed a Batman (rather than Bruce Wayne) style cardboard cutout even in 1995, so I can understand why some feel his Bond in that film is dated today, especially post-Craig. As I've said numerous times, like in the best Bond films, it's the supporting cast that lifts that film well above its pay grade. I'll still take it over QoS, SP or another Brosnan entry any day of the week and twice on Sunday. Only SF & CR give it a run for my money. DN is dated too, but that doesn't keep it from my top 10 either.
But LTK is a weak film. Bunsen burner fire levels manufacturing plant? What would Bond have done if Dario hadn't disappeared for the middle third of the film? M goes to Florida to chastise Bond personally?
It has it's moments. Daltons cold disposal of Killifer resonates. The scene acknowledging Bonds wife registers as well. It has a brilliant theme song, and Davi is both believable and frightening as Sanchez.
But it's a weak entry, and certainly the inferior of Daltons two turns.
Brosnan, a poor score and satellites in space...inspired.
This.
True. But it was just done 'ok'. Goldeneye begins with a truly outrageous stunt involving Bond freefalling in pursuit of an unpiloted, plummeting airplane. This dumb but enjoyable scene sets the tone for the rest of the film - very much a tongue-in-cheek, improbable, action-orientated romp. Brosnan is OK as Bond, though I still feel Sean Connery and Roger Moore better suited to the role. Tina Turner's powerful theme song is very good, but the incidental scoring by Eric Serra has a tinny, tacky feel to it that makes one long for John Barry (The Producers hated Serra's score)!
What never ceases to puzzle and amuse on a personal level is when this film is rated highly by Bond "fans." Ultimately, it provides little more than a flashy, over-hyped, vapid, MTV-influenced greatest hits moments which don't add up to a satisfying whole. It's like one of those mediocre compilation albums where you simply flick through to the songs you like, enjoying the few good bits, and arbitrarily disregarding the rest. An average Bond movie with a few stand out moments, garnering hollow praise.
James Bond's greatest crisis, whether he still had 'Box Office', had been overcome, and with audience favorite Pierce Brosnan in place, his emergence into the 21st century was assured. But that doesn't mean the film is a classic. It's a safe, solidly average film that ensured box office success.
Definitely this^^
I was one of these people.
Not that GE wasn't enjoyed by older people, but it was the first or earliest Bond experience for A LOT of youngers.
I still rank GE quite high and it has never dropped out of my top 10. It remains a film I always enjoy immensely from start to finish. A cracking Bond adventure without a hint of the melodrama & angst we have become accustomed to lately.
Despite the personal connection with Alec, Brosnan plays it cool and Bondian.
Booo!!!!
(I love how the computer Brosnan poses at the start of the level)
All this talk of GE has compelled me to revisit the film yet again. I'll be sure to do it in the next week, although TB probably deserves a viewing prior to that just on account of time (I last watched it pre-SP).
Exactly what I want from my Bond movies.
I agree about the score. It's cheesy and awful. The game had a better score.
'Classic' means the best example of the film in the franchise for that era. A film that is a combination of artistic quality and financial success.
I too still like GE, but it has never dropped into of my top 10.
As I said, James Bond's greatest crisis, whether he still had 'Box Office', had been overcome, and with audience favorite Pierce Brosnan in place, his emergence into the 21st century was assured. But that doesn't mean the film is a classic. It's a safe, solidly average film that ensured box office success.
The score does sound quite video-game-ish at times. His original (awful) scoring of the tank chase reminds me of the N64 game with the electronic style. I could see myself playing multiplayer along to this,
That said, I think a lot of the score in the final film works. More than not actually. The cue used during both the archives chase and the final antenna showdown for example adds real intensity and excitement to the scene.
On a similar (controversial) note, after recently listening to both the SF and SP soundtracks, I must say I like the latter more than the former.
I'm afraid I can't agree with this. I think that the SF score is an excellent an inventive one, and is a welcome change from Arnold's work. Sadly, I find the SP score as derivative and tiresome as I do the film it's attached to, which is to say 'very'.
LALD & LTK are my favorite non Barry scores.
I'm not a fan of GE, bar the tank chase, Gunbarrel & pre-title sequence.
http://jamesbondradio.com/composer-john-altman-explains-what-went-wrong-with-goldeneyes-score-exclusive-by-matthew-chernov/
"The Broccoli family was a bit baffled by what Eric was giving them. So everyone was a bit wary. And of course, the public eye was on James Bond. Will Brosnan be any good? Will the film be any good? Will the composer be any good?"
MGW & Bab's on Serra's score: "They hated it. I mean, they really loathed it."