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Well said. She's one of my favorites as well.
I'm really on the fence with this one. On the one hand, you have a hugely popular film franchise, of which Goldeneye is a well known and respected member. It has a good fan-base, and airs on TV regularly. On top of that, the game has no doubt helped the popularity of the film.
On the other hand, many people in younger generations have little experience with Bond movies. There are many people I know that either have never seen a Bond film, or have only seen one. They often have a low opinion of Bond, thinking of the whole thing as nerdy or cliched. My brother (who is 15 years older than me) has only seen SF and found it disappointing, and a friend of mine has only seen QOS and hated it. Both of them, however, have played and love Goldeneye. Reading discussions about the game online, you find many people who are huge fans of the game, and yet have never seen the movie. Goldeneye N64's popularity extends well outside of the Bond fandom. For those who have seen the film, a common insult leveled against Brosnan within the video game community is that he starred in the only film in history where the game based on it was far superior to the film itself.
The game sold 8.09 million copies according to Wikipedia, making it the third best selling game on the Nintendo 64, but this doesn't take into account the fact that going over to a friend's house to play 4 player multiplayer was an incredibly popular thing to do. So, many people may have very fond memories of the game, and they might never have even purchased their own copy. That was the case with my brother. Also, downloading pirated copies of old Nintendo 64 games like GE, and running them on your computer is a very popular thing on the internet right now. These copies would not be taken into account in the original sales numbers, and the game has been out of official print for a long time. There is also a free fan-made recreation of the game with updated graphics called Goldeneye: Source, which is a testament to its popularity and yet another thing that wouldn't be counted in sales numbers. Download numbers for the fan game are currently at 173,470 just for the current update of the game (there have been many), and just on one site that hosts the download.
It's a tough call for me to make, but I'm erring on the side that @TellyBlofeld is right.
Right. I'm running on only 3 hours of sleep. I'll be surprised if that is my only mistake.
I'm a Kara fan
d'Abo has genuine chemistry with Dalton, which is somewhat rare in the films. I'd say Connery had it 2 or 3 times, Lazenby 1, Moore 2, Dalton 1, Brosnan 1 or 2, and Craig 1.
I agree, while OHMSS and CR are the more obvious 'romantic' Bond films, FRWL and TLD are right behind them in terms of believable romance.
However, to my eyes at least, D'Abo doesn't come close to capturing the captivating, alluring and yet innocent personality, nor the incredible physical presence of Bianchi. One can attempt to create a nuanced relationship and character, and perhaps they succeeded at that level (in fairness, I think they did), but I've always felt that one should inject a necessary level of glamour and essential 'sexiness' in a Bond film as well. It is here that TLD fails for me (just like TND fails similarly on that front) and this is why I can't relate to comparisons to FRWL, which was complete classic Bond style in every way.
EON seemed to have learnt their lesson, because even though they created complex and complete characters in CR, they also ensured that the Bondian glamour and style levels were suitably 'amped up' as well.
It's all about the balance when it comes to Bond.
Kara is in that same category as Tracy for me. Both are women who were given some serious character building by strong scripts, and who weren't asked to strip down to nothing to appear captivating. What makes characters like Tracy and Kara wonderful and so unique is their minds, and how tantalizing they are on top of their resonant beauty. When I think of those two, I don't immediately think of sex. I'd want to buy Tracy a drink and discuss literature and poetry with her by the firelight, just as much as I'd like to take Kara on a trip to famous conservatories and hear her play me some original cello compositions until midnight. They offer so much more than their bodies, unlike far too many Bond girls of the past who had only that to rely on.
Kara's presence represents some of the best character writing we've seen in the series, because the filmmakers strived to show us a real woman with an actual personality. I will always be thankful she exists for that reason and many more.
It's just that I believe they went out of their way to dial it down for TLD (perhaps reflecting the times) and that didn't quite appeal to me. Too plain Jane. I don't think that way of Tracy, who still has an essential stylishness to her while still being personally relateable. Moreover, I've visited Slovakia, and some of the girls there are unbelievably beautiful and strong willed, but also practical and not quite so naive. More Natalya than Kara. The latter came across more stupidly naive (in a stereotypical way, since she was East European at the height of the Cold War) to me rather than smartly sassy, yet naive (which both Tatianna and Natalya were).
Still, it's only one film, and it defined the Dalton intro, which was in the middle of the Aids period. I can live with it.
Yes, I quite like Kara but I still think she reminds me a bit of a puppy at times.
When I watch LTK, I can be damn sure I'll be whistling that theme song to myself for the rest of the day. It's not my favorite, but I do enjoy it! Gladys had some pipes on her.
One of my favorite Bond themes.
Dalton couldn't even charm girls for a cup of coffee haha. Lowell was mediocre and didn't look sexy at all, just an average bond girl, not top10 material.
It was great until came along Half life or even perfect dark, the game lasted 2 years, the movie is still extremely popular and plays a lot on cable.
@GetCarter, I'll do you one better: Patti LaBelle's "If You Asked Me To" from the same film is my jam.
Pure 80s goodness.
Another thing, I don't really adore Donald Pleasence's Bond as much as others do. I prefer Anthony Dawson/Eric Pohlman, Telly Savalas and dare I say Charles Gray over him.
Speaking of Gray, I just love how he hams it up in an equally silly movie. The guy is a hoot to watch.
I'm opposite you on Pleasance and Gray. Savalas is definitely my favorite, but I think Pleasance contributes wonderfully to the weirdness and outlandishness of YOLT, whereas Gray in all his cigarette-chomping pompousness—a caricature of Fleming himself as I believe someone once put it—is just one more thing I don't like about DAF.
Yes.
GE the game was a phenomenon.