GoldenEye is quite violent, there’s a certain punch to the body count that gives it a certain weight and a slightly tragic undertow.

Natalya Simonova (Izabella Scorupco) is a tech wizard to be sure, but she is also appalled by the violence and carnage that unfolds in her wake, not just because it initially claims the lives of her coworkers and friends. The main female lead, who has a major role in the narrative well before she and Bond even meet nearly halfway into the film, is a level-headed, deeply moral computer programmer. She’s an over-the-top Russian baddie who gets off on slaughtering the innocent and occasionally uses her thighs to crush men to death. But Xenia Onnatopp (a star-making performance from Famke Janssen) is still probably the best villainess of the franchise. The evil henchlady was going to (try to) murder the sexy spy anyway, so she might as well f*** him first. Despite Bond’s reputation as a master seducer, most of his booty calls were merely playing his libido against him as a prelude to a murder attempt. Yes, most of the Bond Girls had been “Bond Women” since Dr. The “Bond Girls” this time out were a cut above.

Even the likes of Robocop, Batman and Die Hard were offering larger-than-life villains and marquee heroes. Raiders of the Lost Ark and Rambo: First Blood part II presented big-budget action-adventure while Star Wars and Ghostbusters offered once unthinkable fantasy spectacle. But by the mid-1980’s, Hollywood was catching up. While the likes of Bullitt and The French Connection were offering grounded cop dramas with a centerpiece car chase, a 007 movie was filled with action and adventure, offering a marquee character and larger than life cinematic elements. It was the only place to get the stunts, the gadgets, the girls, the “exotic” locations and the big-budget spectacle associated exclusively with James Bond’s cinematic adventures. GoldenEye, both by being a spectacular action thriller and the right 007 movie at the right time, singlehandedly saved the entire franchise from cultural irrelevance.įor much of its run prior to the 1990’s, the 007 series was essentially the only game in town for top-tier blockbuster thrills and big-screen spectacle. A new Bond, a new era and a new mindset, one which needed to justify the James Bond series both in a more “politically correct” era and alongside newfangled action titans like Lethal Weapon and Die Hard. Pierce Brosnan was supposed to take over after Roger Moore departed in the mid-1980s, but NBC reversed course and renewed Remington Steele at the last minute. It also featured the debut of the fifth actor to play the role in the EON/Broccoli-produced 007 flicks. The Martin Campbell-directed actioner marked the end of a six-year sabbatical following Timothy Dalton’s commercially underwhelming License to Kill in the summer of 1989. Today marks the 25th anniversary of GoldenEye.

Goldeneye 007 box art