GOLDENEYE (SE)
Reviewed November 10th, 1999 by Staff
Goldeneye is everything that could be asked of a recent James Bond film. It succeeds where so many of the previous films failed. It approaches the glory achieved by Sean Connery in the '60s. Many dismissed Bond films as having no place in the post-cold war world. Goldeneye gives Bond the transition required to bring him into the 90's. It is a film with weaknesses (your date might fall asleep before the end), but nothing worse than those seen in Dr. No, Goldfinger and the like. The “Plot” grade below considers this film as part of a series, and Goldeneye is one of the best.
Pierce Brosnan exceeds expectations as Bond. While Timothy Dalton had a firmer grasp on the tough Connery (and Ian Fleming, for that matter) Bond, Brosnan IS James Bond. Judi Dench's M underscores the changes which Bond faces. Sean Bean is the perfect Judas.
Goldeneye was an early DVD release. The film transfer and soundtrack are the same as those sold in 1997. They are still excellent. While some critics have mentioned trivial picture problems on larger screens, this reviewer could not ask for a better transfer, based on the film seen on his 36” monitor. Goldeneye's resolution is quite fantastic. This is a demonstration disc.
The sound mix supercedes the picture. The “controversial,” score is mixed throughout the soundstage. Both music and sound effects bring the surrounds to life. There plenty of split surround effects. The subwoofer is given a workout as well. Goldeneye SE is the perfect disc to answer that, “Hey should I get into DVD?” question that people might ask when they come over.
What about the goodies? MGM's new Bond discs raise the bar for special editions. First off, the commentary from producer Michael G. Wilson and Director Martin Campbell is quite entertaining and informative. While some Bond SEs have two commentary tracks, this one commentary track is better than most combined. Also included are three quite informative documentaries: the World of 007 television documentary, which aired when Goldeneye opened; a “behind the scenes” featurette; and a “making of” featurette. If you want to hear Pierce utter the phrase “No Foreplay!” twelve times, you can watch all the TV spots and trailers. The package is wrapped up by the Playstation ad, and the Tina Turner video of the title track. It should be mentioned that the menus are far too cool.
If the consumer can only buy one Bond disc, Goldeneye SE is the one.
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