Saturday, October 4, 2025 at 11:45 AM
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema - Downtown, Los Angeles
*Please note this film contains one or more sequences involving extended flashing or flickering lights, or regular patterns.* Goldeneye was the name of the Jamaican getaway where Ian Fleming concocted the James Bond novels. It would also become the name of the movie that revived the Bond cinematic franchise, which had been in limbo since 1989's LICENCE TO KILL fired blanks at the box office and Eon Productions was entangled in a prolonged legal squabble over the future of the Bond brand (producers Harry Saltzman and Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli eventually won the suit). While Timothy Dalton had performed admirably as Bond in THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS and LICENCE, the actor abruptly chose to jump off the Bond boat, reneging on his contract and refusing a third appearance. So the resurrected series needed a new star. In this case, it would not be a semi-unknown like Dalton or George Lazenby, but a much-loved TV hero (a la Roger Moore). Almost a decade after he was first considered for the part, Irish heartthrob Pierce Brosnan was finally signed to play 007. He provided fierce competition for Dalton at the time THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS was being cast, and Brosnan ultimately had to drop out of the race when he was unable to adjust his shooting schedule on *Remington Steele* to accommodate the production of DAYLIGHTS. With *Steele* in rerun heaven by 1995, Brosnan was free to film GOLDENEYE. There were still, however, many thorny issues to work out – namely, the fact that the entire world had changed since Bond last graced the screen. This was the first Bond film post-Cold War. "Given how much of Bond’s various escapades, and his very origins as the archetype superspy, were symptomatic, or at least a function, of Cold War paranoia, this shift in sociopolitical ideology presented no small quandary for the filmmakers as to the direction the franchise should now head," noted Brian Salisbury of Film School Rejects. In a move that would have been impossible – perhaps unthinkable – 10 years earlier, GOLDENEYE was permitted to shoot in Moscow, allowing director Martin Campbell to inject unexpected realism into the screenplay. In its story of former Bond colleague Alec Trevelyan (Sean Bean) who switches sides after a flare-up with 007, GOLDENEYE addressed the shifting alliances and complex political situations of the mid-1990s. Suddenly, James Bond must confront a world that is not black and white and must grapple with genuinely strong female characters, such as the Russian crime goddess Xenia Onatopp (Famke Janssen), who delights in playing the praying mantis when she lures men into her bed, as well as a new, more dynamic M, played with steely style by the priceless Judi Dench, whose unflattering analysis of Bond – “I think you’re a sexist, misogynous dinosaur” – tickled audiences. GOLDENEYE brought back Bond in a big way, racking up huge sales around the globe and inspiring a thrilling video game that still brings nostalgic sighs from those who grew up playing it. (James Sanford)