GoldenEye (1995)

Rating: ***
Director: Martin Campbell
Cast: Pierce Brosnan, Sean Bean, Izabella Scorupco, Famke Janssen, Joe Don Baker

Pierce Brosnan comes through as Agent 007 and saves the crumbling James Bond franchise. He makes an excellent Bond and brings something to the character that the other actors didn't: vulnerability. This time around, Bond must track down the stolen access codes for a Russian space weapon called GoldenEye before someone nasty can use it. And that nasty person is former Agent 006 (Sean Bean), who has a personal score to settle with Bond. Bond is aided by the lovely computer whiz Izabella Scorupco, and together they take on the bad guys including a sexy, but psychotic Xenia Onatopp (Famke Janssen). High production values and a killer opening title sequence, the film only falls short with a handful of really bad effects and a new gadget-laden BMW that never gets used. Otherwise, a great and highly entertaining film.