BACK COVER SYNOPSIS: Pierce Brosnan ignites the screen in his first adventure as the unstoppable James Bond. When a powerful satellite system falls into the wrong hands of a former ally-turned-enemy, only 007 can save the world from an awesome space weapon that - in one short pulse - could destroy the earth!

FILM REVIEW: The James Bond franchise hit a creative wall by the late 80’s despite a serious attempt to do something different with “Licence To Kill” in 1989 (although Timothy Dalton’s unsuitability as Bond probably did more to send the franchise in to a downward spiral despite the best intentions of the filmmakers). Pierce Brosnan had long been sought after as a potential James Bond, and following a six-year break from the last film in the series, Brosnan stepped in to the role of Bond in “Goldeneye” quite naturally, if not always comfortably (he looks like he’s still feeling his way through it at times). Quite a number of changes had been made to the franchise for “Goldeneye”, most of which going in to the production value which is light years ahead of the previous films. There’s also the change of “M” to a female for the first time, and a return to a down-to-Earth, tough Bond who also knows the humour in a good quip. Brosnan appears to be half Sean Connery, half Roger Moore; with that as a basis, it’s not hard to see why he became so popular and for me, he was the best Bond before Daniel Craig arrived in Casino Royale. As for the film itself, it’s an intriguing, not always predictable spy thriller which harkens back to the early Connery films, although the absence of the Bond theme for most of the running time is a little odd. The action scenes are great, but surprisingly, we get a host of quality characters that add a realism to the proceedings while still being able to deliver on all the best elements this franchise has given us over the years.

In this instalment, James Bond goes up against a former double-0 agent and best friend Alec (played with zeal by Sean Bean) who it turns out is the head of a Russian crime syndicate. Along with a high-ranking Russian General, he steals a secret electromagnetic satellite weapon called ‘Goldeneye’ and its up to Bond to stop him from using it to cause a global financial meltdown. There always has to be an end-of-the-world scenario in these films it seems, but this time it’s quite believable, especially as Alec is not the moustache-twirling, cat-petting villain from yesteryear. Other challenges for Bond include some very intelligent women who are his equal; starting with ‘M’ (played with authority by Dame Judi Dench) who reminds him he is a sexist dinosaur, to Zena (played with a lot of fun by Famke Janssen) who gets her rocks off by killing her men in mid-act, and Natalia (Isabella Scorupco) who stands up to Bond, trying to humanise him in a way and remind him that life is not all about killing and succeeding at the mission.

Pierce Brosnan is perfect for Bond; aside from looking the part, his Bond carries over the playful charm from the Roger Moore era but he also successfully blends this with a cold and calculating agent killer who won’t think twice about pulling the trigger if it’s for the good of the mission. This ruthlessness is a welcome infusion in to the series, especially as Roger Moore’s mamby-pamby approach did a lot to make the series silly (although I’ll probably get shot for saying that by Moore’s fans who clearly love those films!). The only minor criticism I have of Brosnan, and it only applies to this film and not his subsequent outings as Bond, is that he isn’t totally comfortable in the role; at times he appears tentative and restrained. In a sense, this goes with the more realistic take on the story but at the end of the day, he still is excellent in the role and his other Bond films prove that.

As I mentioned before, the production value on show in this film is a definitive improvement over all the previous films. Starting from the opening scene where a stuntman doubling as Bond bungie-jumps off a damn wall to get in to a Russian complex, or the tank chase through a recreated St Petersburg, or even the final sequence in Cuba with the fight on the antenna array is cinematic and bold. The images are rich and detailed, making the previous films look smaller scale by comparison. Director Martin Campbell does an excellent job of creating a first-rate spy thriller, even if it weren’t a Bond film. There’s also a nice throwback to early Bond films with Tina Turner performing the title song which is similar in tone to “Goldfinger”.

“Goldeneye” is a fresh start for the James Bond franchise, offering an exciting, well-cast actor in the role of Bond and a solid, intriguing story that delivers all of the Bond elements we’ve come to know and love while also offering something new.

TECHNICAL REVIEW: The video transfer is excellent; the picture is vibrant and rich, perfectly capturing the cinematic grand images from this instalment in the franchise. The audio transfer is likewise excellent, dialogue is very clear and the surround sound environment is utilised to full effect. Overall, an excellent transfer.

EXTRAS REVIEW: The extras on this 'special edition' are okay but nothing special. The backbone of the behind the scenes material is the audio commentary from Director Martin Campbell and Producer Michael G Wilson which provides a lot of interesting information. The other extras comprise of a couple of featurettes (a video journal and making-of featurettes including a promo TV piece hosted by Elizabeth Hurley). They are not particularly interesting despite one good bit where Pierce Brosnan is first introduced to the world's media at a press conference, and a featurette which actually shows some behind the scenes footage (but is too short at 15 minutes). There's also trailers, TV spots, the music video by Tina Turner and subtitles (English, Dutch, Danish, Polish, Portuguese, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Greek and English for the Hearing Impaired). One annoying thing is the way the DVD menu is designed: you have to press an 'Activate' button before you get to the main menu - necessary? I think not! A solid documentary about the production would have been nice but alas we don't get it. Overall, an okay collection of extras.

BOTTOM LINE: Worth having in the collection.