With the opening of the 23^rd official James Bond movie, Skyfall, this month, I thought I would look back on some of the best Bond movies from each of the different Bond eras, which also happen to correlate with the different actors who have played the iconic British super-spy. 

For Pierce Brosnan’s first 007 outing, he sure picked a fun ride. GoldenEye is a James Bond film with bite…one that was perfect for Bond’s re-emergence in theaters after a six-year break (the previous Bond film, License to Kill with Timothy Dalton, was produced in 1989). GoldenEye also is a good film for the end of the 20th Century…no more Cold War doesn’t mean the former Soviet Union countries cannot be used as adequate threats. This story deals with a former MI-6 agent who went over to the other side in order to avenge his past (his Russian parents were Cossacks who were sent home by the British to be executed by Stalin) and cause World chaos.

There are MAJOR parts of this film that are outlandish and unbelievable. But, remember, this is a Bond film. Unbelievable is a requirement. Brosnan fits into Bond’s tux perfectly…he mixes the right combination of Connery’s suaveness and Moore’s wit and Dalton’s fierceness.

The series lagged with the two Dalton films (License and 1987’s The Living Daylights) mostly because many of the Bond-isms were gone. Yes, Dalton’s 007 was still asking for his Vodka Martini’s “shaken not stirred” but the quips and especially the romances were practically nonexistent…the latter probably because of the 1980s “safe sex” era. Enter Brosnan who brings it all back with gusto! Ian Fleming would be proud.

GoldenEye: 1995, PG-13, 130 minutes, directed by Martin Campbell, starring Pierce Brosnan, Sean Bean, Izabella Scorupco, Famke Janssen, Joe Don Baker, Robbie Coltrane, Alan Cumming, and Judi Dench.  The Niles Library owns this title on DVD.