A scattered day. Lots of business. But not much done. Sigh. Feeling a little in a funk today. So, it’s early to bed. Gonna try the old get a good night’s sleep and wake up early routine.
Watched Goldeneye, tonight, which I’ve always known as my generation’s introduction to James Bond, is well-regarded and pretty much universally beloved. Well…I haven’t seen it in probably…20 years? I remembered almost nothing about it, but what I do remember is not loving it. I remember thinking it was okay. I was really curious to see how I felt about it as a whole-ass adult.
Exactly the same. Imagine that.
It’s fine. Brosnan is actually great—well-cast, no question. But the script is reeaalllyyy thin in the dialogue department. Like, bad, literally except for the scene with Judi Dench. Sean Bean is also good as the villain. But really where it falls down compared to what came before it was that sense of EPICness. The older Bond films, even Living Daylights, have sweeeeping locations, gorgeous cinematography, and really make you feel like you’ve traveled the world. Goldeneye is so tight pacing-wise and literally shot-wise that it feels claustrophobic. We moving along so quickly pace-wise, we never stop to take in where we’ve travelled. I really, really missed that. Also, and this is coming from someone who loved The Professional score: the music is horrendous. Jarringly bad at times.
The action is mostly great. The fight scenes are a generational leap forward from the last film, as is the pacing in general, even if I did miss the moments to inhale and marvel at the world. It is a modern action film. The polish of that is pretty astonishing compared to the last film; in just those five years, blockbuster movies changed immensely. But at the end of the day, I didn’t like Bond, I didn’t like the adventure we were on even though it was mostly dangerous and exciting…it was fine. I don’t know why people love it so much. I never have known why.
Hot take, I guess 😜
Night night.