Director: Martin Campbell
Year of Release: 1995
Should you watch it? Yes
Why?
I have a rule that a new James Bond is always worth watching. This is Pierce Brosnan’s debut, and he mostly feels acceptable in the role. He has the unfortunate duty of being sandwiched between two of the best Bonds though and pales in comparison. This movie is VERY weird though. Even on the James Bond scale, the politics are bizarre. They jump right back into the Cold War after taking a one-film break, they dive right back in, and somehow even involve Guantánamo Bay at the end? They also force Brosnan still act like a sex pest occasionally but have women calling him out on it in one breath and then worshipping him in the next. It is all really bizarre and oddly compelling (if not for making a good movie). I go into more detail in the sections below.
How is the Bond?
Pierce Brosnan made his debut here, and he does FINE. He is in a tough spot. They kind of had something with Dalton taking everything deadly serious, and they seemed to want to keep going in that direction. But that does not really work for Brosnan who has a natural smirk and charm they do not get utilize much. He also has to eat the decades of racist, sexist, and imperialist criticisms of Bond which get brought up again which kind of puts him behind the eight-ball? Like, the tension between what James Bond represents and what is palatable to audiences is a real thing to navigate. It seems sort of dishonest though to pretend that Bond is anything but a shield for Western imperialism and colonialism so it always feels disingenuous to pretend he’s anything else.
How is the Bond Woman?
Izabella Scorupco has a relatively thankless job in this film, but I actually appreciated what they did with her a little. This Bond aggressively is in “welcome to the modern world, Bond” mode, and that is actually reflected in her character. She’s smart, she actively contributes to saving the world, and she is not JUST eye candy. It’s not a standout performance or role, but it gets the job done.
How is the Bond Villain?
Sean Bean does a find job as he always does, but this is one of the most bizarre politically constructed villain the James Bond series has ever done. First of all, after the last Dalton film, they notably tried to get away from Soviet shit as it seemed outdated. Six years later, they go right back to it for the Brosnan debut. And it certainly feels stale. A rogue Russian general stirring up shit is nothing new for Bond, but the wrinkle is downright bizarre. Sean Bean plays a descendent of Nazi-aligned Soviet traitors who survived the purge. The fact that the British did not SAVE his ancestors – who again, were aligned to the NAZIS – is supposed to be something we empathize with him about I think.
Does the film irresponsibly present the West as the hero of the world and thus promote imperialism and colonialism as inherently positive?
Yes.
The Reel World 