The Brewhaha on...James Bond (Pierce Brosnan)

General Ouromov:  “How shall we kill you?”
Bond James Bond:  “What - no small talk? No chit-chat? That's the problem with the world these days -- no one takes the time to conduct the proper interrogation.”
-In which we meet the Bond of the 90’s

Elektra King:  “I could have given you the world.”
Bond James Bond:  “The world is not enough.”
Elektra King:  “Foolish sentiment.”
Bond James Bond:  “Family motto.”
-Seriously.  That is his family motto.

“Brosnan makes the grade as 007. He handles the action capably and gets the standard quips out in a commendably straightforward way that's wry but not dismissive. His is not as gritty as Sean Connery's definitive characterization, but the nasty streak evident in fleeting moments reassures that the license to kill could be invoked at any moment.”
-Todd McCarthy, Variety

“It’s the Batman & Robin of the Bond series, it’s a compendium of the worst sexual innuendoes ever written, it’s a blatant whore for about six different products, it’s an insultingly written and pandering affront to every quality Bond flick since Dr. No.”
-Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com, discussing “Die Another Day”

“I realized with a smile, 15 minutes into the new James Bond movie, that I had unconsciously accepted Pierce Brosnan as Bond without thinking about Sean Connery, Roger Moore, or anyone else. He has become the landlord, not the tenant.”
-Roger Ebert, on the above movie (I am not making that up)


Continuing my five or six-part series on James Bond, we move back toward the latter end of the big three who portrayed Bond in the forty years spanning from “Dr. No” to the critically-reviled anniversary tribute of “Die Another Day” and the quintessential Bond of the nineties, better known as Pierce Brosnan.

Many of you might remember Brosnan as Remington Steele (though personally I remember him best as the geologist who let an old lady die).  Following a six-year hiatus after Timothy Dalton’s short stint as Her Majesty’s most efficient (and famous) secret agent, Brosnan would debut in 1995’s “Goldeneye,” which re-invigorated the Bond series for the following decade and introduced us to one deadly yet slimy Bond villain in Sean Bean’s Trevelyan, as well as two of the more gorgeous and memorable Bond girls (one of which became known for her…“killer” thighs).  “Goldeneye” was basically the film which, even if it didn’t break the mold, was still a fitting introduction to James Bond for a post-Cold War pop culture. 

Like most of the later Bond films, Brosnan’s entries were relatively standalone stories.  “Tomorrow Never Dies” (with the eerie title drop provided by Sheryl Crow now in a continuous loop in my head) was a more by-the-numbers Bond film—the “odd-numbered” Star Trek movie to one’s “even-numbered” Star Trek movie, if you will.  It was a stupendous action flick—with one notable scene featuring Bond’s remote-controlled car—but not necessarily a great or “original” Bond film.  I mean, a Bond girl who is on an equal footing with Bond himself?  Done that.  Megalomaniac with a massive secret complex out to commit a diabolical scheme on a global scale?  Well, even if he’s a bit hammier than most other examples, check, check, and check.  Explosives-riddled action sequences?  I see your Bond and Wai Lin, and raise you one Ethan Hunt (which, if my addiction to music videos is anything to go by, I will spend the next 48 hours watching over and over again).

“The World Is Not Enough” was the third edition to the Brosnan films, and since it was playing on Spike TV nonstop, this was my first chance to meet Brosnan’s Bond.  Following the “even-numbered,” “odd-numbered” tradition, this film was a more character-driven piece featuring a woman who had been taken hostage, a tragic yet bloodthirsty terrorist, and…Denise Richards (I guess two out of three isn’t bad).  Nuclear plots aside, it was a more down-to-earth Bond film, along with the darker tone that would continue in Daniel Craig’s films.  (And objectively speaking, Denise Richards wasn’t bad-looking.  If only all nuclear technicians were that hot…)  Still, it didn't seem quite right to me that Bond never really got to use his car in this movie.

As for “Die Another Day,” there’s very little left to say about it.  Frankly, it’s one of those films that almost works better if you think of it as a cartoon.  There are plot elements in this movie (Bond’s time as a POW, Miranda Frost, Gustav Graves, and even Halle Berry’s antagonistic CIA agent) that could and should have worked.  However, almost as if to compensate for the previous film, DAD ramps things up to eleven; the sheer escalation of the set pieces, culminating in a massive tidal wave kicked up by the bad guy’s laser and a climactic showdown on the plane, coupled with the reliance on gadgets and special effects, competes with “Moonraker” in terms of sheer ridiculousness.  And Halle Berry really could have worked as a character if her and Brosnan’s dialogue hadn’t been supplied by some fourteen-year-old kids trying to supply us with a movie's worth of what they might consider "double entendres."

Through it all, though, Pierce Brosnan has been there, performing his balancing act between the immortal Bond of the 60’s as portrayed by Connery and the debonair flair for the comedic given to us by Roger Moore.  It’s the little things, such as him chasing after Natalya while ravaging the streets of Moscow in a Soviet tank, only to survey the damage he’s just done to one of Russia’s statues and national treasures, and nervously adjust his bow tie as if to tell his former Soviet enemies “My bad.”

And then he’ll go and do something like accuse his love interest of having Stockholm Syndrome and secretly working with the bad guys.  (“Renard?  That animal, that monster?  He disgusts me!  You disgust me…”)

The Bond movies of the 90’s jettisoned most of Bond’s supporting cast (or, at the least, had them recast).  Felix Leiter, for better or worse, ultimately disappeared after “License to Kill,” while Miss Moneypenny was re-cast as someone possibly young enough to be Bond’s daughter.  Meanwhile, Judi Dench has now become the face of M, and even the original Q (Desmond Llewelyn) had all but retired by the end of “The World Is Not Enough.” 

Even so, he also gained new allies in his fight against crime, espionage, and megalomaniacs trying to take over the world.  Jack Wade, for instance, was Bond’s opposite in the CIA…and must never, ever be mentioned again.  A special mention goes to one of my all-time favorite characters, Zukovsky, the “legitimate businessman” who appears in GE and TWINE as a grudging ally of Bond.  Somehow, he always got the best lines.  (“Bond James Bond.  So nice of you to drop by.”)

Well, what else is there to say about Pierce Brosnan?  Other than that he is Bond.  James Bond.  Even if he isn’t Sean Connery, he captures the essence of all of the Bonds, the best of both worlds.  He was a killer, he was a lover, he was funny, he was cold-blooded, and if nothing else, he filled out the tux (which now comes complete with a grappling hook watch, hidden air bags for surviving avalanches, a homing device, and X-ray glasses.  Yes, seriously, X-ray glasses.).

Note:  The Brewsky is an enthusiastic contributor and movie reviewer who keeps typing in “Goldfinger” instead of “Goldeneye.”  Or “Godeneye” instead of “Goldeneye.”  Or “Foodeneye” instead of “Goldeneye.”  It’s no secret.