History YMMV / GoldenEye

* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments:
** Q's ActuallyPrettyFunny reaction to Bond's [[IncrediblyLamePun lame]] "the writing's on the wall" joke is actually pretty sweet, like the joke actually caught him by surprise. It shows that even though Q and 007 are often at odds with each other, [[TheyReallyDoLoveEachOther Q still has a lot of affection for him]].

** For a very select group of female moviegoers who usually don't watch action flicks, they paid money to go see ''[=GoldenEye=]'' so that they can swoon over Series/RemingtonSteele--err, Creator/PierceBrosnan on the big screen. For some girls who were in their late childhood or adolescence in 1995 (and therefore were too young to have watched the show that first made Brosnan a sex symbol), they noticed the [[ChickMagnet ultra-handsome actor]] in trailers and TV spots, so they were more than happy to accompany their father, older brother or boyfriend to the cinema to catch their very first James Bond film.
** On the flip side, [[EvilIsSexy Xenia Onatopp]] provides a reason for select male viewers to watch or rewatch the film.

* NarrowedItDownToTheGuyIRecognise: Retroactively, coupled with an element of LikeYouWouldActuallyDoIt for modern viewers. While Sean Bean had found mainstream success with ''Series/{{Sharpe}}'' at the time he was cast, he wasn't quite the famous international star he would later become, making it more plausible that he would be cast as a minor yet significant role as a comrade of Bond's who gets killed before the end of the BondColdOpen... and more of a surprise when he later shows up again alive and well as Janus. However, in addition to ItWasHisSled, thanks to ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' and ''Series/GameOfThrones'' among others modern viewers will be familiar enough with him to suspect that he's not likely to play the kind of character who gets unceremoniously killed off before the movie starts proper (if not entirely surprised that he's [[MemeticMutation likely to die at some point]]).

%%*** To explain: Supposedly, she is a badass and scary assassin. The thing is, aside of her killing signature move (which is ridiculous and unrealistic), she is a pretty lousy assassin when it comes to facing a target who fights back. I mean, if you are only effective against defenseless people you ain´t very capable. She had Bond dead to rights in two occasions, and yet instead of simply killing him she had to submit him to her signature move. Bond beats her twice. Sure, her sadism is supposedly a part of her character, but it was still pretty idiotic. Not to mention Severnaya, when she shoots the vent and believes the person is dead without actually checking. Now, her sexual sadism is supposed to make her look as scary, but the way it is played in the movie, and the way it is done, (with her ridiculous and exaggerated moans, and her choke hold, which end up being funnier rather than scary or arousing), it becomes hard to take seriously, and she ends up looking pretty unrealistic and ridiculous, like something you would find in a parody or in a porn movie. The scene in Severnaya ends up being less scary, and more of a mixture of ridiculous, arousing, and just "not cool" (I mean, even then, this is a Bond movie, we are not really supposed to care for people in general. Bond himself kills a lot of innocent Russian soldiers through the movie, who only made the mistake of believing him to be a criminal). Not helped by the fact she is such an uber sexualized stereotype of a Russian woman does not help her, and she ends up being more of a caricature of a femme fatale than an actual femme fatale. And again, it does not help the fact the movie tries to portray her as the things mentioned at the beginning, when, if you come to the facts, she ends up being neither. For those who think like that, not only she is totally overrated and one dimensional, but she also sticks out and sort of ruins the serious feeling of the movie overall.

*** To explain: Supposedly, she is a badass and scary assassin. The thing is, aside of her killing signature move (which is ridiculous and unrealistic), she is a pretty lousy assassin when it comes to facing a target who fights back. I mean, if you are only effective against defenseless people you ain´t very capable. She had Bond dead to rights in two occasions, and yet instead of simply killing him she had to submit him to her signature move. Bond beats her twice. Sure, her sadism is supposedly a part of her character, but it was still pretty idiotic. Not to mention Severnaya, when she shoots the vent and believes the person is dead without actually checking. Now, her sexual sadism is supposed to make her look as scary, but the way it is played in the movie, and the way it is done, (with her ridiculous and exaggerated moans, and her choke hold, which end up being funnier rather than scary or arousing), it becomes hard to take seriously, and she ends up looking pretty unrealistic and ridiculous, like something you would find in a parody or in a porn movie. The scene in Severnaya ends up being less scary, and more of a mixture of ridiculous, arousing, and just "not cool" (I mean, even then, this is a Bond movie, we are not really supposed to care for people in general. Bond himself kills a lot of innocent Russian soldiers through the movie, who only made the mistake of believing him to be a criminal). Not helped by the fact she is such an uber sexualized stereotype of a Russian woman does not help her, and she ends up being more of a caricature of a femme fatale than an actual femme fatale. And again, it does not help the fact the movie tries to portray her as the things mentioned at the beginning, when, if you come to the facts, she ends up being neither. For those who think like that, not only she is totally overrated and one dimensional, but she also sticks out and sort of ruins the serious feeling of the movie overall.

*** To explain: Supposedly, she is a badass and scary assassin. The thing is, aside of her killing signature move (which is ridiculous and unrealistic), she is a pretty lousy assassin when it comes to facing a target who fights back. I mean, if you are only effective against defenseless people you ain´t very capable. She had Bond dead to rights in two occasions, and yet instead of simply killing him she had to submit him to her signature move. Bond beats her twice. Sure, her sadism is supposedly a part of her character, but it was still pretty idiotic. Not to mention Severnaya, when she shoots the vent and believes the person is dead without actually checking. Now, her sexual sadism is supposed to make her look as scary, but the way it is played in the movie, and the way it is done, (with her ridiculous and exaggerated moans, and her choke hold, which end up being funnier rather than scary or arousing), it becomes hard to take seriously, and she ends up looking pretty unrealistic and ridiculous, like something you would find in a parody or in a porn movie. The scene in Severnaya ends up being less scary, and more of a mixture of ridiculous, arousing, and just "not cool" (I mean, even then, this is a Bond movie, we are not really supposed to care for people in general. Bond himself kills a lot of innocent Russian soldiers through the movie, who only made the mistake of believing him to be a criminal). Not helped by the fact she is such an uber sexualized stereotype of a Russian woman does not help her, and she ends up being more of a caricature of a femme fatale than an actual femme fatale. And again, it does not help the fact the movie tries to portray her as the things mentioned at the beginning, when, if you come to the facts, she ends up being neither. For those who think like that, not only she is totally overrated, but she also sticks out and sort of ruins the serious feeling of the movie overall.

*** To explain: Supposedly, she is a badass and scary assassin. The thing is, aside of her killing signature move (which is ridiculous and unrealistic), she is a pretty lousy assassin when it comes to facing a target who fights back. I mean, if you are only effective against defenseless people you ain´t very capable. She had Bond dead to rights in two occasions, and yet instead of simply killing him she had to submit him to her signature move. Bond beats her twice. Sure, her sadism is supposedly a part of her character, but it was still pretty idiotic. Not to mention Severnaya, when she shoots the vent and believes the person is dead without actually checking. Now, her sexual sadism is supposed to make her look as scary, but the way it is played in the movie, and the way it is done, (with her ridiculous and exaggerated moans, and her choke hold, which end up being funnier rather than scary or arousing), it becomes hard to take seriously, and she ends up looking pretty unrealistic and ridiculous, like something you would find in a parody or in a porn movie. The scene in Severnaya ends up being less scary, and more of a mixture of ridiculous, arousing, and just "not cool" (I mean, even then, this is a Bond movie, we are not really supposed to care for people in general. Bond himself kills a lot of innocent Russian soldiers through the movie, who only made the mistake of believing him to be a criminal). Not helped by the fact she is such an uber sexualized stereotype of a Russian woman does not help her, and she ends up being more of a caricature of a femme fatale than an actual femme fatale. And again, it does not help the fact the movie tries to portray her as the things mentioned at the beginning, when, if you come to the facts, she ends up being neither. For those who think like that, she sticks out and sort of ruins the serious feeling of the movie overall.

* JustHereForGodzilla: For a very select group of female moviegoers who usually don't watch action flicks, they paid money to go see ''[=GoldenEye=]'' so that they can swoon over Series/RemingtonSteele--err, Creator/PierceBrosnan on the big screen. For some girls who were in their late childhood or adolescence in 1995 (and therefore were too young to have watched the show that first made Brosnan a sex symbol), they noticed the [[ChickMagnet ultra-handsome actor]] in trailers and TV spots, so they were more than happy to accompany their father, older brother or boyfriend to the cinema to catch their very first James Bond film.

* FirstInstallmentWins: Generally regarded as Brosnan's best Bond film. There ''are'' fans who prefer ''Film/TheWorldIsNotEnough'', but that one is a more [[BrokenBase divisive]] entry than [=''GoldenEye''=].

** SignatureScene: Bond and Xenia's InterplayOfSexAndViolence in the steam room.

*** Similarly, many viewers question the nature of her interactions with Bond, whether she's genuinely attracted to him just like any other Bond girl but cannot express it by any other means than trying to kill him, or if she views him as just another target to kill and use to gain pleasure; this is perhaps the most unclear thanks to the spa scene, with [[PierceBrosnan Brosnan]] himself remarking that it appears to be both a fight ''and'' the two 'making the beast with two backs'. There's also the added suggestion that Xenia's actions in the spa are fuelled by him besting her at cards and rattling her cover in the casino, and that her more vicious approach in the jungle is due to Bond escaping her in the spa - is Xenia a professional killer doing her job, or does she feel like a spurned lover at that point?

* FetishRetardant: Xenia Onatopp's sex scenes. The problem has nothing to do with her (she's drop dead gorgeous), it's just that the only "real" sex scene she has in the movie is with a balding, overweight guy. And it ends with [[DeathBySex him being forced to enjoy a good squeeze]]. Hell, the "sex" scene with the Admiral is nothing compared to how Bond reacts during his "sex scene" with Xenia in the sauna; check out his expression upon being trapped by Onatopp's MurderousThighs: he's ''seriously'' stressed at the possibility of being killed by her. It should be noted that the latter scene is the only time "safe sex" is ever mentioned, in any context, in the series' entire history.

** SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic:

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Is Xenia Onatopp just a minion to [[spoiler: Alec]], or are they lovers? There does seem to be a bit of chemistry between them on the train, especially when they smile at each other while escaping in the helicopter.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: It's hard to pin down Ourumov's real motives because of his deceitful character and the many double standards he displays. According to [=MI6=] he's angling to become the next "Iron Man of Russia", suggesting he wants to MakeTheBearAngryAgain, but this report was drafted before they found out that he is an asset of the Janus syndicate. Perhaps he's just in it to enrich himself personally, but his discomforted reaction when Bond informs him that Janus is a Lienz cossack hints that he might have some sympathies for the former USSR as well. Then again, he was already working with Janus during the Soviet era, so who knows?
* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic:

* FetishRetardant: Xenia Onatopp's sex scenes. The problem has nothing to do with her (she's drop dead gorgeous), it's just that the only "real" sex scene she has in the movie is with a balding, overweight guy. And it ends with [[DeathBySex him being forced to enjoy a good squeeze]]. Hell, the "sex" scene with the Admiral is nothing compared to how Bond reacts during his "sex scene" with Xenia in the sauna; check out his expression upon being trapped by Onatopp's MurderousThighs: he's ''seriously'' stressed at the possibility of being raped. It should be noted that the latter scene is the only time "safe sex" is ever mentioned, in any context, in the series' entire history.

** "Maybe you two would like to finish debriefing each other at Guantanamo, hmm?" Post-9/11, maybe not so much.

** Boris' hacking the US Department of Justice for kicks, and joking that if he is caught, "The Chief of Computers will call me a genius, move me to Moscow, and give me a million bucks hard currency", has become less funny after the allegations that Russian hackers tried to influence the US election in 2016.

** Boris ends the movie as a HumanPopsicle. He's played by Creator/AlanCumming. And now you know why [[Film/X2XMenUnited Nightcrawler]] was so unnerved by the cold. [[Film/X2XMenUnited And he and Jean Grey were working together 8 years earlier.]]

** In 1987, Creator/PierceBrosnan was featured in a series of Diet Coke commercials playing a suave, debonair Bond-esque character who was able to outsmart the many enemies trying to attack him in the ads. Eight years later...
*** At the time, it was more likely a reference to the fact that he'd been originally selected to play Bond in 1987's ''Film/TheLivingDaylights'', but was forced to pullout when ''Series/RemingtonSteele'' was uncancelled.

*** Doubly funny in 2017 since the US president accused CNN of Yellow Journalism and completely discarded it as a credible source of current events.
** Bond's critiques Irina's singing as "strangling the cat". Following Brosnan's much-maligned singing in ''Film/MammaMia'', he's one to talk.
*** Also, Creator/MinnieDriver went on to play Carlotta in ''Film/ThePhantomOfTheOpera2004'', who's forced into a humiliating croaking during her performance.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: It's hard to pin down Ourumov's real motives because of his deceitful character and the many double standards he displays. According to [=MI6=] he's angling to become the next "Iron Man of Russia", suggesting he wants to MakeTheBearAngryAgain, but this report was drafted before they found out that he is an asset of the Janus syndicate. Perhaps he's just in it to enrich himself personally, but his discomforted reaction when Bond informs him that Janus is a Lienz cossack hints that he might have some sympathies for the former USSR. Then again, he was already working with Janus during the Soviet era, so who knows?

** The destruction of the satellite dish and Alec's death became this when it was revealed in November 2020 that the Arecibo Observatory (the filming location for the finale) [[https://www.space.com/arecibo-observatory-radio-telescope-to-be-destroyed was on the verge of collapse due to two of its support cables failing, one of which leaving a huge gash in the dish itself.]] It was deemed too dangerous to repair and slated to be decommissioned. [[https://www.npr.org/2020/12/01/940767001/arecibo-observatory-telescope-collapses-ending-an-era-of-world-class-research Sadly, the main structure ultimately collapsed on December 1st, 2020]], marking the final end of the famous structure. Naturally, [[BlackComedy people started asking if Sean Bean was somehow involved.]] The [[https://www.theverge.com/22150330/arecibo-observatory-collapse-drone-footage-video video footage]] of the central structure's collapse even looks eerily similar to the film version (only with less fire and not cleanly falling straight down).

** The destruction of the satellite dish and Alec's death became this when it was revealed in November 2020 that the Arecibo Observatory (the filming location for the finale) [[https://www.space.com/arecibo-observatory-radio-telescope-to-be-destroyed was on the verge of collapse due to two of its support cables failing, one of which leaving a huge gash in the dish itself.]] It was deemed too dangerous to repair and slated to be decommissioned. [[https://www.npr.org/2020/12/01/940767001/arecibo-observatory-telescope-collapses-ending-an-era-of-world-class-research Sadly, the main structure ultimately collapsed on December 1st, 2020]], marking the final end of the famous structure. Naturally, [[BlackComedy people started asking if Sean Bean was somehow involved.]] The [[https://www.theverge.com/22150330/arecibo-observatory-collapse-drone-footage-video video footage]] of the central structure's collapse looks eerily similar to the film version (only with less fire and not cleanly falling straight down).

** The destruction of the satellite dish and Alec's death became this when it was revealed in November 2020 that the Arecibo Observatory (the filming location for the finale) [[https://www.space.com/arecibo-observatory-radio-telescope-to-be-destroyed was on the verge of collapse due to two of its support cables failing, one of which leaving a huge gash in the dish itself.]] It was deemed too dangerous to repair and slated to be decommissioned. [[https://www.npr.org/2020/12/01/940767001/arecibo-observatory-telescope-collapses-ending-an-era-of-world-class-research Sadly, the main structure ultimately collapsed on December 1st, 2020]], marking the final end of the famous structure. Naturally, [[BlackComedy people started asking if Sean Bean was somehow involved.]]
*** There's even [[https://www.theverge.com/22150330/arecibo-observatory-collapse-drone-footage-video video footage]] of the central structure's collapse that looks eerily similar to the film version (only with less fire and not cleanly falling straight down).

** The destruction of the satellite dish and Alec's death became this when it was revealed in November 2020 that the Arecibo Observatory (the filming location for the finale) [[https://www.space.com/arecibo-observatory-radio-telescope-to-be-destroyed was on the verge of collapse due to two of its support cables failing, one of which leaving a huge gash in the dish itself.]] It was deemed too dangerous to repair and slated to be decommissioned. [[https://www.npr.org/2020/12/01/940767001/arecibo-observatory-telescope-collapses-ending-an-era-of-world-class-research Sadly, the main structure ultimately collapsed on December 1st, 2020]], marking the final end of the famous structure. Naturally, [[BlackComedy people started asking if Sean Bean was somehow involved.]]

** The film ends with the Satelite Array breaking off and plummeting into the dish below, crushing the BigBad in the process. The Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico where the filming took place, broke off for real in [[https://www.9news.com.au/world/iconic-telescope-from-james-bond-film-collapses-puerto-rico/afba102c-7d1d-4703-a11c-9b347126d78c early December 2020]]. At least nobody was there at the moment, as the telescope was already decommissioned and due for demolishion.

* HarsherInHindsight: M tells Bond "If you think I don't have the balls to send a man out to die, your instincts are dead wrong. I've no compunction about sending you to your death. But I won't do it on a whim." Raoul Silva's backstory in ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'' makes clear that it's not an empty threat. On top of that, Silva, like Alec Trevelyan, is a turncoat [=MI6=] agent with a desire for revenge against the agency as its BigBad, and Silva, while sharing a few of Trevelyan's traits, isn't as devious as him. He is MORE devious and successful, though his plan doesn't involve destroying London entirely.