MARTIN CAMPBELL

Bil’s rating (out of 5):  BBBB. 

United Kingdom/USA, 1995.  Eon Productions, United Artists.  Story by Michael France, Screenplay by Jeffrey Caine, Bruce Feirstein, based on characters created by Ian Fleming.  Cinematography by Phil Meheux.  Produced by Barbara Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson.  Music by Eric Serra.  Production Design by Peter Lamont.  Costume Design by Lindy Hemming.  Film Editing by Terry Rawlings.

James Bond returns for the first time in six years and with a whole new image. This time our slightly mad hero has to stop an even madder Russian terrorist from using a satellite device that will shut down half the world’s electricity and allow him to wreak all kinds of havoc on vulnerable nations. Teamed up with a beautiful Russian systems programmer (Izabella Scorupco, one of the best Bond girls ever), Bond goes from England to a post-Perestroika Russia to beautiful Puerto Rico in an effort to put an end to this dastardly villainous plan. The identity of the real bad guy is meant to be a bit of a surprise, but if you’re paying enough attention you’ll know who it is from early on. For the female element, Famke Janssen makes a hilariously evil Bond girl if ever there was one. It’s not as slick to look at as the wonderful Tomorrow Never Dies would be two years later, but it features a better screenplay. Look for a cameo by Minnie Driver as a terrible nightclub singer.