James Bond: Pierce Brosnan (1995-2002)

GoldenEye (1995)

Dir. Martin Campbell

A heads-up for any fans of the James Bond series: I'm not a devotee and will probably use parts of this post as a critique of everything that's wrong with the whole series, simply because the films themselves encapsulate everything - they aren't known for their diversity, after all.

My real interest in GoldenEye begins and ends with the locations, not with the actual Bond character. That might sound strange, but it’s all down to an enduring love of the N64 game of the same name (see HERE). Seeing onscreen the rooms and corridors that I know so well from the in-game experience is fun times.

When the film moved away from those areas, or to be more precise moved to areas that the game neglected to recreate, my attention waned.

Fearless: Director's Cut (2006)

Fearless: Director's Cut (2006) 

Dir. Ronny Yu

A biopic of Master Huo Yuanjia, founder of the world-renowned Jin Wu Sports Federation.

The disclaimer in the end credits states: while this motion picture is based on historical events, characters and incidents have been composited, invented and fictionalized.

It should really have been presented at the beginning to help viewers achieve the correct mindset needed to fully appreciate the film. I don't know about anyone else, but on my first viewing I was expecting the realism of a biopic. Having expectations thrown so far into the wind tainted the experience and it was many years before I gave it a second chance. I'm glad I did, though, because it's a film that deserves a place on a Jet Li fan's shelf.