After GoldenEye earned the James Bond franchise its best reviews in years, Pierce Brosnan’s next few movies in the role of 007 – Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is Not Enough, and Die Another Day – were met with increasingly dismal reactions from critics. But each of Brosnan’s Bond films (even the critically panned ones) had a handful of memorable action sequences.
From the opening bungee jump in GoldenEye to the River Thames speedboat chase in The World is Not Enough to the fencing swordfight in Die Another Day, Brosnan’s Bond got into some pretty awesome action over the years.
The Opening Bungee Jump In GoldenEye
The opening scene of GoldenEye, Brosnan’s first Bond film, kicked off his 007 stint in style with one of the most breathtaking stunts ever captured on film: a bungee jump from the Contra Dam.
As it turns out, this mind-blowing bungee jump sequence is just the beginning of what turns out to be an awesome cold open. It sets the stage for the movie’s main conflict with the supposed death of Sean Bean’s 006.
Death By Printing Press In Tomorrow Never Dies
While Bond is escaping from Elliot Carver’s headquarters in Tomorrow Never Dies, he tosses a henchman into a printing press. This goon is crushed to death as Carver’s manipulated headlines are pressed onto his cadaver.
This kill is a perfect visual metaphor for the movie’s heavy-handed yet surprisingly prescient satire of mass media and “fake news,” as a Rupert Murdoch-esque media mogul plots to kickstart World War III for the sole purpose of exclusive press coverage.
Escaping From A North Korean Prison Camp In Die Another Day
Brosnan’s final Bond movie, Die Another Day, ended the actor’s tenure as 007 not with a bang, but with a whimper. In the finale, he surfs on a computer-generated tidal wave before his climactic showdown with a villain who altered his DNA to reflect a different nationality.
But the pre-title sequence starts off the movie in explosive style as Bond breaks out of a North Korean prison camp. This is an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink kind of action set-piece.
Fighting Xenia Onatopp In GoldenEye
Famke Janssen’s GoldenEye “Bond girl” Xenia Onatopp is a literal femme fatale. She lures her male targets to bed, then crushes them to death with her thighs during sex. Luckily, Bond catches on to her kinky M.O. just in time.
Onatopp engages Bond in brutal hand-to-hand combat. After failing to kill him with sex, she makes an impressive attempt to kill 007 the old-fashioned way before he incapacitates her in the simmering waters of a hot tub.
Bond’s Final Brawl With Renard In The World Is Not Enough
Robert Carlyle’s Renard is a truly unique Bond villain in that he has a bona fide superpower. One of the world’s most wanted terrorists, Renard’s greatest strength is that he doesn’t feel pain. This superhuman ability adds a unique twist to the climactic fight on a nuclear submarine.
Bond ends up shooting Renard out of the sub like a torpedo, triumphantly saving the day and making full use of his plot armor, but this brutal dust-up is touch-and-go for a while.
The Motorcycle Chase In Tomorrow Never Dies
Michelle Yeoh’s Wai Lin avoids all the pitfalls of the “Bond girl” archetype in Tomorrow Never Dies. She isn’t overly sexualized and she isn’t a damsel in distress. She’s just as much of a badass secret agent as Bond himself; she just happens to be a woman.
In one of the movie’s most thrilling sequences, after Bond and Wai Lin have realized they’re working the same case and decided to work together, they’re chased through the streets of Saigon on the back of a motorcycle.
The Tank Chase In GoldenEye
Between the spectacular cold open and the action-packed finale, Bond movies need a big middle-act set-piece to keep viewers on the edge of their seat. GoldenEye’s dazzling tank chase through the streets of St. Petersburg is a prime example.
This sequence has crowd-pleasing spectacle in spades, with a tank tearing through the bustling cultural center of Russia, and director Martin Campbell ensures there’s a real sense of tension under all the explosive Bayhem-style carnage.
Fencing With Gustav Graves In Die Another Day
Gustav Graves from Die Another Day is one of the most ludicrous Bond villains of all time. Part of his diabolical plan involves changing his own DNA to become North Korean.
At the very least, Graves is featured in one great action sequence. He’s a forgettable character with mostly forgettable scenes, but his sword-wielding standoff with 007 in his own extravagant mansion is a visceral highlight.
The Thames Chase In The World Is Not Enough
Before No Time to Die came along with its unwieldy prologue, The World is Not Enough had the longest cold open in Bond movie history. While the Bond series is renowned for its globetrotting adventures, this opening takes place in his hometown of London.
After oil tycoon Sir Robert King is killed at MI6 headquarters, Bond chases the assassin across the River Thames in a Q-powered speedboat.
The Climactic Satellite Dish Fight In GoldenEye
As a former 00 agent whose faked death is mourned by Bond throughout the movie, GoldenEye’s Alec Trevelyan is one of the most compelling villains in the series’ history. Like all the best Bond villain deaths, Trevelyan is ironically killed by the grandiosity of his evil scheme.
In the movie’s action-packed finale, 007 drops his ex-colleague from the top of his giant satellite dish. Before falling to his death, Trevelyan asks if Bond is killing him “for England” and 007 dryly quips, “No, for me.”
