12 Things You Learn Rewatching GoldenEye

8. Pierce Brosnan's Banter Is First-Rate

Though GoldenEye is widely praised for getting Pierce Brosnan's tenure off to a strong start, one of its most criminally underrated aspects is the quality of the banter, as delivered by Brosnan with delicious aplomb.

While the talkier scenes in even the better Bond movies can be a bit much, here the dialogue crackles with a wittier energy than usual. As Bond chews the fat with the newly-appointed M (Judy Dench), for instance, the scene as written and performed is a masterclass in escalation. M indicates her disdain for 007, yet just barely assures him she does care about his well-being after all.

Similarly, Brosnan's patter with Robbie Coltrane's Valentin and, of course, Q (Desmond Llewelyn), make for some of the most memorable dialogue exchanges in the movie, and indeed, in Brosnan's entire run as Bond.

If only all of the actor's outings as 007 were written with this much panache.