GoldenEye is a 1995 spy film. It is the 17th film in the James Bond series and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as MI6 agent James Bond. Unlike previous James Bond films, the screenplay was not based on the writings of Bond creator Ian Fleming, although the film's title is taken from Fleming's home in Jamaica. The original story was conceived and written by Michael France, with a later collaboration by several other writers, and was directed by Martin Campbell. In the film, Bond fights to prevent an arms syndicate from using the GoldenEye satellite weapon against London to engineer a "global financial meltdown".
GoldenEye was released in 1995 after legal troubles forced a six-year hiatus in the series, during which Timothy Dalton resigned from the role of James Bond and was replaced by Pierce Brosnan. M was also recast, with actress Judi Dench becoming the first female to portray the character. GoldenEye was the first Bond film made after the downfall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, which provided a background for the plot. The film was lauded by most critics and performed well at the box office, considerably better than Dalton's films. Critics viewed the film as a modernisation of the series, and felt Brosnan was a definite improvement over his predecessor.