GOLDENEYE | Tank Chase

GOLDENEYE’s tank chase through the streets of St Petersburg is one of the most memorable sequences in Pierce Brosnan’s first 007 film. Stunt man Gary Powell drove the tank, often reaching speeds of 35 mph.

[hfar_in_the_sky]

Man, as a kid this was like the coolest thing I'd ever seen in my life.

[hassamkhan]

Pierce Brosnan fixing his tie would forever be the epitome of coolness.

[madhousenetwork]

No Bond can beat Brosnan's Tank scene. Timeless Classic!

[videowilliams]

Thank God he fixed his tie- he's out there representing Her Majesty after all! It's one thing to level half of St.Petersburg but quite another to do it improperly dressed.

[runawayplane]

Imagine having to write the ‘Mission Report’ on this one.

[beege]

Bond sets an excellent example for civic minded individuals everywhere in this sequence, as he widens a narrow alleyway so trucks can pass through, puts out a car fire by kindly moving it into the river, generously clears the roadway of a dangerous obstruction caused by the irresponsible driving of others and finally creates a striking impromptu piece of street art by relocating a statue. Bravo!

[orenji]

"you have a license to kill, not to break traffic laws"

[bodieofci]

This was my first Bond movie in a cinema. When he came through the wall in the tank the whole cinema cheered.

[GBRyker]

Pierce was so good as Bond. His take on Bond was a mix of Sean Connery and Roger Moore. Really wish he'd done more.

[wibblewobble]

For anyone wondering, yes those tanks really CAN do power slides like that, quite amazing really.

[wolfpackleaderalpha]

“Use the bumper! That’s what it’s for!”

Classic line

[SceneArtisan]

That super cool tie-adjust at the end, because, Bond reasons.

[delc]

Wish Martin Campbell would direct more Bond films, this film and Casino Royale are among the very best in the entire franchise

[HereticDuo]

Sergei you left the keys in the f'cking tank again!

[Night_Rider]

I love Natalya's relieved smile next to the General's terrified expression.

[HS_Gomikubi]

The funniest part of this scene for me is poor Ourumov's increasingly desperate drinking as the chase progresses. His expression is undeniably one of utter disbelief and indignant fury as he constantly looks out the back window at his pursuer, who somehow not only escaped what he must have assumed was certain death at the hands of the soldiers swarming the base, not only casually stole a goddamn tank from the parking lot on his way out, but also apparently knows how to drive the thing like an absolute Boss. Most people who even know how to drive a tank at all would probably end up plowing through civilians left and right in order to keep up with the unexpectedly swift driver who happens to be behind the wheel of his chosen getaway car, but Bond is outright styling on them by accomplishing this feat without so much as tarnishing his impeccable hair or his suit, let alone causing any more damage to the city than absolutely necessary or discernibly hurting anyone (the sole exception being the mistake* at 3:16.) From the viewer's perspective, this scene is a delicious action set piece. For Bond, it's little more than just another day on the job. For one Russian General, it's four minutes of his worst nightmare come to life and that flask of vodka is the only thing keeping him from serving himself a lead cocktail out of spite at the sheer absurdity of the situation.



(*When I say mistake I mean from the director/editor's perspective. We know the director intended to show that nobody was crushed by the tank during the chase, so despite the previous shot unfortunately being contrary to that I'm gonna say the canon is that the driver survived somehow. Maybe he squeezed his way into the passenger side at the last moment and managed to dodge the tank's treads by the skin of his teeth. Maybe he's actually just magic? Idk, at the end of the day it's not important to the scene.)

[yippykiyay]

Casino Royale and Goldeneye are by far my fave Bond films and Martin Campbell directed both. Bring the man back

[caedmonofhelmsby]

To be fair, I would also spontaneously develop severe alcoholism if I was being chased by a tank.

[zachstolz]

This was the first ever scene of James Bond I ever watched. Also, "Golden Eye" was my first Bond film. Pierce Brosnan will forever be the best and "real" James Bond to me

[robertolmstead]

“Babe come over”
“I can’t! I’m in a war!”
“My parents aren’t home.”

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