What's interesting about GoldenEye (the movie, not the video game) is how the filmmakers made a concerted attempt to "deconstruct" James Bond. The films had been out of the theater for six years, the Cold War was over, and James Bond was at risk of becoming a joke. So the filmmakers tried to beat the audience to the punch line and poke fun at 007 themselves. There are several places where the very "Bond-ness" of the character is exposed and gently mocked:
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In the first scene after the teaser sequence, Bond is being examined by a psychologist, the implication being that there may be something wrong with Bond's womanizing and derring-do attitude.
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Moneypenny dares bring up the notion of sexual harassment regarding Bond's advances. Additionally, this Moneypenny is nothing like the classic portrayed by Lois Maxwell. This one is playfully combative, tossing one-liners back at Bond without simply swooning under his charms.
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In Bond's first scene with M, she calls him a "misogynist dinosaur" and a "relic of the Cold War". Though M's speech served the plot, I think it reflects quite clearly what the producers were afraid Bond had become.
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Bond is paired with Jack Wade throughout a large part of the film. Bond, the epitome of the upper-crust Brit, is reflected off Jack Wade, the rough-around-the-edges American.
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When Bond is captured by Alec Trevelyan at the end of the film, Alec takes his watch. The running joke among Bond fans is that no villain takes Bond's watch -- it was always Bond's ace-in-the-hole.
There are other examples throughout the film. The generally feeling in this film is that Bond can't take himself too seriously. The film needed to be self-aware. It needed to wink at the audience and say, "Look, we know this story and character are a little ridiculous, but this is fun so play along, okay?" This attitude may have been the key that made GoldenEye a hugely successful return for James Bond, 007.