Pierce Brosnan's Non-James Bond Spy Movie Series Was A Huge Miss

1995's "GoldenEye" introduced the world to Pierce Brosnan as James Bond. But this wasn't the first time the Irish star played an action hero — though he'd probably rather it was. Just prior to his debut as 007, Brosnan starred in two TV movies that saw him play a United Nations operative tasked with stopping a nuclear bomb-equipped train and tracking down a priceless work of art. Needless to say, Bond or "The Thomas Crown Affair" these films were not.

In the early '90s, Brosnan had already achieved notoriety thanks to his starring role in the 1980s series "Remington Steele." He managed to maintain his profile with roles in films such as 1993's "Mrs. Doubtfire" before "GoldenEye" became the most important box office hit in James Bond history. His appearance in TV movies "Death Train" and "Nightwatch," however, did little to further his career. In fact, if Bond producers had seen his performances in these small-screen action thrillers, he might never have worn the tux.

A year before Billy Bob Thornton took on Steven Seagal in 1994's "On Deadly Ground," Brosnan fronted his own Seagal-esque actioner in "Death Train." Also known as "Detonator," the 1993 made for TV movie saw Brosnan brushing up on his action chops ahead of his debut as England's greatest spy. Unfortunately, the film was little more than a low-effort "Die Hard" clone. Hey, what did you expect from a movie called "Death Train?" That said, it did have one heck of a cast and even featured another Bond legend.

1993's "Death Train" aired on the USA Network. It stars Pierce Brosnan as U.N.A.C.O (United Nations Anti-Crime Organization) agent Mike Graham, who's tasked with thwarting a needlessly complex scheme to restore the might of the Soviet Union. It seems Russian General Konstantin Benin isn't too pleased with the fall of the U.S.S.R. and plans to re-establish his former state by sending a nuclear bomb to Iraq, thereby forcing the Russian authorities to send their forces after the weapon and re-establish their military dominance.

Seems a bit silly, doesn't it? Well, it's made decidedly less so by the presence of the great Christopher Lee, who plays the Russian General in question and is the best thing about this otherwise dismal actioner. Lee previously played legendary James Bond villain Francisco Scaramanga in 1974's "The Man with the Golden Gun." This time, however, he isn't interested in finding a worthy marksman to match his own abilities. Instead, he just wants to send a nuclear bomb-laden train full of goons through Europe.

Those goons are led by Alex Tierney (Ted Levine), who didn't reckon with the skills of Brosnan's UN agent. Graham is sent into action alongside analyst Sabrina Carver (Alexandra Paul) by Patrick Stewart's Malcolm Philpott, head of the Anti-Crime Organisation. Aside from thwarting one of the biggest crises to hit the continent since the Cold War, Graham and Carver are forced to overcome their personal differences. Sadly, they don't have much in the way of chemistry, and thus "Death Train" falls short of establishing anything like the typical Bond/Bond Girl dynamic. Needless to say Mike Graham is not one of Brosnan's finest performances.

"Death Train" was based on a story from Scottish novelist Alistair MacLean, which was turned into a 1989 novel by Alastair MacNeill. MacLean is probably best known for writing one of Clint Eastwood's best war movies, 1968's "Where Eagles Dare." "Death Train" didn't quite live up to that film's estimable reputation. In fact, it's pretty awful. Thankfully we didn't see any more of Mike Graham. Just kidding, they actually made a sequel.

"Night Watch," aka "Detonator II: Night Watch," aired on the USA Network on October 13, 1995, one month before "GoldenEye." Pierce Brosnan and Alexandra Paul were back as U.N. Agents Mike Graham and Sabrina Carver, but Patrick Stewart and Christopher Lee were out. Instead, William Devane's Nick Caldwell is in charge of the two agents, and sends them to investigate the theft of Rembrandt's painting, "The Night Watch." A Bond-esque globe-hopping adventure ensues, with Graham and Paul traveling from Amsterdam to Hong Kong in search of the stolen art. This ultimately leads them to Michael J. Shannon's villainous Martin Schraeder.

Oddly enough, Brosnan seemed to be in full-on Bond mode for this sequel. Whereas his previous portrayal of Graham was more traditionally action hero-oriented, Brosnan's second go round as the UN agent seems to have essentially been practice for his debut as 007. It didn't really help. "Night Watch" was as forgettable as "Death Train," perhaps even more so since it lacked the stacked cast of the original. Meanwhile Brosnan is probably happy nobody remembers these films.