The World Is Not Enough (1999)

I am a great Bond-fan so I was very intruiged to see the new Bond-film 'The World is not Enough.'

I went to see it and I liked it very much. The story this time is interesting,especcially the character Electra King,wonderfully played by French actress Sophie Marceau, is very well written.

But off course you are not going to see a Bond-movie for the story,you expect to see great action scenes, stunts,evil villains,beautiful locations and great humour.

And all the things I mentioned above were presented very well in this Bond-film.

The action scenes in the oil-pipes, on the mountains of Kazachstan and especially on the Thames in London were very spectacular.

Robert Carlyle is convincing as a villain who don't feel any pain.

The locations were very exotic and the scenes in Istanbul gave me a nostalgic feeling to 'From Russia with Love.'

But the most important thing in a Bond-movie is the actor who plays it.And Brosnan did it very well. He's agressive,he has got a sense of humour and he really looks like the gentleman Bond is supposed to be. But in some scenes we see Brosnan also in a more vulnerable position. So I think Brosnan is after Connery the best Bond-actor.

My conclusion is that 'The World is not Enough' is a great Bond-movie with all the elements that make this series,after almost 38 years,still one of the greatest movie experiences of the year.

Fmovies: Well it's Bond! He's back again for a 19th instalment of the same usual set of gags, gadgets, girls and guns! Can the world not get enough of this already?

Not that anyone really needs to know the story for a Bond film as it's usually just an excuse for lots of action! But you might end up enjoying it more if you knew what was going on. So for all it's worth, here you go. Bond races out to protect Elektra King (Marceau, playing a very different kind of Bond girl!), the daughter of a recently assassinated oil tycoon. She's under threat as she tries to complete a set of pipelines, so she's obviously going to need some protection (NO, not that type of protection!). The threat comes from Renard (Carlyle) who plays a unique villain who can't feel any pain after having a bullet lodged in his brain. As Bond gets closer to catching him a few truths are revealed! We quickly discover that things aren't going to be as easy as they look! But then again it's a Bond film so they never are!

Along the way Bond teams up with nuclear physicist Christmas (Richards) Jones (what a name!) who manages to help him diffuse bombs! Very handy as together they end up having to stop Renard from blowing half the world up!

The film starts off with one of the longest opening pre-credits sequences for a Bond film! It's also one of the best which begins with an out of the ordinary escape from a building, includes a thrilling boat chase around London and ends with an obvious explosion!

It's nice to see the return of some characters. Judi Dench as 'M', Desmond Llewelyn as gadget master 'Q' and especially Robbie Coltrane reprising his same role from 'Goldeneye' as ex-KGB agent 'Valentin'. John Cleese as 'R' (Q's replacement in the gadget department!) tries his best by adding some extra humour to Bond but doesn't quite get there.

The film shows Bond at his best! Brosnan really is on top form as one of the best Bonds! There's also enough action, stunts and big bangs that light up the screen! Also lighting up the screen are the Bond girls who are now strong, sexy and intelligent rather then silly and stupid. It's a better change, as we now don't always have bimbos who are always in danger and in need of help!

The only downside about the film would have to be that it's just the same old formula all over again. Something's wrong, bring in Bond, add in nasty villain, mix a few explosions here and there and in the end Bond saves the day and gets the girl! So you can see that the film is quite predictable from start to finish but nevertheless it's a formula that works! 'The World Is Not Enough' does have all the usuals that you'd expect (right down to the Martini's, cars and bad one liners!) but just about everything has been cranked up to churn out something good from the old formula!

It's smart and stylish just as James Bond should be and in the end it's really very good!

Rating - 8 out of 10

Has there ever been a more beautiful baddie in a Bond film than Sophie Marceau? (maybe Luciana Paluzzi in 'Thunderball' to answer my own question) This woman is GORGEOUS and one of the series best characters. Pierce Brosnan gets better with each movie and out of his four this is probably the best. The pre-credit sequence, the longest in the films history is worth the entrance fee alone, an amazing chase along the river Thames it is simply stunning and should really only be viewed on a big screen. This sequence is what Bond is all about, outrageously over the top excitement that kicks the film off to a cracking start, in fact I'd go as far as saying this is the best pre-credit beginning of all the Bond films. The story actually makes sense as well for once - no real plot twists (except Electra) and all the action is there for a reason, not just as spectacle. Judi Dench gets her best outing in this, proving herself capable of getting out of tight situations and it's nice to see Robbie Coltrane again (the caviar factory scene being another highlight). The humour is kept in check and doesn't descend into parody like some in the series ('Diamonds Are Forever' for example) but when Bond says 'Q isn't going to like this' when his car gets sliced in half is one of the funniest moments in any of the films. Speaking of Q this is Desmond LLewelyns last Bond movie, he died shortly after and the film is dedicated to him. All in all this is as good as any of Connerys films and the best since 'The Spy Who Loved Me' with good all round performances from all involved although Denise Richards was obviously picked more for her looks than acting ability. A worthy addition to the series this is my 6th favourite 007 film.

The World Is Not Enough fmovies. Top casting and exciting action make this one of the most entertaining Bond films for a while.

Some may disagree, but I think Brosnan has the edge over Connery now. Sophie Marceau is fantastic as Electra, one of the most interesting characters to grace the series for a while. Carlyle, although shortlived, is a very believable and even sympathetic villain and Robbie Coltrane makes a meal of his second appearance as Valentin Zukovsky.

The opening scene of TWINE is probably the best action scene ever in a Bond film and while the ones that follow cannot quite match up to it, they are still top class. Director Michael Apted shows that he has a real talent for dealing with these parts of the movie, and the excellent soundtrack can only improve them.

I went to see this movie on consecutive days and bought the soundtrack (Garbage&David Arnold) the second time, this is the best recommendation that I can possibly give it.

I am disappointed about what a number of critics have said about this Bond film. The acting was great, especially Sophie Marceau. The plot was good and not out of the realms of possibility. The gadgets were realistic as well and the action was non-stop and fun. The direction by Michael Apted was also good and what I except from a Bond film My only criticisms was the casting of Denise Richards because she can't act and I would have casted someone older and John Cleese as R because his type of comedy does not fit with Bond, but luckily he was only in the film for a minute and the send off for Desmond Llewelyn was worthy to his years of service. A worthy Bond film to watch and as long as you don't watch Die Another Day, Pierce Bronson would be join best Bond with Sean Connery.

A lot of people have already commented intelligently here on the general suckitude of this movie. I would just add a few thoughts.

It's true that the recent Bond films are choking on the formula. But it's not the idea of a formulaic Bond film that's at fault here. Indeed, the Bond formula is the most established, specific, franchised formula in film history, complete with obligatory plot twists, locale changes and even obligatory dialogue in mandatory scenes. But that's not the problem. The problem is that the inbred idiots in the Broccoli family who own the Bond franchise and who have final script and creative authority, choose (I think deliberately) to give us Bond films of the lowest common denominator, trying to maximize bottom line profit by making the films as dumb and over the top as possible. They choose to remain faithful only to those aspects of the formula that would seem to guarantee commercial success. Those formula points are:

1) Action set pieces that are determined to one-up all previous Bond action set pieces in terms of craziness, speed, and death-defying stunts, but to the point where they lose all credibility.

For example, Pierce's speedboat chase in TWINE, or his motorcycle leap off the cliff into the plane cockpit in Goldeneye are so ridiculous that you have to laugh at them. I just shook my head in disbelief when I saw that speedboat chase, which was way over-the-top to begin with, morph into a hot air balloon stunt, I could almost hear the Broccoli family having a round table discussion, saying "Hey, then we could move the action into a balloon! Huh? Isn't that nuts! Who wouldn't love to see Bond in a hot-air balloon!" By contrast, just about any car or boat chase from the Connery era is much simpler, more plausible, and ultimately more fun to watch on repeat viewings because it won't dissolve into farce.

2. A beautiful woman with a funny name.

Hey, I love Bond girls as much as anyone else. And the funny names are great. But didn't they use to act better? And have more to do? And be sophisticated? Denise Richards seems to be best suited for a poster. She's a respected nuclear physicist like I'm an Olympic figure skater.

3. Updating the Bond "look" to reflect whatever is currently on top of the charts.

The mangled version of the Bond theme was disgusting. Giving him a German car because BMWs are cool is stupid. He's a Brit for Gods sake. Bond is cool because he's COOL. He has actual Mojo. It's not the brand of Vodka he swills, or who designed his suit. Leave well enough alone.

Basically, this franchise is headed down the toilet. It's circling the bowl as we speak. They'll always make money, but the experience is changing. These days, going to a Bond film is like going to a Circus. You're going so you can Ooh and Aah at something, not to watch a coherent movie with things like characters and plot.

Remember when these films were spy movies first, action movies later? Remember the whole train sequence in From Russia With Love, where Bond plays a game of wits with the evil spy? Remember the great chemistry with Connery and Honor Blackman in Goldfinger? Remember how Connery or Moore could make a line classic just with great delivery, instead of having "great" one-liners scripted in advance?

In short, remember when these movies were good?