The World Is Not Enough - thegoldengun.co.uk

General Review - The World Is Not Enough (1999)

First Impressions

From what many associates have said, and in the main I would tend to agree, Pierce Brosnan's Bond is at his best here. He really seems to have a grasp of the character, and how he wants to play it. As far as I am concerned, this is his best Bond yet as a result. To be truthful, and contrary to what I have muttered before, Pierce plays the role more like Roger Moore in this film (it could be said that he played it more like Connery in Tomorrow Never Dies). He is suave, sophisticated and the one-liners are ever present (almost to touching the Moore embarrassment level). Its a shame that 'Q' is finally being pensioned off as 'R' arrives (John Cleese), mais c'est la vie, j'ai peur!

Villains:

Renard: Not seen until about a third of the way into the film, Renard, seemingly acting against Elektra (MI6 believe that it is he who kidnapped Elektra, and who organised the bomb to go off at MI6 HQ) is a master criminal with a rather distinctive feature - he has a bullet lodged in his brain, and where it is positioned means that he cannot feel pain is slowly losing his senses. The truth is more disturbing for Bond and 'M' (who knew Elektra's father closely) as it is slowly revealed that Renard and Elektra are working together on a masterplan to eliminate Istanbul with a plutonium bomb. Bond and Dr. Christmas Jones follow his trail to Istanbul and, after killing Elektra (who is also Renard's lover, amongst other things) somehow manage to prevent the twisted crook from putting the bomb together, and have him killed too.

Robert Carlyle plays a reasonable villain, but somewhere in the back of my mind (not his, that was full of lead), he doesn't quite get to grips with the role. His bullet problem causing more emotional problems to him, and the fact that he was slowly dying, than anything else. Previous villains have been more likely to sacrifice themselves for theie cause than blubb on about their afflictions... perhaps he is a "new breed" of villain!

Elektra King: Everyone is sympathetic to Elektra after the death of her father inside the MI6 HQ in London. She uses this to her advantage though, as cover for her dealings with Renard. Initially he is accused by Bond of kidnapping her. The lack of forthcoming ransom money from her father (on 'M's advice) caused her a lot of pain, so she killed him when she was "free" with the MI6 HQ bomb. Of course, this captivity was with Renard, probably plotting this whole scheme. Of all the things I would have expected in a Bond film, the kidnapping of 'M' by Elektra was definitely not one of them! She is housed in a castle on an island in Istanbul whilst the submarine, which will set off the bomb, is nearby and is being made ready. As Bond catches up with events, he finds this place, sets 'M' free and kills Elektra (despite her self-assurances that he wouldn't kill her in cold blood). Sophie Marceau played a sound but, again, emotional Elektra. This part is played big in the film yet despite all the strong words, there seems to be something very cold about her, and certainly not the buxom lady we've come to expect.

Woman:

Dr. Christmas Jones: Working at the Russian Atomic Energy agency in Azerbaijan, Jones, initially difficult with Bond, comes over to his side when Renard steals the bomb and leaves them two trapped inside an underground cooling tower type construction (difficult to explain). Supposedly there for the expertise she brings, the part of Jones is not the best-written one, especially when the technical gabble comes out in such way that only just betters Stacey Sutton (A View To A Kill). She follows Bond across the Middle East to Istanbul, then helps him to stop Renard. beyond that, not a lot. Well, apart from the fact that she's very attractive and wears a white tee-shirt whilst helping Bond underwater! (Funny how these things happen, isn't it?) As someone said, the only reason they called her "Christmas" was for the pun at the very end of the film... "And I thought Christmas came only once a year." Only Roger Moore could have bettered that!

Ally:

Valentin Zukovsky: For the second time in a Bond film, we meet this friend-cum-foe of Bond's. He now has a legitimate group of businesses to his name, including a caviar factory and a casino. Like last time (GoldenEye) he helps Bond but again, Bond is very unsure as to the help he receives. Zukovsky goes through thick and thin at his caviar factory, which is set upon by Elektra's helicopters, but the best scene is when he is killed by Elektra. She shoots him, with a gun which is positioned behind a peaked cap (invisible to Zukovsky), yet he has enough in him to fire his walking stick gun at Bond. So? Well, that releases Bond from his torture chair, but she doesn't know that until Zukovsky actually snuffs it and Bond makes a go for her. It's a shame that he had to be released from the future cast lists like this... he's a sort of Russian Felix Leiter. Despite the shaky Russian accent, Coltrane played the part well and added some depth to the film.

New Role:

'R': Entering the Bond world for the first time, 'R' is 'Q's future replacement when he goes into retirement. Despite John Cleese's age, his role is treated like that of a child by 'Q' in the workshop. 'R' is made to test things himself, despite the consequences, and 'Q' makes it quite clear that he remains in charge whilst he is still there. I can understand the producers doing this - Desmond Llewelyn is, not to put too fine a point on it, getting on now. It is better for this part to go gradually that to be either killed off or have the actor die unfortunately (God forbid) before or during a schedule. As dire as this sounds, it makes sense to all concerned. As for Cleese, it will take another film to convince me of his credentials, and I hope that this glimpse was not a full indictaion of what is to come. Report: must be more convincing, must do better!

General Conclusion: 8/10

If Brosnan's happy this time, we're all happy. The film fits him like The Spy Who Loved Me did for Roger Moore and Goldfinger did for Sean Connery. I liked it as well, more so than Tomorrow Never Dies, which seemed very rigid by comparison. What will come of this film I cannot say. Expect the grosses to perhaps match Tomorrow Never Dies ($334 m) but I doubt if it will catch GoldenEye ($351 m), due to audience apathy. Unlike last time though, there aren't many big films out (The Blair Witch Project peaked a fortnight ago) so it could do better, especially if the amount of publicity is anything to go by. The film is smooth-running and the plot is excellent. It is well directed and cut, which cannot be said for every Bond film, and the music is as good as it gets (except the Garbage "The World Is Not Enough" theme which I consider mediocre at most). When all is said and done, it makes a worthy addition to the series and probably ranks about two-thirds, but it is the best Brosnan film, that is for definite.