'The World Is Not Enough' (1999)
A movie review by Walter Frith
wfrith@cgocable.net
Member of the 'Online Film Critics Society' http://www.ofcs.org
There are 20 James Bond movies counting 'The World Is Not Enough'. Sean Connery certainly has been the best Bond. In fact, not a single disagreement has come up when I discuss this with other people. Connery's combination of rugged timing, the smooth delivery of his lines and his ability to woo women make him the ultimate lover AND fighter. As the 20th century closes out shortly, here's how the Bond franchise breaks down and the actors who have played him.
Sean Connery 'Dr. No' (1962) 'From Russia With Love' (1963) 'Goldfinger' (1964) 'Thunderball' (1965 You Only Live Twice' (1967) 'Diamonds Are Forever' (1971) 'Never Say Never Again' (1983)
George Lazenby 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' (1969)
Roger Moore 'Live and Let Die' (1973) 'The Man With the Golden Gun' (1974) 'The Spy Who Loved Me' (1977) 'Moonraker' (1979) 'For Your Eyes Only' (1981) 'Octopussy' (1983) 'A View to a Kill' (1985)
Timothy Dalton 'The Living Daylights' (1987) 'Licence to Kill' (1989)
Pierce Brosnan 'GoldenEye' (1995) 'Tomorrow Never Dies' (1997) 'The World Is Not Enough' (1999)
You can even say there are 21 Bond films if you count 1967's 'Casino Royale'.
'The World Is Not Enough' is vintage James Bond. It resembles the old days when Bond movies had great sub plots and a diverse number of characters, including the variety of beautiful women who have been central to the plot. Since the Bond films have resembled romance novels, comic books, car ads, travel brochures and liquor spots, you would think that enough is enough. But the films are addictive. They are alluring to the most avid movie fan and while some have failed in recent memory, such as the badly edited and music style video presentation of 'Tomorrow Never Dies', it is always fun to see how bad or good the next one will be.
Terrorism and revenge are the ingredients in 'The World Is Not Enough'. James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) becomes involved with a beautiful socialite named Elektra King (Sophie Marceau in a surprisingly good performance) who wants to build a large pipeline across Asia and needs protection from having it destroyed by her rivals. Bond also locks horns with a terrorist named Renard (Robert Carlyle, the skinny stripper with the son in 'The Full Monty') who has a bullet lodged in his brain which is slowly killing him. But for now, he has lost a couple of his senses, including the sense of touch which makes him seemingly invincible since he can't feel pain. There is also a nuclear scientist named Dr. Christmas Jones (Denise Richards) who is the film's most annoying character and couldn't possibly survive physically in the real world but manages to hold her own with Bond in the movies.
Elektra was kidnapped by Renard many years ago and has a past with him. She was sort of brain washed and mentally drawn to him by the whole ordeal and her loyalty may or not be to him as Bond finds out throughout the course of the film. A lot of intriguing thrillers have a complicated plot not easy to follow and this James Bond installment has many cleverly interwoven plots and sub plots with stories all on a collision course with one another. It's the best Bond film I've seen since 1983's 'Octopussy' which was the best one featuring Roger Moore.
Other characters who return are "M" (Judi Dench), "Q" (Desmond Llewelyn). Replacing "Q", who is retiring, is "R" (John Cleese, and he serves up the gimmicks this time which are the contraptions that save Bond when he gets into a jam. Some of them this time are quite ingenious from any other gadgets we've seen in a very long while.
Directed by the under rated Michael Apted and written by Neil Purvis, Robert Wade and Bruce Feirstein, 'The World Is Not Enough' has good character development, funny moments and all the trappings of early Bond. In fact, those who may not have seen one in over thirty years would never know how diverse the series has been by viewing this one now. It's a return to its original roots.
OUT OF 5 > * * * 1/2
Visit FILM FOLLOW-UP by Walter Frith http://www.cgocable.net/~wfrith/movies.htm
* * * * * - a must see * * * * 1/2 - don't miss it * * * * - an excellent film * * * 1/2 - a marginal recommendation * * * - can't quite recommend it * * 1/2 - don't recommend it * * - avoid it * 1/2 - avoid it seriously * - avoid it AT ALL COSTS 1/2 - see it at your own risk zero - may be hazardous to your health
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