*** out of ****
Year: 1999. Starring Pierce Brosnan, Sophie Marceau, Robert Carlyle, Denise Richards, Robbie Coltrane, Judi Dench, Desmond Llewelyn, John Cleese, Samantha Bond. Written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and Bruce Feirstein. Directed by Michael Apted. Rated PG-13.
When viewing a Bond film, it's extremely hard for a critic to look at it objectively. For example, all the things I would normally criticize another movie for (like predictability, clichés, and lousy dialogue) just don't seem to apply. Nor does it seem to matter that the latest Bond flick, "The World Is Not Enough," seems a whole lot like every other Bond flick that's been made. Most other films of this genre are damaged by the audience's overt familiarity with the subject matter, but Bond only seems strengthened by it. Let's face it: 007 cannot be judged by normal standards. Is this fair? No, but it's true. We want to see James Bond do all the things he's been doing for the better of three decades. Here, he delivers. We get stunts, femme fatales, nutty gadgets, and a nearly incomprehensible twisting plot that is of little consequence. This, the 19th installment of the 007 series, proves that the British charmer still has life left in him.
The plot (though I'm still not sure of it) deals with Renard (Robert Carlyle), a mysterious terrorist who is trying to steal a nuclear bomb (natch) after assassinating a good friend of M (Judi Dench). Determined to have the terrorist brought to justice, M begins a worldwide manhunt and assigns Bond (Pierce Brosnan) to protect the dead man's daughter, Elektra King (Sophie Marceau). She and the villain had a prior history, as Renard had kidnapped Elektra years earlier, only to have her escape before he could collect the ransom money from her father. Bond tracks down Renard as he is about to steal the bomb from some nuclear scientists, the leader of which is Dr. Christmas Jones (Denise Richards, and no jokes about the name). The villain has an interesting quirk: a bullet in his brain is slowly killing him, but as it burrows in further, it makes him stronger and impervious to pain. (Do not try this at home.) Once the bomb is taken, all Bond has to do is get the girl, kill the bad guy, and save the world. No problem, right?
A real strong point of "The World Is Not Enough" is the acting (with one major exception). I think it's safe to say that Pierce Brosnan feels very comfortable in his role, and he is now pulling off Bond with suave charm. He 's a different kind of Bond. Low-key and reserved, he doesn't mug for the cameras, but lets the persona speak for itself. Considering how long the character has been around (this being the 19th film and all), this is a valid approach. Brosnan's Bond definitely knows who he is, but he doesn't flaunt it. It's because of Brosnan's confident performance that the screenplay's many self-referencing inside jokes and uncharacteristically raunchy sexual humor come off so well. Brosnan understands that when the one-liners are purposely over-the-top, they must be played with a straight face, and he does so.
The rest of the cast is game enough. Desmond Llewelyn returns for possibly the final time as Q, and he's brought along a younger replacement, naturally referred to as "R" and played by John Cleese. R's scenes are priceless, as Cleese reprises his upper-class bumbler of Monty Python and Fawlty Towers fame. Robert Carlyle plays the villain with aplomb, but should have been given more to do (his supposed super-strength never really comes into play). Robbie Coltrane appears as a carryover character from "GoldenEye" and lights up every scene he's in. I suppose Judi Dench could never be considered a "Bond girl," but this time M is given a whole lot more to do, as her character now has a personal stake in the proceedings. As could be expected, more Dench is a good thing. Her M is strong and resourceful, a nice addition to the old formula.
And what about those Bond girls? There are two of them, Sophie Marceau and Denise Richards. Marceau's performance is actually pretty good for a Bond character. She exchanges witty banter with Brosnan and is more than up to the task. She is certainly attractive (as Bond girls must be), but she's also a good actress, and a touch above what might be expected of her. Marceau definitely shines, but the weak link in the cast is clearly Denise Richards. I was unaware that Bond dialogue was terribly difficult to say, but Richards manages to stumble over nearly every line. Yes, her breasts are large. Yes, she looks good in a tank top and shorts. (Regular nuclear physicist attire, I'm sure. Check your common sense at the door for a Bond flick.) Unfortunately, any and all sexual attraction is ruined when she opens her mouth and talks like she's on "Dawson's Creek." It doesn't matter how wet her shirt gets if every line she speaks makes the audience wince, and keeping the exact same facial expression whether she's speaking a line like "Hello, how are you?" or "I have to diffuse that nuclear bomb!" doesn't help. Somebody needed to tell her that she's exchanging lines with James Bond, not James Van Der Beek.
Richards-bashing aside, this film has a whole lot going for it. The action sequences are fun. We open with a motorboat chase, and proceed with a ski chase, a race through an oil pipeline, and the standard sinking-submarine bit to top it off. All are loads of fun. Completely improbable, but fun nonetheless. (I do, for example, enjoy the random gasoline barrels placed to explode at any moment.) "The World Is Not Enough" also possesses a better-than-average Bond script, which doesn't mean the plot is any more coherent, but the dialogue is spicier than normal. After Mike Myers' two "Austin Powers" films, it's hard not to poke fun at the conventions Bond has been perpetuating for the last 30 years. This latest installment does that early and often, alluding to 007's penchant for wine, women, and massive property damage. Fortunately, the film does this without becoming too farcical, mainly because director Michael Apted shows a certain reverence for the Bond traditions. He plays it straight, without allowing too much winking self-parody. It's a pleasing combination.
Is "The World Is Not Enough" the best Bond film ever? Probably not, though I 'm not terribly qualified to make the decision, having only seen a handful of them. Still, it will probably be enjoyable to both fans and those unfamiliar with the Bond series. With smashing action, a game cast, and snappy dialogue, this film is a fun globe-trotting romp. It's got just about everything you could want from a Bond movie, and it's one of the most purely entertaining movies I've seen this year.
-reviewed by Shay Casey
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