The World Is Not Enough

'The World is Not Enough' fixes many issues with the previous entry in the franchise 'Tomorrow Never Dies'. The prior film was criticized for having goofy villains and a silly story. 'The World is Not Enough' re-aligns the franchise by bringing back better villains, a more interesting story, and adding much more substance to the characters. The film throws a few curve balls and misdirections at the audience as well, so you'll be kept on your toes. All of the actors put on a great performance, with the exception of Denise Richards. She plays Dr. Christmas Jones and she is not believable in the slightest as a nuclear scientist. But she's such a gorgeous bombshell I can overlook her crappy acting. M is also much more involved in the plot, which is quite welcome because she really dominates her scenes. Overall I enjoyed 'The World Is Not Enough', it's much better than the prior Bond film, but still not quite as good as 'Goldeneye'.

I first saw this in the early 2k on cable tv.

Revisited it recently.

This is the nineteenth in the Bond series and the third to star Pierce Brosnan as James Bond.

In this one Bond is assigned to protect an oil tycoon's daughter who had previously been held for ransom by an ex KGB turned terrorist. During this assignment, Bond unravels a scheme to increase petroleum prices by triggering a nuclear meltdown in the waters of Istanbul.

This one has an amazing pre credit scene (not the lousy window jump sequence). The boat chase sequence is amazeballs.

The villain, Reynard, is truly sinister n Carlyle did a fine job but his character ain't developed well.

The story ain't engrossing n none of the henchmen is memorable.

This time Bond faces Reynard who is hell bent on causing chaos n destruction.

Bond faces many henchmen, Gabor, Mr. Bullion, etc. But the most noteworthy is the attractive cigar girl (Giulietta da Vinci).

Bond gets to cool off with Serena Scott Thomas, Denise Richards and Sophie Marceau.

Some info on Reynard: His real name was Victor Zokas n his childhood was particularly traumatic as he was raised in poverty.

At the age of fourteen, he ran away from home and joined the Soviet Army. Due to his vicious nature n brutal methods, he was given a place in the KGB. Due to his cunning and effectively discrete ways, he got the nickname, "Renard The Fox".

Aft his expulsion from the KGB due to his evident mental instability, Zokas took "Renard" alias and became one of the world's most feared terrorists.

It was 009 who shot Reynard in the head n although a doctor was able to save Renard's life, he was unable to extract the bullet from his patient's skull. Due to its retention within his brain matter, Reynard lost most of his senses and pain was never felt by him.

This allowed him to push himself much further than the ordinary human limits.

James Bond must rescue M, protect an oil heiress from her former kidnapper Renard, a terrorist who can't feel pain.

It begins with the sleek gun barrel Point of View walk, and what follows is arguably one of the greatest Bond pre-title sequences and certainly Pierce Brosnan's best. There's a specular escape in Spain, an explosion in MI6 headquarters London and a chase on the River Thames to apprehend an assassin (Sicillian star, Maria Grazia Cucinotta) that climaxes at the Millennium Dome. All this action before the James Bond title song and it's carried out not just for show, but as it's all part of the story's later developments.

Michael Apted directs the 19th Bond instalment in which Brosnan gives his finest performance as 007, he appears, confident, intellectual, more dangerous and authentic as the spy. In this he is injured and carries his ailment throughout the film, making him more vulnerable and real in life threaten situations, leaving the entertaining but bland Tomorrow Never Dies behind.

For the most part this instalment is more grounded and played serious with fewer gags than in previous Bonds, certainly less than Moore's outings. A lot of this is due to Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Bruce Feirstein screenplay which lends itself as a mystery, whodunit thriller theme and the villains, have more shades of grey as well as the heroes.

Despite, Denise Richards beauty with brains role as Dr. Christmas Jones, she still appears as the typical Bond girl by the end. Robert Carlyle character Renard is given depth and ulterior motives as the villain but he still is cliché Bond Villain with scars. This aside, Sophie Marceau is excellent as femme fatale oil baron heiress Elektra King and M's (Judie Dench) late friends daughter. Dench is given more to do and shines on screen, and regulars Desmond Llewelyn (Q), Samantha Bond (Miss Moneypenny) and Colin Salmon reprise their roles. Robbie Coltrane makes a welcomed return as Zukovsky to briefly assist Bond, and Goldie makes an appearance as a henchman. Comedy legend John Cleese plays Q's side kick R.

The music score and Barry's trademark theme comes in just at the right moments to heighten the action on screen. And as a bonus the title songs music is interlaced throughout the movie.

The World Is Not Enough is only marred by some poor cringe-worthy quips that are synonyms with the franchise. It's a shame that all the hard work of writers, Bronson's and Apted's subtly was discarded in Die Another Day (2002), where it was CGI heavy and returned to a Moore- like, lighter spectacle adventure.

This Bond is in the tradition of the earlier Connery outings, the vein of Dalton's steely incarnation, and a credit must goto Pierce Brosnan as this influenced the style of the later Casino Royale rework.

Ultimately, The World Is Not Enough due to it's great plot is one of the better Bonds that can be enjoyed by fans and the causal viewer.

The last James Bond film of the 20th century began in spectacular fashion. Now, a lot of the Bond movies have great openings, so that's nothing new, but this one outdid itself. This 15-minute opening may be the best ever with an amazing boat race and opening credits. It gets my vote, anyway.

After that, frankly, it slowly goes downhill. (That's the problem with too good a start!).

In the end, it's okay but hardly a memorable Bond picture. It has the usual assortment of heroes and villains, wild and improbable action scenes, tons of sexual innuendos, sharp DVD picture and great 5.1surround sound. New actors to this series included Sophie Marceau, Robert Carlyle, Denise Richards and Robbie Coltrane. None of them are big drawing cards who are going entice people to see the movie.

I didn't find any of the characters particularly memorable, unfortunately, so I can't rate the film higher than a "7," but that opening was a "10."

The World Is Not Enough is ranked as one of the weakest of any of the Bond films, but it does have many positives. The action is very strong in this one, like the caviar factory and the ski chase. Pierce Brosnan is joined by two very good actors to be the villains, and are some of the vest in the franchise. The locations are good, and it gives the films a different dimension, particularly in terms of the role of M. It is badly underrated, and is a great film, but just has some issues in the actual story.