Il mondo non basta

The film opens with a formidable assassin who had recently posed as a banker's secretary… She had given Bond a cigar, before killing her boss in the Swiss banker's office in Bilbao, Spain…

Now, when a bomb blew a hole in MI6's London headquarters, the super spy sped off in the Q boat, ignoring Q's plaintive cry, "Stop" Stop! It isn't finished!" It was Q's fishing boat for his retirement… There's a splendid boat chase along the River Thames between 007 and the stunning Maria Grazia Cucinotta, the "Cigar Girl" – who worked as a barmaid at the village inn in "Il Postino." Bond was eager to capture her for questioning…

When a bomb planted in a briefcase of money killing British oil tycoon Robert King, M was determined to bring the perpetrators to justice… The prime suspect was Renard who had once kidnapped King's daughter, Elektra… M (Judi Dench) believed Elektra was next on Renard's list and 007 was assigned to act as her "shadow" while she supervised the building of an oil pipeline in Azerbaijan… Yet despite his powerful urge to protect her, there was something about this beautiful, cunning, willful woman that aroused his suspicions…

Bond flew to Azerbaijan, where King Industries was building an oil pipeline… Elektra gave 007 a 'cold' reception, taking him up into the snowy peaks to the pass where the two ends of the pipeline would soon meet... It was then that unsocial 'visitors' struck…

Sophie Marceau plays the magnate's daughter Elecktra who had once escaped Renard's clutches all by herself… Her favorite motto: "There's no point in living if you can't feel alive."

Robert Carlyle plays Renard, the former KGB hit-man who had set up his own organization and demanded fanatical loyalty… He was a murderer, a terrorist, and a kidnapper… His only goal was chaos… Subordinated who failed him killed themselves rather than face his wrath… After Robert King came to see M, she sent 009 to kill Renard… 009 caught up with him and put a bullet in his head…The bullet was now killing off all his senses and was impervious to pain… Renard was determined to pull off one last coup against the West… But his motivations were motivated by blind hatred, or blind love?

Goldie plays Bull, Zukovsky's shifty, gold-toothed bodyguard… He was a menace to his boss and an important Renard spy…

Denise Richards plays Christmas Jones, the sexy atomic scientist overseeing the dismantling of the Kazakhstan nuclear test site… Dr. Jones became an invaluable ally of 007's following Renard's theft of a nuclear bomb…

For "The World Is Not Enough," Q equipped Bond with the faster car 007 had ever been entrusted with: the MBW Z8, armed with a radar-guided missile system...

Robbie Coltrane returns as the duplicitous Russian black marketeer Valentin Zukovsky whose ebony walking gun stick seemed a typically showy affection - but it had its uses...

A final sad note: "The World Is Not Enough," marked the final appearance of the beloved Desmond Llewelyn, who acted from 1964 to 1995, except for "Live and Let Die." A perfect foil to 007's lighthearted nature… Q has been one of the series' most enduring character...

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.

Pierce Brosnan returns in the 19th Bond adventure in which 007 is sent to protect Elektra King (Sophie Marceau), the daughter of a murdered oil tycoon who was also an old friend of M (Judi Dench). The threat appears to come from terrorist Renard (Robert Carlyle), who has a bullet in the brain courtesy of MI6 that has made him immune to pain. Renard is playing the nuclear explosion card, which leads to Bond girl nuclear weapons expert Dr. Christmas (Denise Richards), who has minimal impact but seems attractive. She will see firsthand that there is some truth to Bond's fame. Danger !. Suspense !. Excitement !. There must be when he's around !. Some men want to rule the world... Some women ask for the world... Some believe the world is theirs for the taking... But for one man, The World Is Not Enough!!!As the countdown begins for the new millennium there is still one number you can always count on. Bond is Back.

This Bond entry contains sensational pursuits, frantic action-packed and stimulating set pieces. The World Is Not Enough(1999) begins with an exciting prologue that takes place in the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, from where our protagonist already does some of his typical pirouettes and jumps from a building. Then a terrible attack takes place at the heart of MI6 itself, the famous British secret service. In front of the best secret agents, including Bond, a bomb explodes, killing one of the most important businessmen in the world, then 007 goes to action . Pierce Brosnan's third appearance as the agent with a license to kill, after ¨Goldeneye¨ (1996), ¨Tomorrow Never Dies¨ (1997) and before ¨Die Another Day¨ (2002).

The villain of this adventure is one of the most human of the series: Renard, a bad guy with an emotional side who is brought to life by Robert Carlyle. They are joined by Robbie Coltrane, Judi Dench as M, John Cleese as R replacing Desmond Llewelyn as Q, the gadget master. This was Llewelyn's last appearance on the big screen since he died that same year in 1999. He was the actor who appeared the most times in James Bond films. And other secondaries such as: Samantha Bond as Moneypenny, Michael Kitchen, Colin Salmon, David Calder, Serena Scott Thomas, Patrick Malahide, Ulrich Thomsen, among others.

The numerous action scenes overwhelm the roles and Bond has little to contend with as the villains are pretty discreet. There are also the typical Bond girls: Sophie Marceau, Maria Grazia Cucinotta, and Denise Richards, who, of course, fall for the charms of the handsome spy. There's a welcome darker edge to both Bond's character and the plot that the franchise should be built on, rather than trying to outdo his death-defying stunts every time. It contains spectacular and stirring musical score fitting to action by the always stunning David Arnold. And attractive song title: 'The World is not Enough' lyrics by Don Black performed by Garbage, along with the classic James Bond theme music by Monty Norman. Colorful and fascinating cinematography by cameraman Adrian Biddle. The motion picture produced by habitual producers, Eon, Albert R Broccoli, Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson , being professionally directed by deceased filmmaker Michael Apted. He was a good director, producer of several successes ,such as ¨ ¨Gorillas in the mist¨ , ¨Class action¨, ¨Nell¨, ¨Enigma¨, ¨The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader¨, ¨The word is not enough¨, among others . The film will appeal to James Bond fans.

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.

'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'.