Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.
No doubt, I'm in a minority on this one. In my opinion, The World Is Not Enough is the best of the Brosnan-era Bond films to date. It was the third film in which Pierce Brosnan took the role as James Bond and the twentieth film in the series overall (counting Never Say Never Again but not counting the highly atypical Casino Royale (1967)).
Historical Background: For this 007 entry, Michael Apted was enlisted as director. Born on February 10th, 1941, in Aylesbury, England, Apted entered British television in 1963 after an education at Cambridge in history and law. There he built his reputation directing series, plays, and documentaries. Apted began making feature films in the early seventies with Triple Echo (1973). He had his first major commercial success in the U.S., with Coal Miner's Daughter (1980), a biography of Loretta Lynn. He had additional critical and/or commercial successes with Gorky Park (1983) and Gorillas in the Mist (1988). His best films from the nineties were Thunderheart (1992) and the present one, The World Is Not Enough (1999).
The Story: The film opens with a tautly constructed pre-credit sequence featuring Bond recovering money from a Swiss banker, previously stolen from oil magnate Sir Robert King (David Calder), a personal friend of M (Judi Dench). Bond wants information more than the money, since the loss of the money had caused the death of another double-0. Bond ends up having to exit the precarious situation by rigging a bungee line out of a curtain cord, tying one end to his belt and the other to an unconscious thug. Later, the money proves more trouble that it's worth, since its actually a disguised fertilizer bomb that ends up killing King and blowing a hole in the wall of MI6 headquarters. From a speedboat on the Thames, a machine gun toting femme fatale (Maria Grazia Cucinotta), in a tight red leather outfit, open fires. Bond is rapidly in pursuit, commandeering an unfinished souped up watercraft that Q (Desmond Llewelyn) is still refining. After a variety of stunts, on both the river and ashore, Bond manages to drive the would-be assassin ashore and pursues her as she tries to escape in a hot air balloon. She kills herself rather than being captured. Bond breaks his collarbone in a fall onto the Millennium Dome. So far, we're only about 12 minutes into the film!
M is understandably incensed. King was a personal friend and for him to be killed inside MI6 is both devastating and humiliating. She puts all the resources of the British Secret Service onto the task – except for 007, who is instructed to take some rest and recovery time until his shoulder mends. Bond has to seduce the medical examiner, Dr. Molly Warmflash (Serena Scott Thomas), to get a clean bill of health. Working on his own, Bond connects King's murder back to an earlier kidnapping of King's daughter, Elektra (Sophie Marceau), by a radical anti-capitalist terrorist, Renard (Robert Carlyle), a.k.a., The Anarchist. M sends Bond off to play bodyguard for Electra in the oilfields of Azerbaijan, where the King family is building an oil pipeline that will compete with three Russian ones. Electra has her own security team, including Davidov (Ulrich Thomsen) and Gabor (John Seru), but she and Bond nevertheless come under attack by a squad of assassins in aerial snowmobiles and only Bond's ingenuity saves the day. Bond pays a visit to ex-KGB agent Valentin Zukovsky (Robbie Coltrane) and discovers that Davidov is playing both sides of the field, working for Renard as well as Elektra King. Davidov was the one who had rented the flying snowmobiles from a weapons supplier, Dr. Arkov (Jeff Nuttall).
Davidov is due to join Renard on a mission aimed at stealing a nuclear warhead from an old Russian silo that is in the process of being dismantled. Bond kills Davidov and takes his place, impersonating a Russian nuclear scientist. At the silo, Bond encounters American physicist Dr. Christmas Jones (Denise Richards). She grows suspicious of Bond. At the base of the silo, Bond runs into Renard and soon all hell breaks loose. Jones initially thinks Bond is the problem. Renard gets away with the weapons grade plutonium from the missile while Bond and Jones barely get away with their lives. Now the trick is to figure out what Renard plans to do with the nuclear material and to track it down. Electra King and Dr. Jones may or may not be Bond's allies in the effort.
Production Values: The script was written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and Bruce Feirstein, based on a story by Purvis and Wade. Except for the bit about the bullet in the brain making Renard stronger everyday, the script has a welcome ring of plausibility. In comparison to other Brosnan-era Bond films, this one also exhibits greater narrative continuity. The action segments are confined to a number of set pieces, between which a story actually unfolds. By contrast, the preceding film, Tomorrow Never Dies, reduced the Bond format to little more than a Rambo-like exercise in continuous random violence. Moreover, the characters in the present film are a good deal more three-dimensional that in most Bond Films. Renard is a more than typically complex villain, having developed a genuine attachment for his kidnap victim. Electra King combines vulnerability with a vicious mean streak and exhibits complex love-hate relationships with both Renard and Bond. Another nice feature of this film is the increased emphasis that it gives to the character M. When she makes the task of hunting down Sir Robert King's killer a personal issue, it adds a level of emotional charge to the film that hadn't been in evidence since Licence to Kill. Bond also has an emotional stake in finding the killer, since he feels responsible, in part, for King's death.
It's also nice to see Bond with a degree of emotional vulnerability. We see him wincing from time to time from either physical pain (the broken collar bone) or emotional pain (when reminded about his wife's death). Electra breaks through his cool exterior by questioning his resistance to emotional involvement ("Who's afraid now Mr. Bond?"). Brosnan is not my favorite Bond, by any means, but I like his work in this film better than any of his others. Here he has some of the cruel charm of Connery, even if he lacks the physical presence. He has more of an aggressive edge than Roger Moore was able to muster. All of the old standard elements like the "vodka martini, shaken not stirred" and Bond introducing himself as "Bond, James Bond" are happily rendered.
All of the action sequences are well filmed, providing both tension and thrills. A speedboat chase on the Thames finds Bond cutting across some city streets, through a café, and bursting through a boathouse. The scene culminates in a hot air balloon showdown. The ski chase is very well done with a nice touch at the end when an avalanche buries Electra and James in the inflatable cocoon that springs from Bond's jacket. Sophie Marceau adds a palpable sense of panic to the scene and we can visualize her reliving her earlier ordeal as a hostage. The pipeline bomb-disarming sequence is another successful one, with Bond and Dr. Jones thrown into a desperate situation and Bond showing his patented quick thinking. Instead of always relying on some technological solution, this film has Bond once again using his innate resources for ingenious solutions. I particularly liked the escape of Bond and Dr. Jones from the booby-trapped nuclear silo. Later, there's a nifty attack on Valentin Zukovsky's beluga plant by two buzz saw toting helicopters. These are all high-octane, first-rate action sequences.
I rather like the sultry theme song, delivered by Garbage, especially the music video version preceding the film. Composer David Arnold's score ranks as the best of the Brosnan era. There's a lot of dramatic music with subtle integration of Bond themes here and there and a final overt rendition of the Bond music to accompany the end credits.
This film marked the last appearance of Desmond Llewelyn as Q, an actor and character for whom many viewers developed a deep affection. His exit from the film is poignantly handled. He had appeared in every Bond film beginning with From Russia with Love until the present one, except for Live and Let Die.
Sophie Marceau, as Elektra, is very sexy in a mischievous sort of way. She's a big tease and one can readily believe her when she declares that she's been able to control men all her life. Early on, she is able to get to Bond emotionally to an extent that few Bond women have since Tracy Draco. Later in the film, she plays her part with crazed abandon, which I thought effective but some reviewers find over-the-top. The majority of critics are very hard on Denise Richards as Dr. Christmas Jones, not finding her credible as a nuclear physicist. I found her highly effective, lovely to look at, and an intriguing Bond girl with substance. When I was in graduate school, there was a female graduate student who was sexy and attractive and wouldn't have matched most people's ideas of a young woman likely to become a scientist. Besides, if Dr. Jones has brains in her bust, she'd have I.Q. to spare. Those who can't picture Richards as a scientist are simply engaging in a kind of stereotyping. She's not among my favorite half-dozen Bond girls, but she's in the upper half for me.
Carlyle is excellent as Renard, although he gets less screen time than almost any other Bond villain. That's primarily because Elektra's part is much bigger than for most henchwomen. I give Carlyle high marks for getting the most from his role, even if it's not a big enough one to warrant placing him among the best Bond villains ever.
Bottom-Line: If you purchase the film on the Ultimate Special Edition DVD, you get a nice package of extras. You'll get two scene specific commentary tracts, one featuring director Michael Apted and the other with the trio of 2nd unit director Vic Armstrong, production designer Peter Lamont, and composer David Arnold. There's also a neat set of nine special effects sequences that detail how particular stunts were performed. There's an excellent music video by Garbage. Also available is a boring set of interviews with various participants in the film. Here is my Overall Certified Gold Bond Rating for this film, using my system that facilitates comparisons across the series:
Bond: Pierce Brosnan at his best Rating: 4/5
Villain: Renard, a.k.a. The Anarchist (Robert Carlyle) Rating: 4/5
Henchwoman: Elektra King (Sophie Marceau) Rating: 5/5
Bond Girls: Christmas Jones (Denise Richards) Rating: 4/5
Colleagues: M (Judi Dench) 5/5; Q (Desmond Llewellyn – last appearance) 5/5; R (John Cleese) 5/5; Miss Moneypenny (Samantha Bond) 3/5; Sir Robert King (David Calder) 3/5; Dr. Molly Warmflash (Serena Scott Thomas) 3/5 Overall Rating: 4/5
Storyline: Stockholm syndrome, M's personal involvement, pipeline competition, stolen weapons grade plutonium, Bond with enhanced vulnerability and personal involvement Rating: 5/5
Action: Boat chase on the Thames 5/5, tense ski chase 5/5, escape from the booby trapped silo 5/5, pipeline race to defuse bomb 5/5, buzz saw wielding helicopters at beluga factory 5/5, garroting and shootout at Istanbul 5/5, final showdown in sub 5/5 Overall Rating: 5/5
Drama/Character Development: Drama and characters given foreground and continuity, silliness reigned in, elevated complexity of psychological relationships Rating: 5/5
Music: Sultry "The World Is Not Enough" theme song sung by Garbage, strong overall soundtrack Rating: 4/5
Locales: Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Thames River in London, oilfields in Azerbaijan, Hindu temple, Baku, Istanbul Rating: 3/5
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Overall Certified Gold Bond Rating: 50/60
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The World is Not Enough is an exhilarating but sophisticated, action-packed adventure. With insight and intelligence, the producers, writers, director...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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