After the success of the first two Bond movies that Pierce Brosnan made, it wasn't surprising that a third was made. I just watched The World is Not Enough again for the first time in several years.

James Bond is involved in retrieving money for Sir Robert King, a friend of M who is a rich oil tycoon.  Things go wrong and Robert ends up dead and James in injured.  Once James gets reinstated for duty, he finds a connection to Renard, a terrorist who once kidnapped Elektra, Robert's daughter.  Believing that Elektra is in danger from Renard again, M assigns James to protect her.  He discovers a plot to manipulate oil prices with a nuclear weapon and ends up working with Dr. Christmas Jones, a nuclear physicist.

The World is Not Enough is the nineteenth James Bond movie and the third to have Pierce Brosnan play James.  As far as I know, the story for the movie is original and not taken from any of the Bond books by Ian Fleming.  The title is a phrase from one of the books.  

Once again, the action starts early in The World is Not Enough during the pre-title sequence.  That is when James gets the money back, which ties into the main plot.  The sequence has a decent amount of action, much like has been done with previous Bond movies.  More action turns up throughout the movie in the form of various fights and chases.  The action scenes are done well, though one of them ends up being a bit more silly with the gadget that James uses.  He does manage to get out of several very dangerous situations again, though he is shown to have an injury that continues to bother him every so often throughout the movie. The violence that turns up isn't that extreme, though one or two things could be a bit too graphic for some viewers.  The movie is rated PG-13, so it really isn't meant for kids.

I think there is a bit of mystery to what is going on in The World is Not Enough.  At first the mystery is focused on who is behind the death of Sir Robert King, though that aspect is figured out fairly early when James finds a connection to Renard.  There is still some mystery after that tied to exactly what Renard is up to and what he will do next.  The plot really isn't that complex, though things do get a bit more complicated as the movie progresses.  One or two things are predictable without making the movie predictable overall.  The resolution to the mystery works well and makes sense.  A little bit of humor turns up in a few scenes, though there are attempts at more humor that don't work.  James makes a few jokes about Christmas's name that are just stupid.

James continues to have his way with women in The World is Not Enough, and his sexual partner count for the movie is three.  Early in the movie, he has sex with a female MI6 doctor to get cleared to return to duty so he can work on figuring out who is behind the death of Sir Robert King.  James seems intrigued by Elektra when they first meet and it really doesn't take long for them to end up in bed.  Elektra shows off a lot of skin while remaining strategically covered by a sheet in a few scenes.  James and Christmas spend a lot of time together later in the movie since they are working together to deal with the nuclear weapon.  They also end up having sex by the end of the movie, though really not much is shown.  James does make a few sexual remarks tied to her name that are probably intended to be funny but aren't.  There are other sexual remarks made, though nothing is that graphic or explicit.  

Since this is the nineteenth movie in the series, James is very well developed by this point.  He is good at his job and he doesn't have a problem using sex to get what is needed from women.  A little something new is added with James having to deal with a lingering injury, something he really hasn't had to deal with before.  I still really like Pierce Brosnan in the part.  He is charming and suave and also deadly when needed.  He is a really good Bond.  

Judi Dench continues to do well with the part of M, and a different side of her is shown since she gets James involved originally because Sir Robert King is one of her friends.  It is interesting to see that side of her.  Miss Moneypenny is only in few scenes, but Samantha Bond still handles the part well.  There doesn't seem to be as much flirting between her and James, though there is still chemistry between them.  Desmond Llewelyn makes what ends up being his final appearance as Q since he died in December of 1999.  Q isn't in as much of the movie and an assistant for him, called R by James, is introduced.  John Cleese handles the part well even though he doesn't do a lot.

Renard doesn't have ties to any governments like many prior Bond villains have had.  He has his own reasons for what he is doing.  MI6 has been after him before and he was shot.  The bullet is still slowly moving through his brain, killing his senses so he basically feels no pain.  I think that was intended to make him seem more sinister or menacing, but it just ends up being rather goofy with the way it is handled.  Robert Caryle does fine with what he has to work with.

Sir Robert King is only briefly in the movie and he doesn't do a lot.  He is more tied in to other things than it seems at first.  David Calder is fine in the part.  Elektra is Robert's daughter.  She is a much more complicated character than she seems to be at first.  She is a bit different than many of the other Bond women and I think she is one of the better ones.  Sophie Marceau does really well with the part.  

Christmas Jones, the American nuclear physicist who becomes mixed up in what is going on, isn't as strong of a character.  She acts more like an idiot than an intelligent scientist, standing around not doing much of anything most of the time.  She is obviously eye candy, especially with how she is running around in a tank top and very short shorts.  The character is just bad all around.  Denise Richards is not good or even remotely believable in the part.  It isn't that I don't think an attractive woman can be intelligent.  It also isn't her silly name since silly names are sort of common for Bond women.  Richards just didn't act that well, and she came off as more of a ditzy airhead.  This movie has one of the best Bond women in Elektra and also one of the worst in Christmas.

Main Cast
    
Samantha Bond - Miss Moneypenny
Pierce Brosnan - James Bond
Robert Caryle - Renard
John Cleese - R
Judi Dench - M
Desmond Llewelyn - Q
Sophie Marceau - Elektra King
Denise Richards - Christmas Jones

Michael Apted - Director

DVD Information

The World is Not Enough has had a few DVD releases and I think it is also available on Blu-ray.  I own the two disc version that is part of the Ultimate James Bond DVD Collection.  Most of the extras are on the second disc.  I don't know what sort of extras are on the other DVD releases.  There are some deleted scenes and alternate angels that are introduced by the directed that don't really add anything to the movie.  There are also a few extended scenes that add a little bit to the movie, but nothing that special. 

A featurette on the making of the teaser trailer is sort of interesting.  The Interactive Guide Into the World of The World is Not Enough plays different scenes from the movie.  Some of the crew as well as the director do commentaries that I haven't listened to.  The Making of The World is Not Enough is focused on the making of the movie.  It is interesting and entertaining.  There is a nice tribute to Desmond Llewelyn and the music video for the title song.  Various trailers and tv spots are also included.

The World is Not Enough is another entertaining James Bond movie, though certain elements of the movie - like Denise Richards - don't work as well.  Fans of Bond movies should check it out at least once.

This review is part of CaptainD's Good Movies EpiGuide 3 Write Off.

James Bond Reviews
Dr. No ~ From Russia With Love ~ Goldfinger ~ Thunderball ~ You Only Live Twice ~ On Her Majesty's Secret Service ~ Diamonds are Forever ~ Live and Let Die ~ The Man With the Golden Gun ~ The Spy Who Loved Me ~ Moonraker ~ For Your Eyes Only ~ Octopussy ~ A View to a Kill ~ The Living Daylights ~ Licence to Kill ~ Goldeneye ~ Tomorrow Never Dies ~ The World is Not Enough ~ Die Another Day ~ Casino Royale ~ Quantum of Solace ~ James Bond: The Secret Life of 007 ~ Never Say Never Again ~

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD