Notwithstanding any future effort that sees Pierce Brosnan, back in the role of Bond, The World Is Not Enough is a fairly accurate picture of how the James Bond series has panned out since 1995. Simply, in the finest traditions of the series, set since 1962. This, the nineteenth official film, features some original and unique locations, an excellent female lead in Sophie Marceau, and an amusing re-appearance from the Robbie Coltrane ally Valentin Zuckovsky, who made a real difference to Goldeneye.
Other plus points include the lack of Joe Don Baker, who really out lasted his welcome in Tomorrow Never Dies, a fine send-off for Q, spectacular chase sequences on the River Thames and on a snowy mountainside, some dirty but funny humour, and best of all the climax in a sinking nuclear-powered submarine in the straights of Istanbul. Brosnan by now is synonymous with the role of James Bond and plays the role well, probably his best all round personal effort to date.
It has its bad points too - the villain Renard is handled fairly uncomfortably by the normally reliable Robert Carlyle, the henchmen are devoid of any memorable characteristics, and the nuclear physiscist in hot pants, Denise Richards, aka Dr Christmas Jones, is an outrageous and somewhat ridiculous inclusion.
Brosnan himself carries on from where he left off in Tomorrow Never Dies, that is to say, as if this is Terminator 2, not a Bond film. Thankfully though, the machine gun battles and huge explosions are not a permenant feature of the film, whose plot high points include Bond getting injured by falling onto the Millenium Dome, M being captured, a great pipeline seqeunce where Bond and Jones are on a cart chasing a plutonium bomb, and MI6 headquarters turning into the frontline after some terrorist action!
There's a great cameo from British DJ Goldie as a villain, the only interesting one apart from the brilliant Marceau, and there are enough unique elements, like the helicopter-powered forrestry blades, a bad guy who can feel no pain, and a major Hollywood movie being set in Kazaksthan, Azerbiejhan (sp?), and the Caspian Sea, to make it another memorable entry into the series. The gadgets are present but not overused, and this solid 1999 effort really feels like a great way to Bond to sign off the Twentieth Century.
The only minor complaint would be the pre-credits sequence was too long, perhaps the titles should have been brought forward to fit in between the Bilboa Bank scene and the MI6-Thames sequence.
Once again, top marks 007.
Other plus points include the lack of Joe Don Baker, who really out lasted his welcome in Tomorrow Never Dies, a fine send-off for Q, spectacular chase sequences on the River Thames and on a snowy mountainside, some dirty but funny humour, and best of all the climax in a sinking nuclear-powered submarine in the straights of Istanbul. Brosnan by now is synonymous with the role of James Bond and plays the role well, probably his best all round personal effort to date.
It has its bad points too - the villain Renard is handled fairly uncomfortably by the normally reliable Robert Carlyle, the henchmen are devoid of any memorable characteristics, and the nuclear physiscist in hot pants, Denise Richards, aka Dr Christmas Jones, is an outrageous and somewhat ridiculous inclusion.
Brosnan himself carries on from where he left off in Tomorrow Never Dies, that is to say, as if this is Terminator 2, not a Bond film. Thankfully though, the machine gun battles and huge explosions are not a permenant feature of the film, whose plot high points include Bond getting injured by falling onto the Millenium Dome, M being captured, a great pipeline seqeunce where Bond and Jones are on a cart chasing a plutonium bomb, and MI6 headquarters turning into the frontline after some terrorist action!
There's a great cameo from British DJ Goldie as a villain, the only interesting one apart from the brilliant Marceau, and there are enough unique elements, like the helicopter-powered forrestry blades, a bad guy who can feel no pain, and a major Hollywood movie being set in Kazaksthan, Azerbiejhan (sp?), and the Caspian Sea, to make it another memorable entry into the series. The gadgets are present but not overused, and this solid 1999 effort really feels like a great way to Bond to sign off the Twentieth Century.
The only minor complaint would be the pre-credits sequence was too long, perhaps the titles should have been brought forward to fit in between the Bilboa Bank scene and the MI6-Thames sequence.
Once again, top marks 007.