1999 | Dir. Michael Apted | 128 Minutes
"There's no point in living if you can't feel alive."
Ex-KGB terrorist Renard sends an assassin to murder oil tycoon Sir Robert King. M places James Bond on assignment to protect King's daughter Elektra. When Bond discovers Elektra and Renard are scheming to settle a personal vendetta against M and to cause a nuclear disaster for profit, he must save the head of MI6 and work together with a beautiful nuclear physicist to avert catastrophe.
Veteran director Michael Apted's The World Is Not Enough feels like a throwback to lesser entries of the James Bond film series, particularly the weaker pictures produced during Roger Moore's run as 007. The villains have interesting and relatively original motivations if not the most creative diabolical scheme. Elektra is among the most complex Bond villains to date. However, the driving narrative is noticeably weak. With seemingly nothing hidden under his surface-level cool detachment, Bond being tasked with rescuing M doesn't carry any palpable dramatic weight as he never seems personally invested in the mission, he just seems to be going through the motions in this one. It's a middling adventure that could have been more engaging considering the pieces in play.
The action sequences featured in The World Is Not Enough are good overall but fans of the series have seen better. The boat chase during the cold open and the escape from the sawing helicopters at the caviar factory are particularly great, and Brosnan even gets his customary James Bond skiing set piece in this one complete with the payoff of an over-the-top gadget. However, the pipeline sequence is a showcase of unconvincing special effects and the climatic fight in a cramped submarine is less than thrilling.
Pierce Brosnan effortlessly slips back into the role of James Bond in a film that unfortunately requires more physical commitment from him than his skills as an actor, playing a decidedly colder Bond. Sophie Marceau is captivating as the treacherous Elektra King, sharing good chemistry with seasoned character actor Robert Carlyle turing in a surprisingly imposing as the tormented madman Renard. Denise Richards is uniformly bland as Dr. Christmas Jones, sounding mechanical in much of her line delivery, yet another love interest for Bond who shares no romantic chemistry with Brosnan's Bond. Judi Dench makes her third appearance as M, showing a more vulnerable side of the character. Samantha Bond, Michael Kitchen, and Colin Salmon also reprise their roles as Moneypenny, Bill Tanner, and M's Deputy Chief of Staff Charles Robinson respectively. Desmond Llewelyn makes his final memorable appearance in the series as Q alongside celebrated comedian John Cleese as Q's successor. Robbie Coltrane returns as Valentin Zukovsky, this time clearly having more fun with a bigger role in the story than in from GoldenEye and a decent death scene. The film also features John Seru as Elektra's loyal bodyguard Gabor, English rapper Goldie as Valentin's traitorous henchman Bullion, and Maria Grazia Cucinotta in a brief but memorable part as the assassin featured in the cold open.
The World Is Not Enough puts all of the weaknesses inherent in the standard formula of the James Bond franchise on full display. The most intriguing aspects of the plot are woefully underdeveloped while Bond makes his way through some decent action scenes to single-handedly save the day, and romance the one-dimensional pretty lady, without growing as a character in any discernible way. The whole experience is as disposable as a Bond film can be.
THE COLD OPEN
Opening with a Swiss bank caper in Spain before properly starting the story in England, this one's a bit long and takes a while to get to the good stuff. Despite the rather silly experimental boat Bond commandeers, the explosive chase sequence on the Thames is one of the top highlights of the film. Maria Grazia Cucinotta's nameless assassin is rather captivating despite her limited screen time.
THE THEME SONG AND OPENING TITLES
Garbage's "The World Is Not Enough" is as catchy and cheesy as Bond theme songs get, going as far as working a key line of dialogue into its lyrics. Daniel Kleinman's opening title sequence featuring seductive female figures worked into abstract oil and fire imagery is slick but looks somewhat dated by modern CGI standards.
THE BOND GIRL
Dr. Christmas Jones is one of the worst love interests of the series, having little to no agency and absolutely no chemistry with Bond. She serves more as eye-candy than as a scientist throughout the picture. Even her name seems to be written for a tasteless joke to cap off the film.
THE BOND VILLAIN
The first female primary antagonist of the series, Elektra is actually pretty complex. Abducted by Renard for ransom money before the events of the film, she developed Stockholm Syndrome and a deep hatred for her father and M as her father denied Renard payment following M's guidance. Her scheme to destroy Istanbul to disrupt the only oil pipeline that rivals hers is relatively small-time for a Bond villain but she is the first go after M directly.
FEATURED HENCHMAN
A bit more than a henchman, and more or less a red herring, Renard's most interesting trait is his inability to feel pain courtesy of 009's failed attempt to kill him, lodging a bullet in his Medulla Oblongata. His twisted relationship with Elektra adds a bit more color to his disturbing characterization. Otherwise, he's one of the most run-of-the-mill villains of the series, motivated more by his devotion to Elektra than any grand philosophy.
BEST GADGET
The inflatable ski jacket that saves Bond and Elektra from an avalanche may not be the flashiest gadget ever but it is the most practical zanny gadget of the film.
FLEMING FIDELITY
The title of the film is taken from the Bond family motto introduced in Ian Fleming's tenth James Bond novel On Her Majesty's Secret Service published in 1963.
FRAGMENTS
- The home video release of the film is dedicated to Desmond Llewelyn who passed away soon after the picture was released
- Maria Grazia Cucinotta originally auditioned for the part of Elektra King
- At the top of the end credits, the film advertises that "James Bond Will Return"
