Review: The World Is Not Enough (1999)

Director: Michael Apted | 128 minutes | action, thriller | Actors: Pierce Brosnan, Sophie Marceau, Robert Carlyle, Denise Richards, Robbie Coltrane, Judi Dench, Desmond Llewelyn, John Cleese, Maria Grazia Cucinotta, Samantha Bond, Michael Kitchen, Colin Salmon, Goldie, David Calder, Serena Scott Thomas, Ulrich Thomsen , John Seru, Claude-Oliver Rudolph, Patrick Malahide, Omid Djalili, Jeff Nuttall, Diran Meghreblian, John Albasiny, Patrick Romer, Jimmy Roussounis, Justus von Dohnanyi, Hassani Shapi,, Carl McCrystal, Martyn Lewis, Kourosh Asad, Daisy Beaumont, Nina Muschallik, Daz Crawford, Peter Mehtab

With the brief reign of serious Timothy Dalton as 007, the communist world, beloved theater of Bond creator Ian Fleming, also collapsed. Since the fall of the Iron Curtain, wrinkle-free tuxedo charm Pierce Brosnan has had to do the work in a fragmented world of oil tycoons, terrorists and private atomic bombers. In “The World is not Enough”, his third Bond film, Brosnan battles people from the above destiny, resulting in trigger-happy scenes at nineties tempo, but without a big story. The threat is vague, unfocused and varies in severity; the British secret service MI6 also appears to be a target-seeking organization after the Cold War. Throughout the movie, intelligence wrestles with the question of who is good or bad and who should shoot 007, while you read the doubt in his eyes. Sometimes he does it with a regular gun on a helicopter; sometimes with a missile from a remote controlled BMW; always according to the Bond formula, but rarely is it controversial. “Q isn’t gonna like this,” 007 moans when his BMW is cut in half by a circular saw. We know them now, James …

He can still sleep with ladies frequently and that has been outsourced to Brosnan. The stylish Sophie Marceau is one of the better Bond girls; especially since she is not. In the role of Elektra King, she is a real opponent for the dramatically and comically limited Brosnan. The chewed dents in the machismo don’t work here, just like in the earlier Brosnan-Bonds; the one-liners sound too much memorized. As a nuclear scientist in hot pants, Denise Richards is really below par. The villain does better; Robert Carlyle is a pretty disturbing villain, which makes you really going to give Bond the victory.

The classic Bond seems to have died a soft death with Timothy Dalton’s perestroika. “The World is Not Enough” is a beautifully designed action film that is quite enjoyable due to the many stage changes and good supporting roles – although there are many, including Robbie Coltrane and Goldie, but it is not enough for a memorable Bond. Most worrying is the fact that the creators are not up to date with the reality of the espionage. No secret service will ever let her director travel to a dangerous front area, to have her kidnapped and then left to fate, of course to be dismayed again by the one and only 007. It would have helped a lot if he did with Elektra the viewers had kissed goodbye, instead of Christmas (Richards). “The World Is Not Enough” is entertainment for Bond aspirants.