The World is Not Enough
The World is Not Enough
Director: Michael Apted
Producers: Barbara Broccoli; Nigel Goldsack (associate); Anthony Waye (line); Michael G. Wilson
Writers: Neal Purvis (story), Robert Wade (story); Neal Purvis (screenplay) & Robert Wade (screenplay) and Bruce Feirstein (screenplay)
Title Song: Written by David Arnold and Don Black and Sung by Garbage
Opening Action Sequence: Sent to Bilbao, Spain to retrieve stolen reports and money for oil tycoon Robert King, 007 makes a daring escape from a Swiss bank in pursuit of a dangerous female assassin. Bond loses the woman but is able to bring the money and documents to MI6 headquarters in London.
After returning the items to King, 007 realizes that the money was a deadly trap for the tycoon. But by the time Bond determines this it's too late; King is killed in an explosion that blows a hole in the wall of MI6. After the explosion, Bond spots the same woman that he confronted in Spain. He chases her down the Thames in a gadget-filled boat, then grabs onto the hot air balloon in which the woman tries to escape. Before 007 can interrogate her, the woman shoots the balloon's fuel tank, killing herself and sending Bond on a long fall before he lands on the Millennium Dome.
Bond Visits: Bilbao, Spain; London, England; Scotland; Baku, Azerbaijan; Kazakhstan; Istanbul, Turkey
Film Gross: $126,930,000--United States
Plot Summary: After a dangerous terrorist named Renard (Robert
Carlyle) is proven to be at large, British secret agent James Bond (Pierce
Brosnan) is assigned to protect the woman believed to be his next target,
Elektra King (Sophie Marceau). King, the daughter of a wealthy oil
tycoon, was kidnapped and held for ransom by Renard many years ago. She
managed to escape Renard in the original kidnapping case, during which Renard
received a bullet in the brain, courtesy of Agent 009. The bullet is
slowly killing Renard, but has also left him impervious to pain, making him
an imposing adversary for Bond.
As Bond unravels Renard's motives, he joins forces with nuclear physicist
Dr. Christmas Jones (Denise Richards) and ex-KGB agent Valentin Zukovsky
(Robbie Coltrane). With the future of the world's oil supply hanging
in the balance, Bond pieces together solutions to a mystery that gradually
becomes larger than he'd anticipated.
Review: The World is Not Enough is that kind of Bond
movie that just doesn't seem comfortable in its own skin. It has brief
moments of brilliance and inspiration where the humor and nostalgia of early
Bond films are evident. Take, for example, the way 007 coolly dispatches
a thug at a casino and still pauses a few seconds to finish his drink. Or
watch a great scene in which Bond quickly and efficiently murders a man in
order to steal his identity. This is the James Bond we all know and
love. It's during these types of moments when fans feel an adrenilyne
rush priming them for the next classic moment. Unfortunately, The
World is Not Enough is generally unable to sustain the thrill we have
come to expect from the best of the Bond films. This entry's strengths
lie in its efforts to bring a more human element to James Bond and to those
with whom he interacts, and in that respect it succeeds admirably.
The film's shaky confidence could be attributed to the choice of director.
Michael Apted (known and respected for documentaries and dramas) has
a subtle touch for the movie's dramatic moments but generally not for its
fast-paced scenes. In short, he's great with actors but not with action.
As a result of this, scenes between 007 and Elektra are often remarkable,
especially in terms of a Bond film, and there is quite a bit
of passion
and punch whenever exposition is shared among characters. On the other
hand, many of the films action sequences (the ski chase serves as a prime
example) are almost slow and methodical. There are plenty of flames,
explosions, and nameless thugs being blown to bits, but there isn't
a strong enough sense of peril and urgency.
As I've said in some of my earlier reviews, the best Bond films have villains who are not only maniacal but also seem nearly impossible to defeat. In this case, the obligatory madman is immune to pain and is psychotic, a combination which would have made for a wonderful enemy if only these elements had been emphasized more within the progression of the story. Renard's lack of senses seems like a fantastic gimmick but is almost never addressed in a menacing way. When Bond grapples with Renard in the film's final fight sequence, Renard's invulnerability is never an issue.
Thankfully, though, the film offers up a second adversary who is unlike any Bond has faced before. The plot's twists and turns eventually unveil some surprises, and before long it's likely you'll forget about Renard's shortcomings.
In spite of its faults, The World is Not Enough kicks off with one of the best opening action sequences in the history of the series. In it Bond engages in close combat, bungee jumps from an office window, speeds across the Thames in a boat and hangs from a high-flying hot air balloon. All of that leaves the rest of the film with some formidable shoes to fill, which may explain why many of the following scenes seem so lackluster.
One scene which definitely delivers, however, is the requisite "Bond is placed in an impossible situation and undergoes an unusual form of torture" sequence. The manner in which The World is Not Enough handles this part of the formula is inspired because, unlike in most of the films, the villain never leaves the room or turns away while Bond is being tortured. This scene is well-crafted, well-acted, unpredictable and suspenseful. Had the rest of the movie been able to sustain the kind of sensation which this sequence creates, this installment in the series would be a sure-fire winner.
Some other brief but notable touches in the film are the passing of the torch between Q and his replacement (John Cleese), and the kidnapping of M. These two avenues of the film make good attempts at stretching the dramatic capabilities of a Bond movie.
But as it stands, The World is Not Enough, despite primarily solid performances and some great moments, lacks the juice required to send Bond fans away singing the Bond theme. Too many of the action sequences are static, and not even a nifty plot twist can compensate for that.
Grade: C
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