The World is Not Enough (1999)

3 out of 4

Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Sophie Marceau, Robert Carlyle, Denise Richards, Robbie Coltrane, Judi Dench, Desmond Llewelyn, John Cleese

Director: Michael Apted

Time: 128 mins

The World is Not Enough is Pierce Brosnan's third outing as secret agent James Bond, following Goldeneye and Tomorrow Never Dies. Having revived the ailing franchise after the less than stellar returns of Licence to Kill in 1989, MGM is seeking to continue the success of the previous 2 films with the proven formula of Bond, girls, gadgets, spectacular action, and great puns. The World is Not Enough, while not the best Bond, contains enough of each element to satisfy the purists and win new fans.

The film starts with the traditional Bond pre-title action sequence. However, unlike most previous openings that have nothing to do with the main plot, The World is Not Enough's appetiser is central to the story. Sir Robert King, one of M's (Judi Dench) friends, is assassinated inside MI6 headquarters. Bond pursues the assassin in a speedboat on the Thames, on narrow London streets, and even underwater! This is one of the best Bond openings in a long time, featuring some spectacular stunts with the speedboat. Not only that, but it is actually filmed in London, a location that has been underused for Bond films.

Following Sir Robert's funeral, Bond takes it upon himself to be a bodyguard, of sorts, to Sir Robert's daughter, Elektra (Braveheart's Marceau). He eventually discovers the person behind the assassination: Renard (Carlyle, from The Full Monty), a man who feels no pain because a bullet lodged in his head has deadened his senses. Bond also reunites with an old friend, Valentin Zukovsky (Coltrane, reprising his role from Goldeneye), and learns of Renard's plan to create a nuclear meltdown near Istanbul. Bond, of course, has to stop him, and he enlists the help of Zukovsky and Dr Christmas Jones (one of the most exotically named Bond girls, behind the likes of Pussy Galore, Holly Goodhead, and Xenia Onatopp), a nuclear physicist.

The first half of The World is Not Enough is better than the second, if only for the speedboat chase and the subsequent pursuit on skis. The gunfights in the second stanza are all quite standard, rarely generating any excitement. I love the Bond films that have astonishing chase sequences. Who can forget the spectacular snow scenes in On Her Majesty's Secret Service and For Your Eyes Only? Outrageous action (preferably in a suitably equipped vehicle from Q-branch) is what distinguishes the Bond series from other action fare. Once Bond gets involved in a gunfight, the gasp potential is just not there. The plot also seemed to be developing in a different way to most Bond films in the first half, with no megalomaniac intent on holding the world to ransom. But, alas, as the film eventually turns out, this is not the case. While understanding that formulae must be adhered to, it would be refreshing to occasionally see a storyline that does not involve global peril or domination (though this approach in Licence to Kill, while not the sole reason, almost killed off the series!).

Brosnan is growing nicely into his role as Bond, alternately cool and ruthless one moment and uttering some of the most outrageous and politically incorrect puns the next. A Bond film wouldn't be a Bond film without a bevy of gorgeous females, and in The World is Not Enough we have 2 of the most glamorous: Marceau (who can actually act) and Richards (who actually can't) as Dr Jones. Marceau brings a touch of class to her role, but Richards is nothing more than scenery and being the subject of Bond's quips. Dench has a larger role this time as M, and even becomes involved in the adventure midway through the film, rather than being desk-bound like the earlier male Ms were. Q (Llewelyn, the only constant through most of the series) is back, and introduces his replacement, R (what else??), played by John Cleese of Monty Python fame. This transition is handled seamlessly. I can actually picture Cleese stamping his own personality on the role of the gadget man, and look forward to seeing more of him in upcoming episodes.

One disappointing trend in recent Bond films has been the lack of formidable henchmen, and the lacklustre climaxes. What has happened to foes like Jaws, and Oddjob? What about the gigantic sets (Fort Knox in Goldfinger, the volcanic interior in You Only Live Twice, the submarine and sea platform in The Spy Who Loved Me, and the space station in Moonraker)? And the massive confrontation between scores of Bond's men and scores of the enemy's men (again, see the above, plus Thunderball)? Occasionally there will be a spectacular climax that doesn't involve huge sets or hundreds of people, as in the superb tanker chase at the end of Licence to Kill, but the finales of Tomorrow Never Dies and The World is Not Enough have not been up to the usual standards. I suppose I'm trying to have my cake and eat it, too, calling for changes in storyline but wanting the exciting denouements of old. The climax, however, is supposed to be the high point of the film, rather than a simple hand-to-hand fight with the enemy.

In the end, The World is Not Enough is quite a good entry in the pantheon of James Bond films. Director Apted (the 7 Up series) shows he is as adept at action films as he is at documentaries. While not in the same class as Goldfinger and From Russia with Love, it stands up well in the next echelon. Go see it for Brosnan, the girls, the chases, and the puns.

(c) Joe Wong