Review of The World Is Not Enough (1999) by Daniel W — 15 Apr 2011

The film opens with a formidable assassin who had recently posed as a banker's secretary... She had given Bond a cigar, before killing her boss in the Swiss banker's office in Bilbao, Spain...

Now, when a bomb blew a hole in MI6's London headquarters, the super spy sped off in the Q boat, ignoring Q's plaintive cry, "Stop" Stop! It isn't finished!" It was Q's fishing boat for his retirement... There's a splendid boat chase along the River Thames between 007 and the stunning Maria Grazia Cucinotta, the "Cigar Girl" - who worked as a barmaid at the village inn in "Il Postino." Bond was eager to capture her for questioning...

When a bomb planted in a briefcase of money killing British oil tycoon Robert King, M was determined to bring the perpetrators to justice... The prime suspect was Renard who had once kidnapped King's daughter, Elektra... M (Judi Dench) believed Elektra was next on Renard's list and 007 was assigned to act as her "shadow" while she supervised the building of an oil pipeline in Azerbaijan... Yet despite his powerful urge to protect her, there was something about this beautiful, cunning, willful woman that aroused his suspicions...

Bond flew to Azerbaijan, where King Industries was building an oil pipeline... Elektra gave 007 a 'cold' reception, taking him up into the snowy peaks to the pass where the two ends of the pipeline would soon meet... It was then that unsocial 'visitors' struck...

Sophie Marceau plays the magnate's daughter Elecktra who had once escaped Renard's clutches all by herself... Her favorite motto: "There's no point in living if you can't feel alive.".

Robert Carlyle plays Renard, the former KGB hit-man who had set up his own organization and demanded fanatical loyalty... He was a murderer, a terrorist, and a kidnapper... His only goal was chaos... Subordinated who failed him killed themselves rather than face his wrath... After Robert King came to see M, she sent 009 to kill Renard... 009 caught up with him and put a bullet in his head...The bullet was now killing off all his senses and was impervious to pain... Renard was determined to pull off one last coup against the West... But his motivations were motivated by blind hatred, or blind love?

Goldie plays Bull, Zukovsky's shifty, gold-toothed bodyguard... He was a menace to his boss and an important Renard spy...

Denise Richards plays Christmas Jones, the sexy atomic scientist overseeing the dismantling of the Kazakhstan nuclear test site... Dr. Jones became an invaluable ally of 007's following Renard's theft of a nuclear bomb...

For "The World Is Not Enough," Q equipped Bond with the faster car 007 had ever been entrusted with: the MBW Z8, armed with a radar-guided missile system...

Robbie Coltrane returns as the duplicitous Russian black marketeer Valentin Zukovsky whose ebony walking gun stick seemed a typically showy affection - but it had its uses...

A final sad note: "The World Is Not Enough," marked the final appearance of the beloved Desmond Llewelyn, who acted from 1964 to 1995, except for "Live and Let Die." A perfect foil to 007's lighthearted nature... Q has been one of the series' most enduring character.