Review of The World Is Not Enough (1999) by Jay R — 01 Dec 2009

Merry Christmas with Bondfreak - Episode 19.

We have reached the end of the millennium for Bond, but it seems the light is starting to dim. With Pierce Brosnan's third outing as Bond there is more than enough action than you can shake a stick at, but the plot is thin, the events are ridiculous and the villain was very unbalanced throughout. Here is how I view this film. The more you think about The World is not Enough, the less likely you are to enjoy it.

The action basically explodes through the extended pre titles sequence. Just when you think its going to cut to the title sequence, it pours more and more on. That boat chase is quite a site because all the stunts in that chase were performed for real with no CGI. Its exhilarating. The mine sequence is ridiculously over the top but it is a lot of fun to watch. The climatic submarine sequence is a bit of an underwhelming end but its enjoyable for what it is. I always like seeing how the villain dies at the end of every film.

There are two girls in this movie. One is played Sophie Marceau from Braveheart. She is drop dead sexy, but soon into the film you find out something about her that Bond isn't exactly cheering about. Her and Bond have a scene that is incredibly awkward and tense at the same time. It was an interesting combination. Then we have Denise Richards as Christmas Jones. This girl just cannot act, I'm sorry. Go see her in Wild Things so that you can enjoy her for what she is really good at. She really brings the film down a lot because she is a Bond girl.

Now we have the villain played greatly by Robert Carlyle of The Full Monty. He was shot in the head and survived and now he feels no pain because the bullet stayed lodged in his head. WHAT!?!?! I'm all for creative villains and interesting characteristics, but this guy gets shot in the head and doesn't die. Wow, I must say a very off putting set up for a villain, its almost so bad its good. However Carlye really takes that characteristic and does some great acting with it which is very difficult to do.

Interesting fact, The World is not Enough is James Bond's family motto as mentioned in On Her Majety's Secret Service. But enough geek talk. One more thing worth mentioning, Desmond Llewelyn the man who plays Q, passed away after this film. He appeared in every single Bond film except Live and Let Die and Dr. No. His scenes with Bond were always classic and may he RIP. You look at this film and go wow that was a lot of stuff. Crazy chases, plot twists and over the top everything. Most of the time is doesn't work, that much is certain. My advice if you are to see this film is to turn your brain off and enjoy yourself like I did. The World is not Enough is one of those films in the Bond franchise that is a brainless exercise of fun. Thumbs up!