Review of The World Is Not Enough (1999) by Peter N — 09 Nov 2012

This one feels overly long and bloated, going for flair over substance. After the last entry, though, this should come as no surprise. Pierce Brosnan obviously relishes the role of Bond, and it's not really his fault that everything comes out somewhat messily.

Sophie Marceau's role as Elektra King is interesting in that she gives us a memorable Bond girl AND a unique villain, but her performance is countered by Denise Richards' appalling role as a nuclear physicist (I just threw up in my mouth a little).

Renard is a pretty dull villain, which could be blamed on the bullet in his brain, and it seems like the film makers tried to use all the action sequences and stunts to hide a forgettable plot, instead of using them to build on it.

Robbie Coltrane's return to the series is refreshing, and he plays a very different Valentin than he did in GoldenEye. It's also an interesting twist to see the kidnapping of M, which is an element taken from little known continuation Bond novel Colonel Sun, written in 1969 by Kingsley Amis.

It's not an improvement over Tomorrow Never Dies, nor is it any worse. This film is also notable for being the final appearance of the immortal Desmond Llewelyn as gadget-master Q.