James Bond - The World Is Not Enough (Ultimate Edition 2 Disc Set) [1999]

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Customer reviews

review by: skenn1701a date: 2008-02-14 rating:
Successful twist on the formula of Bond
TWINE is definitely a step up from its predecessor - more plot, more character, more realistic. Scriptwriters Purvis and Wade have brought a much needed dose of fresh thinking to the series, while never taking away from the elements we expect. Indeed, the requisite elements - chases (boat on Thames, on skis, in BMW, etc), Bond girls (two - Denise Richards and Sophie Marceau), Bond music (David Arnold really settling into the position as master of Bond music with a great score) and so on, all are well up to par. Plus a few new notes... Bond is injured for almost the entire movie, and `M' gets out into the field (and proves her mettle) - all great new twists on the formula. Indeed the villain himself comes across less like a two dimensional villain and almost more of a tragic figure in the end.
If there is a minor flaw to this one, it is the direction - workmanlike at best, the director seems to have found himself at the helm of something unstoppable, and hasn't tried to make much in the way of course corrections. Good thing too, as things take a decent route to the end. There are a few wrong turns - Denise Richards is saddled with some of the most exposition heavy dialogue ever, and the finale to what has been a pretty good story is a little bit dud - not least because about ¾ of the dialogue is exposition and not drama. However it's so much fun to be in the company of Brosnan hitting his stride as Bond (- with character touches!) and everyone else clearly enjoying themselves, it's easy to overlook the staginess of a couple of scenes, and forgive the cheesiness of John Cleese's introduction as `Q's successor - made all the more embarrassing by how touching Desmond Llewellyn's departure as `Q' is.
All in all, one of Brosnan's more inventive and enjoyable outings.

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review by: date: 2007-12-08 rating:
Bond back on good form
After the disappointment of Tomorrow Never Days, it perhaps shouldn't have been too surprising that, as per the usual EON pattern of alternating good and bad Bond films, The World is Not Enough turned out rather well. It helps that it has a stronger plot this time round as well as some attempt at an element of mystery - along with For Your Eyes Only this is the only Bond where the identity of the real villain is withheld for the first half of the movie. It's also more character-based than usual, with some interesting dialogue that takes on a different dimension once you know who's on the side of the angels and who isn't. The Maguffin is an oil-based variation on Goldfinger's big scheme, but the execution is very different and rather more grounded. Brosnan has the best character writing of his tenure but isn't always up to it: the moments of ruthlessness convince but he's one of those actors who can't stand still and just be and always has to do something, making him seem somewhat ADDS in some scenes and leads to a couple of strange bits of gurning. Yet it can still lay claim to being his best performance in the role, and the presence of Sophie Marceau and Robert Carlyle helps raise the acting bar enough so that even Denise Richards' hot pant wearing nuclear scientist - in-joke casting at its finest - isn't quite as bad as she's been painted.

There's a slightly schizoid feel to Michael Apted's direction at times seeming a tad uncertain and stylistically very different from Vic Armstrong's action scenes. It's certainly not difficult to tell who shot what, and not just because Armstrong seems better at hiding the significant height difference between Brosnan and Carlyle. While still variable (the opening boat chase has a few too many sight gags and the helicopter/chainsaw sequence doesn't work as well as it should), the action scenes are much better handled this time round and much better integrated into the story. Despite some awful wisecracks, this feels less like an attempt to hang plenty of setpieces on a flimsy plot and more like the action is being dictated by the story. Definitely one of the better modern Bond outings.

There's not much new in the two-disc Ultimate Edition to justify an upgrade though. While the extras from the previous release have been carried over, there's only a Hong Kong press conference and a few deleted and alternate scenes. Of these - including Renard's very unimpressive original entrance, more tomfoolery in Q's lab and a line about madmen in hollowed out volcanoes filled with large breasted women threatening the world with nuclear war ("It only takes one") among them - only a visually striking scene in the abandoned oilfields seems good enough to have kept.

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review by: date: 2007-03-19 rating:
A cut above the regular Bond
1999's The World Is Not Enough pitches James Bond 007 (Pierce Brosnan) into an intensely personal mission, and gives the character more depth and dimension than had been seen in years before.

After being unable to prevent the assassination of a British oil tycoon, James Bond is assigned to protect his daughter, the enigmatic and complex Elektra King, and to draw out and take down the assassin, the ever-dangerous Renard.

Complete with a solid and believable plot, with more realistic action and more than one good plot twist, this is an excellent grown-up Bond. The script and dialogue are well-written, with some outstanding moments, including the farewell to Q and Bond's cold-blooded killing of Elektra. This scene shows how far this woman has gotten under Bond's skin, and offers a brief glimpse into what lies beneath his cold, hardened exterior.

With great action sequences and a compelling story, this is for my money one of the best Bonds of the old order, with only 2006's Casino Royale offering more action, emotion and story. At the end of the day, a far better Bond film than many give it credit for.


review by: TheCasinoRoyale date: 2006-08-04 rating:
"There's No Point Living If You Can't Feel Alive!"
His name is Pierce Brosnan and his number is 007. The James Bond of the 21st Century takes us into the new millennium with plenty of thrills and spills in this 19th entry to the Bond series.

Boasting the most exciting pre-title sequence for decades across the River Thames and the Millennium Dome, 007 is pushed to the limit of his tolerance for the job when protecting a wealthy oil heiress from assassination cause him to re-think his attitude to the mission when the danger hits too close to home.

With sexy and sugary support from the likes of Denise Richards, Sophie Marceau and Robert Caryle, this Bond movie is at times forgettable but always keeps up the pace with the action packed thrills and shocking surprises around every turn.

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