Review Of “The World Is Not Enough”

January 4, 2007 @ 7:39 am by Pressed

Bond: Pierce Brosnan
Produced by: Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli
Directed by: Michael Apted
Date Released: 1999
Budget: $30 Million

This is the ninteenth movie in the official James Bond 007 series, but is not a movie based off of any of Ian Flemmings books. The World is not Enough is the second movie featuring Pierce Brosnan and in my personal opinion it is the best one out of the four that Pierce starred in. This was the most successful release of a James Bond film ever.
Plot: As it was from the beginning, Bond films tend to parrallel our own world. The movie is based off of the greatest oil discovery in the 20th century. There were massive oil reserves found beneath the Caspian Sea, which had to be pumped through piplines. The Western and Eastern nations fought over which direction it should be pumped. This is the basic plot of The World Is Not Enough.

Some of my favorite scenes include the 15 minute opening boat chase scene. The boat jumps, flips, and slides through streets being chased by police cars. I also love the opening scene where he leaps from the window using one of the bad guys as an anchor. In this movie Bond is back to his normal womanizing self, having his way with several different women.

Another great part is the introduction of one of my favorite actors, John Cleese, playing Q’s apprentice who is named R sarcastically by Bond. Desmond Llewelyn (in the left picture) played M16’s Q (Quartermaster) for the 16th and final time in this movie. Sadly he was killed in an automobile accident in December of 1999 at the age of 85. He was a part of the Bond series for 35 years. He was an excellent actor and was perfect for the role of Q. I’ve missed him in the new Bond films.
Review: Ok, I guess I’ll go ahead and admit it. This is one of my favorite Bond movies. It’s action packed, they took it easy on the cheese, and it was typical of many of the older Bond films which was rather refreshing. Even when the movie starts to slow down in the middle, they plop in a well needed snow ski chase scene that breaks up the bore. Really the only downside was the car. The sexy BMW given to Bond by Q had a very short lifespan. No cool chase scene, just a couple minutes of use before it is destroyed.

The way the storyline works in the movie is quite interesting as well. The first half of the movie you believe one thing while in the second half you believe something completely different. This makes it feel like your watching two different 007 movies when it switches in the middle. The plot remains the same, but everything else seems to change.

Rating: A

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