The World Is Not Enough
The World Is Not Enough was the third film to star Pierce Brosnan in the role of Bond and it came out in 1999. It got a mixed reception from the critics and it often pops up on lists of the worst Bond films ever and yet it took over $360 million at the box office worldwide making it one of the most commercially successful releases in the series.
The film featured a pretty confusing plot which kicked off with the assassination of British oil tycoon Sir Robert King. Bond investigates and runs into a terrorist called Renard (Robert Carlyle) who is immune to pain because of a bullet lodged in his brain. Bond tries to protect King’s daughter, Elektra (Sophie Marceau) when they are attacked in Azerbaijan. He then poses as a nuclear scientist in Kazakhstan where he meets Dr. Christmas Jones (Denise Richards). There’s an oil pipeline attack, a mysterious meeting in Istanbul, an assault on a caviar factory and a battle for stolen plutonium which ends on a submarine. There’s also a former KGB agent called Zukovsky (Robbie Coltrane) in the mix.
It is actually a pretty action packed thriller with lots of comic touches and typical Bond double entendres. Michael Apted was the man in the director’s chair for this outing and though many considered him a strange choice he did a good job. The film also features a great villain in Robert Carlyle and Sophie Marceau makes a classy Bond girl. So what is the problem? Well for the most part it is Dr. Christmas Jones played by the distinctly trashy Denise Richards. The stupid character name is nothing new for Bond films but a nuclear physicist wearing a tight boob tube and hot pants was a step too far. She is really awful in the part and won a Razzie for Worst Supporting Actress.
The film features the usual array of exotic locations and chase sequences including an opening pursuit down the Thames which ends at the Millennium Dome. Brosnan is clearly settled into the role for this outing and he makes a decent Bond even if he is a little too sensitive for some fan’s tastes. This is also the last Bond film to feature Desmond Llewelyn as Q the gadget man and he actually died in real life shortly after this was made. In the film he hands the reigns over to John Cleese who is called R.
For me this is far from the worst Bond film, it isn’t even the worst Bond film starring Brosnan, although it certainly doesn’t make the top ten either. It could have actually been very different, the producers tried to get Joe Dante and then Peter Jackson to direct before Michael Apted got the job. According to reports the studio also wanted Sharon Stone to play Elektra. Imagine that, Denise Richards and Sharon Stone, that would have been the worst Bond girl combo ever.
The World Is Not Enough is far from a classic but it is a reasonably entertaining Bond adventure.
