Really Surprised!

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

As a mystery, "The World is Not Enough" is one of the best movies based on Ian Fleming's Agent 007 of England's Secret Intelligence Service, or MI6. This film has plenty of intrigue that the audience isn't aware even exists in the first third of the film. About midway, one begins to suspect that there's something not yet known about the bad guys. And the last one quarter to one third brings the mystery out into the light. This is one heck of a James Bond Thriller. There are a number of unusual aspects in this film. More than the usual amount of scenarios take place outside of the glamour and glitter of big cities, fancy digs and party places. Filming locations included Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Spain, France, England, Wales, Scotland and the Bahamas. And, true to the form of the James Bond series, some new and different source of mayhem are introduced in "Tomorrow Never Dies." The most gruesome of these is a helicopter tree saw. It's more ferocious than any pictures I've seen of such equipment. I don't know where modern writers come up with these ideas, but I doubt that Ian Fleming would have written about such a "weapon" in his mid-20th century novels. John Cleese joins the Bond "family," introduced as "R," to be the eventual successor to "Q." The aging Q has been played for several films by Desmond Llewelyn, who was 85 years old when this film was made. He died the same year. Cleese, of course, is no spring chicken, coming on board at age 60. But one can see a different comedy wrinkle he can add, continuing on as the new "Q."I marked this for possible spoilers just for tipping folks off that there's more intrigue about who the real culprit is in this film. But, I won't divulge who or what happens in the plot. Here are some favorite lines in this film. Q, "Now pay attention double O seven. I've always tried to teach you two things. First, never let them see you bleed." James Bond, "And the second?" "Always have an escape plan." He slowly descends. Elektra King, "There's no point in living if you can't feel alive."M, "If there's even the slightest chance, Bond will survive. He's the best we have... though I'd never tell him."Dr. Christmas Jones, "Do you wanna put that in English for the rest of us who don't speak 'spy?'"

Pierce Brosnan continues his impressive run as James Bond, and his performance makes this movie. Overall, it's more of the same with action, gadgets, and lovely women. The woman he's after is accused by Bond of suffering from Stockholm Syndrome. The chase scenes were well done,and the dialogue is first rate. If you're curious about Brosnan as Bond, you will like this.

Movie Review: "007: The World Is Not Enough" (1999)Producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson retreat to the classic "007" machinery with a late 1990s winter release, starring Pierce Brosnan for the third time with the "Licence To Kill", portraying the legendary MI6-spy with drive, wits and cold-blooded executions if necessary in another original screenplay by Bruce Feirstein, who gets succeeded by screenwriter duo Robert Wade & Neal Purvis. Together they manufacture on over two hour long action movie that contains major reprising scenarios from "007" history as an attack from the air with machine gun and grenades in a downhill skiing adventure, where Bond engages the leading actress Sophie Marceau, perfoming as the double-crossing Elektra King, who inherited an Oil empire from her deceased father, making fatal encounters along the way with shady business deals at casino gambling tables under instructions of a "GoldenEye" recurring character of Valentin Zukovsky, given face by actor Robbie Coltrane, who's character has his own way of dealing with "007" over a mutual drink in steamy offices."The World Is Not Enough" directed by competent as veternary Michael Apted, who navigates the visual image system executed by cinematographer Adrian Biddle (1952-2005) in a non-risky, more traditional fashion, making this Bond movie fair motion picture entertainment with minor surprises mostly achieved by the well-written twisting relationship between Elektra King and James Bond, who nevertheless takes his time to have the usual "Q" for quartermaster MI6-meetings with the final appearance of lifetime-achieving actor Desmond Llewelyn (1914-1999) who states with concluding words "Always have an escape plan at hand, 007". A statement that will follow the master spy / assassin to a tough decending-submarine confrontation with a no-pain-feeling Bond nemesis character in shapes of a menacing man called Renard, portrayed by actor Robert Carlyle, as further inclusion of last minute escape from an interior mine explosion, meeting love-spreading scientist Dr. Christmas Jones, performed by action-engaging actress Denise Richards, when Bond & Jones need to dismantle another timebomb in an highlighted highspeed pimpline chase scene.What is left of "Bond 19" in retrospective in reminiscence to Zeitgeist-confronting motion pictures as "The Matrix" and "Fight Club" directed by David Fincher out the same year of 1999, comes the wish to find exceeding production design measures, a leaner editorial in order to do one of the best mission briefings in "007" history justice, featuring iron-lady "M" portrayed by another fulminate performance by Dame Judi Dench with a beautifully captured balance between an audience-promising nemesis exposure, a thrilling plot dialogue and Bond's light-hearted medical exam statement as dessert. © 2017 Felix Alexander Dausend (Cinemajesty Entertainments LLC)

After two previous Bond outings, Pierce Brosnan was able to hone in his Bond persona and turn in perhaps his best overall performance as the British spy in "The World Is Not Enough". Sadly, after an incredible "first act", the second half of the film drags it down almost two whole stars.For a basic plot summary, "World" sees Bond (Brosnan) up against the Russian baddie Renard (Robert Carlyle) for control over a key oil pipeline. Along the way, Bond runs into a few beauties (Sophie Marceau & Denise Richards), gets his orders from M (Judi Dench), and receives the gadgets from Q (Desmond Llewelyn).The first half of the film is some of the best Bond action ever. Brosnan is incredibly slick, his chemistry with Marceau is palpable, and the action is full-throttle without being over-the-top. Basically, Bond is firing on all cylinders.However, when Renard is introduced (and proves to be nothing ever close to menacing) this film takes a sharp nosedive. Only adding to the misery is the terrible acting from Richards. I know that Bond girls are usually "seen but not heard", so to speak, but I think one can say that Richards is the worst of the worst by quite a large margin.Overall, "The World Is Not Enough" is a very fun Bond outing until it nosedives about halfway through. My exact rating would be 3.5 stars, but I'll give it the benefit of the doubt because of how much fun I had in the first half.