The World Is Not Enough (1999)

Director:

Michael Apted

Writers:

Neal Purvis (story) &
Robert Wade (story) ...

Release Date:

19 November 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

Tagline:

Danger Suspense Excitement There must be when he's around

Plot:

James Bond uncovers a nuclear plot when he protects an oil heiress from her former kidnapper, an international terrorist who can't feel pain.

Plot Keywords:

Oil | James Bond | Pipeline | Bullet | Pain

Awards:

6 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Pierce Brosnan	...	James Bond
Sophie Marceau	...	Elektra King
Robert Carlyle	...	Renard
Denise Richards	...	Christmas Jones
Robbie Coltrane	...	Valentin Zukovsky
Judi Dench	...	M
Desmond Llewelyn	...	Q
John Cleese	...	R
Maria Grazia Cucinotta	...	Cigar Girl
Samantha Bond	...	Moneypenny
Michael Kitchen	...	Tanner
Colin Salmon	...	Robinson
Goldie	...	Bull
David Calder	...	Sir Robert King
Serena Scott Thomas	...	Dr. Molly Warmflash

Also Known As:

Bond 19 (USA) (working title)
Bond 2000 (UK) (working title)
Death Waits for No Man (UK) (working title)
Fire and Ice (USA) (working title)
Pressure Point (UK) (working title)
T.W.I.N.E. (UK) (promotional abbreviation)
Twine (International: English title) (promotional abbreviation)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action violence, some sexuality and innuendo.

Runtime:

128 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX | SDDS | DTS-ES

Certification:

Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Alberta) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PG (British Columbia) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | South Korea:12 | Philippines:PG-13 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Finland:K-14 | France:U | Germany:12 (w) | Hong Kong:IIB | Iceland:12 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 | Brazil:12

Filming Locations:

Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage, Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Danjaq

Trivia:

Rugby player Jonah Lomu was originally asked to play Gabor, but he declined.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): It is stated that the bomb traveling in the pipeline is traveling at 70 miles per hour and has to cover a distance of 106 miles. Bond states that this will take 78 minutes. To cover 106 miles at 70 miles per hour would actually take 91 minutes. However, Bond admits in GoldenEye (1995) that he was never good with numbers.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Lachaise: So good of you to come see me, Mr Bond, particularly on such short notice.
James Bond: If you can't trust a Swiss banker, then what's the world come to?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Winning London (2001) (V)

Soundtrack:

The World Is Not Enough

Third time lucky

The first time I saw this in the cinema in '99, I remember actively disliking it - the first time I'd had that reaction to a new Bond release. I saw it a second time at the cinema, and disliked it less - but still wasn't keen. Now, in the dying days of 2002, and quaking with hatred for - and disappointment at - 'Die Another Day', I re-evaluated TWINE for a second time. And I have to say, compared to this year's farce, TWINE is bathed in a golden glow. In terms of character development, plausibility (always tenuous in Bond films, but still), acting, and script, TWINE is far and away and without a shadow of doubt superior to 'Die Another Day'. Above all, this is a Bond film that does occasionally treat its audience like they have brain cells, rather than a ghastly exercise in sci-fi pretensions with MTV production values.

The opening sequence reveals itself to be one of the very best in the series, taut and exciting, flawlessly directed and perfectly executed. There's nothing else in the film that can quite top it, but some inspired casting helps immeasurably. Sophie Marceau is superb, and it's great to see Robbie Coltrane reprise Valentin Zukovsky, who bags many of the best lines. Judy Dench as 'M' is given a high profile in this entry, which is all to the good as she's clearly the best thing to happen to the Bond films in the Brosnan era. Alas, Desmond Llwelyn makes his final appearance as 'Q' - it would be thus even had he not died the following year - and his exit is well-handled.touching, even. On the downside, Robert Carlyle is not quite convincing as Renard, but it barely matters as Marceau is so firmly in control. Denise Richards isn't as bad as she's been made out to be - indeed, she actually seems smarter and less bland than Halle Berry in DAD.

Plot and action sequences throughout the film are deftly handled, but there are some areas where TWINE seems a little derivative, cheerfully looting the Bond back catalogue, for example in the Caucasus skiing sequence which fuses together action setpieces from YOLT and OHMSS. There are also moments of alarming silliness more redolent of the 1970s and '80s, such as the scene with John Cleese making his debut as future-'Q' and all scenes with Goldie in as Bullion. And for those of us who aren't fans of Pierce Brosnan, there's plenty to annoy - excessive jaw-clenching, lots of posing, inherent charmlessness. I'm sure he's lovely in real life, mind.

Generally, though this is a competent entry in the series, and its attempts at depth just about succeed. It is also the most `how'-and-`why'-proof Bond film since the 1960s, a refreshing change from those Bond films that arrogantly command the audience to suspend their beliefs and do all the maths themselves. Quite why it all went wrong three years later is anyone's guess, but I blame 'XXX' and a continuing adoration of 'The Matrix'.