The World Is Not Enough

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Summary: James Bond is just for you!
Review: This is one of the best James Bond movies ever! I think you should buy this (if you have a DVD player or a computer that has a DVD drive)!

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Summary: Then and Now
Review: Do you know what the difference is between the early James Bond movies and the ones they make now? The answer is class. Sean Connery brought James Bond to the screen with his undifiable charm and elegence, which is what made him so appealing to audiences.

However, what I missed most in 'The World is not enough' is the eloquence and sophistication in the script. It is just another action movie. There is nothing, which made it stand out, as the Sean Connery Bond movies had. Every time I watch 'Dr. No' I relish the scene between Bond and Dr. No himslef, which are full of witty dialogue between the characters.

I think Pierce Brosnan is a good actor, but is not convincing as James Bond. 'The world is not enough' is not worth watching. And what were they thinking when they made the villian invincible? A bullit is lodged in his head? Come on.. at least the villains Sean Connery were up against were exotic, but not unbelievable. Robert Carlyle gave a very convincing prefomrance as the menaced villain and so did Sophia Marceau, whereas Denise Richards better go to acting school before attempting to make any more movies. It is also very depressing to see so many cold-blooded murders, many commited by Bond. Why did M get involved? She is M, the boss, she gives bond his assignment with a few enjoyable sarcastic remarks, and that is it. She has no friends, and would never go out into 'the field'. Bernard Lee's in the early Bond films, was just that - stone faced, direct and perhaps a martinet. That is what we want M to be. Someone morally above Bond, who is wiser and not as naive as to go out into the field with Bond.

This movie is not James Bond, but just another action movie. If you want to see a BOND movie go and buy 'Dr. No' or 'From Russia with Love', where Bond relies on his sharp wits and cleverness to defeat his adversary with unmistakable charm.

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Summary: It's Bond, it's action, it's fun
Review: What can I say that has not been repeated hundreds of times? This is a formula Bond movie. It has all the toys and witticisms that make it Bond. You may have to get over Denise Richards' stereotype as the bug lady from "Starship Troopers" (1997) ASIN: 0767802659. Good use of Judi Dench as M. I will always think of the real thing looking like her. Anyway the movie has all the twists and turns necessary to keep you guessing until the end.

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Summary: This World Is More Than Enough!
Review: It's almost the 21st century and this is the final Bond film of the 20th century. Pierce Brosnan ("Grey Owl", "GoldenEye", "Tomorrow Never Dies", "Mrs. Doubtfire", "The Tailor of Panama") reprises his role as Bond, James Bond for the third time and he is better then ever. In the 19th bond film, the cast is back and also gets better than ever. The story starts off with Bond rescuing a suitcase of money and then finds out that he is in the chase of his life trying to avenge a friend's death and stop a man from a nuclear war! 'M' (Dame Judi Dench, "Mrs. Brown", "Chocolat") informs Bond of what he's dealing with and wants to know the details of how her friend, Mr. Robert King died. Mr. King owns an oil company and his daughter, Elektra King (Sophie Marceau, "Lost and Found") inherits it. Bond now must protect her from death also. Renard (Robert Carlyle, "The Full Monty", "The Beach") is the villain who can't feel pain or pleasure because of a bullet in his brain. Because of this condition, he is basically unstoppable and a worthy adversary for 007. When Bond's adventure continues, he meets the lovely Dr. Christmas Jones (Denise Richards, "Tail Lights Fade", "Drop Dead Gorgeous", "Valentine"), a nuclear physicist. Renard gets hold of a nuclear warhead and plans for the worst. This is the best Bond yet with great effects, a wonderful cast, a more than great director (Michael Apted "Gorillas In The Mist"), and a very well-written script. Also, there are several plot twists in which you'll be hanging on to your seat, Robbie Coltrane reprises his role as Valentine Zukovsky. John Cleese ("Monty Python", "Rat Race") is added to the cast as 'R', 'Q's (Desmond Llewellyn, "Tomorrow Never Dies") replacement. This was Llewellyn's final film as 'Q' and his final film. He will always be remebered as the only 'Q' who starred in 17 of the 19 Bond films. Also, a great opening song by Garbage who added a little spice to the opening credit songs ofthe Bond films. But wait, wheres Jack Wade (Joe Don Baker, "Mars Attacks!")? Get ready, the world is coming to you!!!

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Summary: The World is Definitely Enough
Review: What makes a good film? Without a doubt, it must have a good plot, a capable director and good actors.

What makes an excellent film? The inclusion of the above into a good script, great special effects and a good soundtrack.

When I first saw TWINE at the cinema, I thought it was a good film but nothing special. Later, when I got the DVD, I contrasted it to the other Bond films and realised just how good it was:

TWINE has one of the more realistic plots. I thought the plot in Moonraker was absurd, for example. I think that when super-villians plan to blow up the world that [just-possibly] they are going too far. Instanbul, the target in TWINE, is not a huge target (like London in GoldenEye), and while important, as highlighted in the Film, would not cause global economic breakdown in quite the same way. By the way, I thought it was excellent, the way M was brought into the fray along with the fact the Bond girl is a true villian.

Michael Apted is a great director who knows how to keep an audience on the edge of their seats. The action sequences were superb, some of the best, and least ridiculous that we have seen in Bond films. I liked the idea of the helicopters with the circular blades, particularly because they were introduced earlier in the film at the pipeline cutting down trees. All too often in films, you see machines specially designed for killing and they have no other purpose. The helicopters were everyday machines that were sent to the caviar factory with the intent of killing Bond.

A special mention must be made about the boat chase. On the DVD, there are documentaries about the making of this. Apparently it took 6 weeks to shoot the 10 minute pre-title sequence (I think the longest in Bond history, so far) and it is worth every hour that was spent on producing it. It doesn't have too many silly bits (but this of course is what makes a Bond film, as long as they're not TOO silly) and yet is extremely exciting.

The music in the film was written and produced by David Arnold (Godzilla and Tomorrow Never Dies). One of the great things about him is his ability to use the orchestra well. Although the soundtrack is by no means John Williams (Star Wars, ET and Superman), it isn't supposed to be, because Arnold throws synthesizers and ethnic beats into the works as well. At first, the soundtrack seemed disjointed and I thought there were too many synthesized parts, but now I have changed my mind. Soundtracks are written to compliment the film not to listen to exclusively. Arnold manages to keep the on-screen tension extremely high during the action scenes and this is demonstrated superbly by the opening boat chase.

Pierce Brosnan, for me, is definitely up there with the "definitive" Bond (Connery). Brosnan's smooth, suave and caring Bond is more 3-dimensional than Moore and Dalton, not to mention Lazenby. Although this maybe is taken too far in the film in places (straightening tie while boat is diving under barrier near the beginning), it is great fun to watch. The three films with Brosnan rival Connery's From Russia with Love, GoldFinger and You Only Live Twice. I think these are the best 6 films in the whole Bond series. Some of the other films are more fun, but these are the most substantial.

It is commonly agreed among Bond fans, that On Her Majesty's Secret Service possibly would be the absolute King of Bond films if Connery had played the part the part of Bond (George Lazenby). This film has everything EXCEPT Bond. One thing I particularly liked about TWINE is the intricate plot that not too many of the Bond films have. I hope that this is a nod to OHMSS and that more Bond films might have plots this good.

In conclusion, superb film. Great Bond film.

By the way, I wonder if anyone agrees with me that it would be good to see Bond pre-mission at some point. Bond is an agent who must need to be constantly working when he is not on a mission. He would need to practise firearm skills, keep fit, practise languages (other than in bed - TND). In real life (sorry to keep harking back to it) Bond would be on a mission once or twice a year and would be working hard on skills all the rest of the time, as highlighted in the books.

Thanks for reading

Rating:
Summary: TOO MUCH DRAMA
Review: Remember when Roger Moore would blurt out a smart unexpected remark in the middle of an awkward situation? Like the time he shot a sniper when he was out hunting birds with the villian Drax in "Moonraker", -" you missed, Mr. Bond..."- then we see the sniper fall down from the tree- "did I..."- said Moore. Those times are lost forever, it seems, since now, sarcasm has taken over. The world is not enough tried to bend the formula towards a dramatic plot which would let the characters - usually stereotypes- to be more three dimensional. Instead we get a too long, too predictable movie and by the number scenes. I mean , you just have to look at your watch, and say - 10 minutes have gone by speaking, so the action scene is around the corner. I like the Bond movies, specially the ones with Roger Moore, who for me is the definitive Bond- not Connery. May be, the producers should have guest directors in the franchise like Tarantino- start the movie with the ending, and work your way back- or Tawyker (directed Run Lola Run) having a different character always on the move, keeping people's path crossing over... What about Robert Rodriguez? He can make a heck of an action movie with a few dollars, and make it look visually satisfying. Michael Apted -who directed this film- has directed other Bond films-better ones- and it seems when you are too close to something, you loose focus. We know the plots are usually silly, and there isn't much room for drama, but that's ok, we watch because we like the gadgets, the villians headquartes, and schemes-how smart are they-, the action sequences, the -now Bond is trapped how is he goin to escape scene, the beautiful women, the cool cars, the funny remarks... That's what we like. If we want drama we rent Steel Magnolias or Othello. Bond should be just fun, adventure, action, and overall , quick pacing- I got bored with The World Is not Enough- This is the worst Bond movie yet, I'm sure many Bond fans will agree. Pierce has so many scenes with Sophie Marceau, that I thought I was watching a soap opera. The world is 25,000 miles at the equator, and somehow Bond keeps goin back to wherever Elektra is. The Villian - Carlyle-from the Full Monty- could have been more interesting had he been shown interacting more with others, but he's established as very strong-physically- and bitter, and that's all. Gert Frobe's Auric Golfinger was an interesting character, who did not like to lose, ever, and was straight foward- in the scene where Connery is about to be sliced with the laser, he says to Auric-"Do you expect me to talk?" Auric's reply is memorable- "No Mr. Bond... I expect you to die...". You don't get this type of dialogue now. May be the producers need to look at the prior films to gather the elements that made each movie , in it's own time, so good to watch. A Bond film should not be self aware, leave that to "Scream" and "Scary Movie". Bond films used to have a finesse, or class that no other movies had, it presented a world of fantasy, a world of original characters that you did not see in other movies, doing things you didn't see in other movies. If Bond is goin to get as sarcastic as Denis Leary or as critical as Howard Stern, then he would be like everyone else. Just throw the tuxedo on Andrew Dice Clay. May be Ms. Broccoli is considering goin back to basics with Bond, which seems to the majority, to be the best course of action. The ending has no punch, like the whole movie. It's weird, but this movie is like a bad remake - by people not affiliated with the franchise-of a Bond film. I hope the next one in the series will be very good, because, you just can't top the mediocrity on this one.

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Summary: Bond Dazzels Once again in this Spectacular movie
Review: Once again, James Bond dazzels in this one-of-a-kind action thriller. As Bond embarks once more on a dangerous mission to protect an oil hairess, he must battle evil forces in this incredible movie, but there's just one little twist to it...

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Summary: Brosnan is 007 now---get used to him
Review: Throughout most of Roger Moore's tenure as James Bond, all we heard was how he fell short of Sean Connery's greatness. If you don't count the sidestream "Never Say Never Again", Moore actually did one more Bond than Connery. Some "pinch hitter", huh. When Timothy Dalton took over, he wasn't around long enough for viewers to either get get used to him or come up with enough ways in which he didn't cut the mustard--less fool he. Then when Brosnan slipped into the role in "Goldeneye", all we heard was how "slight" he was (??). The truth of the matter is that each of the three "lifers" has put his own stamp on the role that is very consistent with James Bond as created by Fleming. Connery was the macho Scotsman, tough as nails and no pretensions--the Bond who was very much the man who turned down knighthood in the book version of "You Only Live Twice" by sending M a wire that began "I am a Scottish peasant...". Moore gave the role the urbane aspect that I think Cary Crant would have (did you know that he was on the short list before they found Connery?). But throughout Fleming's books, the Bond character has had a hot temper that has alternately stood him in good stead and gotten his tail in a wringer. Brosnan exhibits that Bond when the villan Renard taunts him with the fact that he slept with Elektra King before he did. BAM! Enraged, Bond decks him with one shot to the jaw. George Lazenby, another pinch hitter in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", wisecracked in an early scene; "This never happened to the other fellow." After three films, I think it's time we all put the other fellow(s) in proper context and knock off raking this fellow over the coals for not being them.

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Summary: Christmas Jones
Review: Christmas Jones (Denise Richards) ,could this actress have been a bigger moron? Why didn't they jusy hire a cardboard cutout?And what a formulaic assembly of Bond cliches. Good extras on the DVD, though. Gives it an extra star.

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Summary: Brosnan's 3rd 007 Falls Way Short of the Mark
Review: After two spectacular outings as Bond, Brosnan and co. finally produce a clunker. A gargantuan yawn-machine filled with awful dialogue and clumsy plot points, this one sits in the Bond series cellar with "Diamonds are Forever" and "Live and Let Die."

This film just implodes with too much dull, cliched plotting. The entire film is one long set up, where every character must make another startling revelation that steers the plot into another unneeded direction. In fact, plot details are still developing during the ludicrous climax, which involves M being captured by the villains. The film also loses that careful balance of humor, action, and gadgets, which renders the "serious" scenes silly and contrived. Then there's the action scenes, which are technically impressive but are so long that they failed to hold my attention.

There are two things that worked well, for me at least. I found Denise Richards to be surprisingly fun and energetic, probably the only person having any fun in the movie. She added some spark to otherwise dull and overblown action sequences. I also really liked the opening action scene on the River Thames. Ultimately, I disappointed by the lack of substance behind the film's highly polished look and the lame dialogue. Let's pray for a better script in Brosnan's next mission, or the series may just steer itself off a cliff.