65 replies to this topic

[Qwerty]

From CBn's Main Page...

CBn Reviews 'The World Is Not Enough'

_{Forum members review the nineteenth James Bond film}

I gave it a 6.

[triviachamp]

I gave it a one. Godawful. I cringed while watching it.

[Harmsway]

It gets a 1 from me. I don't know that I've ever genuinely disliked another movie more (even though there are certainly worse movies out there).

[rogermoore007]

10, I'd give it higher than that if possible. Best movie in the series

[JimmyBond]

5

I enjoy some parts of it, and I do appreciate what they were trying to do. But the excecution of it was horrible.

[mccartney007]

It got a six from me.

[Double-Oh Agent]

I gave it a 7. It's got some good stuff in it but something seems to be missing.

[the villain's architect]

A 6 from me. After Ace's great explanations TWINE has grown on me (before I would have given it 4).
But still: Renard's and Jones' weak character drawing, the under-established locations, the unmotivated action sequences and most of all the failure to tell the story decently leave me unsatisfied about it.

[DLibrasnow]

I gave it a 1.

I've only seen it once (on opening night at the movie theater) and have had no interest in ever subjecting myself to this drivel again.

I want those couple of hours of my life back. I'm still amazed that I didn't walk out halfway through, I guess I just held onto a hope that something interesting might happen on the screen, but it never did.

[Scottlee]

8

(I probably would have awarded a 9 before Ace's review)

It's still my favourite of the Brosnan films.

[ACE]

A 6 from me. After Ace's great explanations TWINE has grown on me (before I would have given it 4).

8

(I probably would have awarded a 9 before Ace's review)

Flattered - but one of you increased your TWINE rating and one decreases based on the review.

[dee-bee-five]

I gave it a 1.

I've only seen it once (on opening night at the movie theater) and have had no interest in ever subjecting myself to this drivel again.

I want those couple of hours of my life back. I'm still amazed that I didn't walk out halfway through, I guess I just held onto a hope that something interesting might happen on the screen, but it never did.

I had much the same reaction after enduring the ghastly NSNA in '83.

I gave TWINE a 9.

[Killmaster]

i gave it a 9, also.

i felt that brosnan was at his most comfortable with the role. it was his best bond film. the score wasn't as frenetic as "tnd". the main villian wasn't the usual we-know-who-it-is-from-the-start, run-of-the-mill madman bent on world domination, but a beautiful woman who seduces him first and then shows her true colors. the only negative to me was christmas jones ... while denise richards is certainly an eyeful, she also obviously is no nuclear scientist.

i would have liked to have seen brosnan use the "the bitch is dead" line after he had killed electra.

[Qwerty]

I really wasn't expecting the amount of positive votes and reviews that there are. This always seemed like the one film dispised more than any other on CBn.

[JimmyBond]

This always seemed like the one film dispised more than any other on CBn.

People love discussing the negatives, no one really discusses the positives, they just enjoy them.

[Qwerty]

This always seemed like the one film dispised more than any other on CBn.

People love discussing the negatives, no one really discusses the positives, they just enjoy them.

I'd say both are discussed, but the negatives seem to certainly stand out more in some cases.

[Vanish]

I gave it a 5. Strictly average Bond in every department, and a wildly uneven performance from Brosnan that fluctuates between quite good and cringe-inducingly inept ("There's no point in LIVING if you don't feel ALIVE..."). His ensuing "psychoanalysis" of Elektra is definitely one of the weakest moments in the character's history.

I'll give it this much: The torture chair sequence and the execution of Elektra were terrific moments. But ultimately, that's all they are - Moments toward the end of an overlong, tedious film.

Edited by Vanish, 17 October 2006 - 04:35 AM.

[CharlieBind]

I really wasn't expecting the amount of positive votes and reviews that there are. This always seemed like the one film dispised more than any other on CBn.

I think it's often the case that the views of 'hard core' fans are different from the views of people who simply likes watching the films (for example, TWINE faired very well in SFX's recent Bond pole). In the same way that the majority of people who will go and see 'Casino Royale' really couldn't give a fig whether Craig's blonde or that it's based on an Ian Fleming book.


Anyway, I love TWINE and think it's one of the very best of the series. 10/10

[Marquis]

For the pre-title sequence, TWINE gets a generous 3 from me.

It's fair to say that I absolutely loathe the film.

[Genrewriter]

I give it a 7. It's alright but the film just doesn't work in the way it wants to.

[Bond fan since March 2000]

So I'm reviewing all 21 Bond films & started with the worst & am now working my way to #1! Enjoy!

#13 The World Is Not Enough, 1999

For me, although far from great, The World Is Not Enough is a very special Bond film for me. It was the 1st Bond film I ever saw & after I saw it, I became interested in Bond & wanted to see every single Bond film. Not only that, but after my 1st viewing of this 007 years ago, that's when I became highly in movies & was fascinated by what filmakers made. Although since then, the quality of the film has gone down as their are some serious misteps here, but it's still fun to watch.

When a British oil tycoon is murdered, James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) is sent to give protection to his daughter Elektra King (Braveheart's Sophie Marceau) from a madman named Renard (Robert Carlye) who has a bullet lodged in his head. Along the way, Bond gets help from nuclear scientist Dr.Christmas Jones (Denise Richards) & must stop Renard from setting off a bomb that will destroy all of Istanbul.

In his 3rd time in the role as James Bond, Pierce Brosnan knocks it out of the park harder than before like he does each time. In case you haven't noticed, Brosnan is the 5th actor to make his debut on this countdown (except Daniel Craig but he has only done 1 film so far). The World Is Not Enough gives Brosnan many chances to humanize Bond more & he's taken his farthest step yet.

But with the exception of Brosnan, a bigger role for Judi Dench as M, a touching farewell to Desmond Llewelyn as Q & a funny intro to John Cleese as R, this is weaker in every way than Brosnan's 2 previous films. The action is fun including a scene in a pipeline with Bond trying to stop a bomb that ends surprisingly & a sequence where Bond is being chased through a caviar factory by a helicopter. The other action is good, but doesn't have near the same excitement level as Goldeneye & Tomorrow Never Dies. The story is also way too complicated with an ending that is hard to follow & there's a twist which is revealed too early. Not to mention Robert Carlye's Renard is one of the weakest, cliched villains in any of the Bond films.

The women are a mixed reception. Sophie Marceau brings a vulnerable, seductive & surprising nature to Elektra & shares real chemistry with Brosnan on screen. The bad news is Denise Richards plays a nuclear scientist & like Tanya Roberts in A View To A Kill, you can't believe a word of the mumbo-jumbo that comes out of her mouth. Although Richards fares slightly better, she still ranks as one of the worst Bond girls.

Still, The World Is Not Enough has good action, a strong lead & enough good supporting performances to pass for a great time. As I mentioned early, this started Bond mania in my life at the age of 8 & isn't it funny that I actually thought Bond was going to get his neck broken in that chair towards the end which anyone would think about that scene or any scene similar to that when watching their 1st Bond film at such a young age. I'm sure many Bond fans should understand what I'm saying.

[TheREAL008]

Best Bronsan Bond movie. Goldeneye is overrated. TND was utter garbage, DAD was an all time low.

[BoogieBond]

Just rewatched this recently, and I think before I was viewing this film with rose tinted spectacles.

I think I get carried away by the PTS which I think is great. But looking at the rest of the film, I got embarrased by some of the dialogue. All that, no point in living if you can't feel alive pap.
Even poor Judi Dench does not escape the cheesy dialog and predictable script.

I still like certain elements of the films which I am sure I am unique in liking. Even though Christmas Jones is terrible, she's a knockout as well. But I do laugh when she and Robbie Coltrane are escaping his offices. And I like Robbies' line "Let me call security and congratulate them".
Most of the script thuds though. And the action seems terribly contrived, like the ski chase(although I still sort of like it). But you do feel the explosions and machine gun fire are there to make James Bond look good rather than that James is in peril. At the end of the ski chase he is nonchalently taking off his gloves at the parachute ski's explode. Hardly gritty.
Think this is OK, but its a mixture of some good bits and some clunky bad dialogue and scenes(and supposed feelings).
BTW gave it a 5.

Edited by BoogieBond, 17 June 2008 - 02:06 PM.

[HH007]

I give it about a 4. Dull direction, boring action scenes, uneven screenplay, and Denise Richards...

[Mr_Wint]

I give the film 6.5/10. Brosnan's best Bondfilm.

(+) A great performance from Brosnan & Marceau.
(+) Apted's direction. At least he tried to craft a Bondfilm and not your typical MTV musicvideo.
(+) Overall, a decent script with an interesting storyline and good dialogue.
(+) Arnold's score (his best so far).
(+) Good locations/atmosphere (the whole film looks great).

(-) Way too much action!
(-) Judi Dench - this film really shows how misplaced she is as M. Bond's boss in jail isn't as effective as it should have been.
(-) Renard. Robert Carlyle is a good actor and you can see it in this film. But I still thinks he is too small for the role. And his character is not that good.
(-) The sound effects.
(-) Denise Richards. She doesn't hurt the film that much. But the film would definitely be improved with a real actress in the role.

[dodge]

I'd go with a six on this, amused and intrigued by the second attempt to conflate Greek-style tragedy with Bond action. FYEO did it better. But for a P&W script, this is better than not bad, the character of Renard being the single worst thing about it. Worse than uninspired--dumb: we can't enjoy watching a villain die if he can't feel pain. Still, the PTS and Christmas Jones more than atone for that nonsense.

[Mr_Wint]

I'd go with a six on this, amused and intrigued by the second attempt to conflate Greek-style tragedy with Bond action. FYEO did it better. But for a P&W script, this is better than not bad, the character of Renard being the single worst thing about it. Worse than uninspired--dumb: we can't enjoy watching a villain die if he can't feel pain.

I kinda like the basic idea. To have a villain that can't feel pain because 009 put a bullet in his head sounds intriguing to me. But it takes a good actor and some really, really, good writing to pull that off sucessfully - especially in a Bondfilm with less emphasis on fantasy.

[tdalton]

I gave it a 4, but only because I respected what they were trying to do with the film. Ultimately, the film is a mess and really deserves a 1 or a 2 on its own merits, but I liked the fact that EON was at least trying to make a serious spy thriller again, although the film didn't get anywhere close to being one.

[DaveBond21]

I gave it 8. I love this one, and the PTS is the best of the series. I love everything about the first 17 minutes of TWINE.

Sadly the rest of the movie cannot match it but there is enough there to entertain throughout from the skiing scenes with the parahawks, the casino in Baku, the return of Zukovsky, Istanbul, the beautiful Elektra and a torture chair.

[Johnboy007]

1/10

The boat chase is a cracker, but it doesn't fit with anything else in the film. That said, the rest of this film is jaw-droppingly awful. Holy . Pierce Brosnan simply can't carry the "drama", the writing is beyond poor, and the entire supporting cast is dreadful.

I'm one of David Arnold's biggest supporters, but even I can't really defend this outing.