219 replies to this topic

[DaveBond21]

Hi there, just wanted to start a thread about The World is Not Enough. I love all the Bond movies and TWINE is a great movie to me. Just wanted to know who else out there loves this movie. I know a lot of people on this site don't like it, but we've read enough TWINE- and Brosnan-bashing for now, so TWINE fans speak up.


Firsly, I love the PTS, it is the best of the lot IMO. It shows everything that is great about 007 in the space of 17 minutes - interrogation in Spain, bungee-jump out of window, flirting with Moneypenny, briefing with M, then the amazing boat chase!! And that is all before the titles sequence.

Other favourite elements are:-

Final scene with Q (Desmond Llewellyn)

The ski jump from the helicopter (and David Arnold's great music) and the parahawks scene.

The identity switch and disposing of Davidov

Zukovsky returns!

and nice to see an always interesting location in Istanbul at the end.


Any other TWINE fans or am I the only one???

[Diabolik]

My Mum always told me, if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all...

...

...

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Pierce's hair looked nice.

[DaveBond21]

LOL

Hey, I said no TWINE bashers!! It's even worse for those who hated all the Brosnan films, because they had to wait at least 17 years between Bond movies they did enjoy and that is a very long time!!

[dinovelvet]

TWINE fans only? OK then.

...crickets chirping...

...tumbleweed blows past...

...sound of pin dropping...



Just kidding. Um, a little. The boat chase is pretty cool.

[DLibrasnow]

You are going to get awful lonely DaveBond21 in this thread.

Ummm...the tank chase was cool....

Wait, wrong movie....

...

nope, got nothing!

[DaveBond21]

You are going to get awful lonely DaveBond21 in this thread.

Well, I hope not, but maybe you're right. Maybe some of those fools who set up CraigNotBond or who fled this site when Daniel Craig was announced as 007 are TWINE fans?

But I do remember reading positive posts about Brosnan and TWINE here before.

[DLibrasnow]

There were a lot of Brosnan fans who were Bond fans merely by association on this site before.

But no worries. One of my favorite Bond movies A View to a Kill is also one of the most reviled.

As far as The World is not Enough goes I do enjoy the boat chase at the beginning.

[[dark]]

I love The World is not Enough. Always have. Despite the fact it was the first Bond I ever saw in cinemas, now, with an appreciation of the other films now under my belt, I still rate The World is not Enough very highly.

In my opinion, Pierce gives his best Bond performance and I really liked the attempt to focus more on the film's drama than anything else. The pre-titles sequence is, in my opinion, among the best in the series (if not the best) and Sophie Marceau's Elektra is a franchise Bond girl highlight. It was a joy seeing Zukovsky return, while Desmond Llewellyn's farewell has a real sense of poignancy to it. There are also a few great Fleming-esque scenes (I think the man would have been very proud of the torture sequence). It also has one of the best songs in Garbage's haunting title theme, over Daniel Kleinman's superb title sequence, which delivers some of the most gorgeous eye candy I've ever seen.

I do admit the film could have been better had they made a few bolder choices - i.e. losing the role of Christmas Jones, or at least recasting, and not making the action sequences quite so forcefully wedged into the film. However, as it stands, it pains me to see people constantly writing off The World is not Enough as an utter mess. For me, it comes closely behind GoldenEye when I rank Pierce's films (for the record Die Another Day is third, while Tomorrow Never Dies is a somewhat distant fourth).

[SecretAgentFan]

Dave, I love TWINE and I am not ashamed to admit it.

It has Pierce

[LadySylvia]

My view of TWINE has greatly improved over the last few years. Granted, the action doesn't really impressed me that much - except for the sequence featuring Bond and Christmas' escape from that mine and their little trip through the pipeline. And I'm not that fond of Bond's showdown with Renard aboard the submarine.

But on an emotional level, I think that it's great. And I think the movie also featured Brosnan's best performance as Bond.

[Colossus]

When i first saw it back in the early 2000s my cousin loved it while i thought it was just too grim. Now i appreciate it more, Brosnan at his most smooth and assured, Zukovsky, Elektra is intriguingly layered, though the pacing is uneven, good PTS, and some brain-dead action like the mountain attack. Why terrorists would send these para-copter thingies in the first place, and without functional aiming, and really terrible design since they blew up like firecrackers. Brosnan, Marceau, and the composer overcoming the film's shortcomings through sheer energy.

Edited by Colossus, 30 August 2007 - 07:14 AM.

[Santa]

TWINE is probably the Brosnan film I enjoy the most but I find the whole is more than the total of its parts, because if I start to break it down and look at the individual elements (parahawks, Denise Richards, M's kidnap e.g.), it doesn't hold up. I hated some of those things but buried amongst them are some elements that had great potential (Sophie Marceau, the locations), if underused there. If pushed I'd still say it lacks the quality of a Connery Bond film but at least there's one Brozza Bond film that doesn't make me cry. I can watch it and not think about how much I'd rather be doing the ironing.

[Sbott]

Here goes i enjoyed the first part of the PTS set in Bilbao. I think Pierce is at his best in these few minutes and anything with Maria Grazia Cucinotta in is always worth watching.
After that the other highlight for me is Robert Carlyle as Renard i thought his portrayal was understated and menacing to the core.

Christmas Jones - nope better not go there............

[Orion]

TWINE was the first Bond film i saw in the cinema and is what made me a Bond fan, so i will always have a special place in my heart for it. I love David Arnold's score for it, i thought Pierce's performace was brilliant and Robert Calyle was one of the best villains ive ever seen in a film. My favourite moments where the boat chase and the caviar factory as they just gave off this feeling that no matter how hard others try Nobody Does It Better than Bond.

[Hergersheimer]

My favourite moments where the boat chase and the caviar factory as they just gave off this feeling that no matter how hard others try Nobody Does It Better than Bond.

This sums it up perfectly for me. Something about TWINE just oozed Bond cool - Brosnan at his most polished and confident in some terrific Bond scenarios. Like many others it would seem, TWINE was also the first Bond film I saw in theaters. I give this film full credit for hooking me into the suave world of James Bond and turning me into the Bond freak I am to this day. TWINE will always have a special place in my heart.

Edited by Hergersheimer, 30 August 2007 - 11:12 AM.

[plankattack]

Great thread DaveBond. It's about time we showed a little love for TWINE. I've defended it expansively in other threads before but to narrow it down a bit, it's to me, easily Brozza's best performance as Bond. I've always felt that Brozza has been a little lightweight as an actor - I feel that too many of his non-Bond roles are variations on the same character - but I really did think that as far as Bond is concerned, he's completely grown into and at ease in the character in TWINE. He's given some acting to do, and for the most part he really steps up (rather than the incarceration-revenge aspect of DAD which I never really bought into). Any weaknesses in his performance are down to script, not actor. He's marvellous in Q's last scene, respectfully underplaying it, and as I've said before, his first encounter with Renard could easily have come straight from Fleming. No, it's not a moment on a par with SC and Robert Shaw in FRWL, but for Brozza it's a highlight in what is very good outing for him from start to finish.

"I don't know any doctor jokes." If SC or DC had said that, we'd all celebrating a return to the ironically clever Bond, rather than pun-toting Bond. So let's give Brozza his due too.

[MkB]

I really love TWINE ! (Shame, shame, shame, shame on me ! ;-)
I think that Goldeneye is a little better (considering the whole film), but TWINE ranks 2nd for me. Brosnan gives his best performance, and I liked the psychological elements included in the script. I also enjoyed the Damsel in distress / Villainess twist with Elektra, and her relationship with Bond. Too bad there were some weak points in the script, that spoiled some really good ideas.
And the Garbage title song was great (even if it sounded a bit like Sheryl Crow's from TND) !

[Judo chop]

"I don't know any doctor jokes." If SC or DC had said that, we'd all celebrating a return to the ironically clever Bond, rather than pun-toting Bond. So let's give Brozza his due too.

Now DaveBond, I may be taking a little liberty with your thread restriction which I choose to read as

[RogueSpy007]

I think this was a really good Brosnan Bond film. He was at his peak as 007 here. It has a good Bond villain , a gorgeous and talented Bond girl (I'm talking about Sophie), the good-bye of Desmond as Q, the return of Robbie Coltrane, and a beautiful theme song. I enjoyed it a lot. There are very few things that I would have complained about with this film.

[00Twelve]

I'm another who loved TWINE at the very first, but have found it less and less appealing as time has gone on. It ranks rather lowly nowadays.

However, in the spirit of this thread, there are several diamonds here in the rough.

1) Gotta echo Judo's thoughts about the titles sequence. Daniel Kleinman has never disappointed me, and his oil-themed titles for TWINE are fantastic, absolutely top notch.

2) The idea for the villain and her background is quite an innovative one, I thought, worthy of Fleming. (There are ideas and there is execution. I'm praising the former. ) This woman who has had a near life-long ambition of taking back her "family's" empire from her father, and even manipulates a terrorist who kidnapped her into falling for her, and using him in a partnership to do the very thing she dreamed of (also using MI6 to do her dirty work...twice!). In theory, it's an amazing idea. Perhaps I should give old P&W a bit more credit, as the final product was (according to them) not nearly the same thing that they had first written.

3) There's just no way to dislike Robbie Coltrane. Zukovsky shines again! Though I preferred his scenes in Goldeneye, he still owns the scenes he's in. And he gets some of the best comedic moments in the franchise.

4) Again, going with the crowd, the torture chair. Truly a Flemingesque idea, if there ever were one. I was delighted to see a torture implement that looks as if it were invented before the time of the movie, if one can imagine such a feat. The dialogue isn't the best by a long shot, but it's not too bad, either. Aside from some quips, it's the most Flemingesque scene in the film, hands-down.

[Mr. Somerset]

At the time it was released it was my fave PB film. Still love it, though GoldenEye is now my main favourite of that quartet.
Pierce looks great throughout, though he had aged quite a bit since TND. My favourite scenes are: the pretitle sequence, Bond driving to meet Elektra, torture sequence, and the great shot of him diving into the water.
Maria Grazia Cucinotta is still my favourite Pierce Bond girl.

[plankattack]

[quote name='Judo chop' post='767672' date='30 August 2007 - 09:39'][quote name='plankattack' post='767656' date='30 August 2007 - 07:39']"I don't know any doctor jokes." If SC or DC had said that, we'd all celebrating a return to the ironically clever Bond, rather than pun-toting Bond. So let's give Brozza his due too.[/quote]

Now DaveBond, I may be taking a little liberty with your thread restriction which I choose to read as

[JimmyBond]

In the spirit of Judo chop's post I too shall leave my "blunt instruments" at the door. Instead focusing on the positive

-The story itself is intriquing, and actually makes you think, and instead of in TND where everything is spelled out to you, this film is a bit more clever in it's storytelling (not quite so, but just enough more-so than TND that you realize it).

-MI6 Scottish Headquarters is a great location, all the scenes that take place inside the castle are classic scenes that will go down as some of the best of the series.

-The gunbarrel, while using the same footage from the previous films, Arnold's remix of his gunbarrel theme from TND is suitably exotic while also having a retro feel to it. Really gets the film off to a rousing start.

I'm afraid that's all I can think of at the moment. I know it's mostly small details, but with TWINE that's all I can come up with.

[Blofeld's Cat]

Great thread DaveBond.

More like limp TWINE.

[Judo chop]

Back to the point - the titles in TWINE were Kleinmann's best to that point, and he seems to get fresher with every film. I don't mean to be a heretic but he has in IMHO bettered Binder in every which way. The latter ran out of ideas even before MR, but that's a debate for another place.

Indeed it is! I'd love to be a part of that debate, but I've got quite a bit of refreshing to do before I start. I just took a stab at a guess saying things got stale for Binder around Moonraker, 'cause MR was the most recent one I watched and as I did I thought to myself... "Hmmm. Stale."

It's a little surprising to me that we here on CBn seem to find more interest in the gunbarrel than the titles. I personally never understood the gunbarrel fascination. (I never even realized there were different gunbarrels until I got here. ) Anyway, I think a good titles debate might be just the thing to start next week off with a bang.

So how many times did I take this thread off topic with that one post?

[Royal Dalton]

I liked the bit where Bond gets in the plane, and it's full of baldies.

Er, that's it, I think...

[yolt13]

Love all of the forced civility in these threads, usually beginning with "friendly" swipes at the film so as not to seem rude when ignoring the thread guidelines and bashing it anyway...

Anyhoo, I honestly did not enjoy TWINE as much as the prior Brosnan entries until I recently watched it again. Not too terribly long ago, I even posted in a "Which is worse - DAD or TWINE" thread and was a bit harsh toward the movie. But upon further review, I've revised my opinion rather dramatically. Many of the "problems" I had always perceived it to have were, frankly, not there, and it was much sharper than I remembered. There are issues, but those are well-documented on this board and others. In all, it is an underrated entry that (like the film which immediately preceded it) deserves a much better reputation.

The PTS is, of course, great, and I like the basic set-up of the plot. A bit different for a Bond film, but intriguing nonetheless - shades of both COLONEL SUN and THE FACTS OF DEATH (perhaps why so many hardcore Bond fans dislike it so). Sophie Marceau is amazing, in more ways than one. Brosnan gives a pretty solid performance, and the potentially disastrous element of M's personal involvement in the situation is actually much more credible abd deftly handled upon review than it seemed when I first saw the movie. Noteworthy, too, that while the film has it's silly moments, the same fans who are always bashing the Brosnan era for its overabundance of humor and goofiness are vocally unimpressed by the movie's rather serious tone and accuse it of not being "fun enough".

[Colossus]

What's so incredible is the Q scene since it wasn't intended to be Desmond's last movie obviously, it could not have ended more perfect than it did with Major Boothroyd lowering on the platform beneath the floor.

I rewatched the Q Restrospective on the TWINE VHS of many of his scenes, exquisite.

[Royal Dalton]

What's so incredible is the Q scene since it wasn't intended to be Desmond's last movie

So they said. But then, why was Cleese, and not Desmond, in that last scene?

Hmmm...

[Blofeld's Barber]

It's nice to see so many positive comments about a great Bond film - all of which I agree with! TWINE ranks in my top 5 - it's PB's best performance, has a terrific villian, witty dialogue, and though Denise Richards may get alot of flack as a nuclear scientist, she looks fiiiine as a Bond Girl.