The World is Not Enough

There’s little doubt that The World is Not Enough has received a bum rap from audiences and critics alike, as the film – surprisingly enough – ultimately comes off as a superior James Bond adventure that deserves to be ranked alongside GoldenEye as Pierce Brosnan’s most effective 007 outing. The film, which opens with one of the longest and most elaborate pre-credits sequences in the series’ history, follows Bond’s efforts at protecting an oil heiress (Sophie Marceau’s Elektra King) from a notorious anarchist (Robert Carlyle) bent on nuclear domination, with his quest eventually assisted by Russian ally Valentin Zukovsky (Robbie Coltrane) and short-shorts-wearing scientist Christmas Jones (Denise Richards). Although scripters Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and Bruce Feirstein have infused the film with an expectedly (and needlessly) convoluted storyline, The World is Not Enough‘s multitude of familiar elements – including larger-than-life action sequences, pithy quips, and entirely implausible gadgets – ensure that it generally holds one’s interest from start to finish. This is despite Carlyle’s curiously subdued work as central scoundrel Renard, as the actor’s decision to eschew the broad sensibilities of his villainous forebearers inevitably proves to be the movie’s only real misstep. And unlike the majority of entries within this ongoing series, The World is Not Enough boasts a third act that’s genuinely thrilling and surprisingly free of oppressive excess (ie it doesn’t feel like one long shoot-out) – which, coupled with the relatively brisk pace and Brosnan’s charismatic performance, certainly cements the film’s place as a woefully underrated endeavor.

*** out of *****