[FILM] The World Is Not Enough (1999)

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Like LTK, Goldeneye and TND this film attempts to make the story more then just a mission for 007, giving his a personal connection the events. (something the Craig films took a lot of flack for)

TWINE is noteworthy because it's the first film where the lead villain is in fact a woman. There are some who still refute this and state that Renard is in fact the lead villain, but Elektra King (played to perfection by the stunning Sophie Marceau) has many of the attributes of a classic Bond baddie. And the main agenda of the film, setting of a nuke in Istanbul is to her benefit and not to that of Renard, who fits the classic profile of the main henchmen (due to a bullet in the brain he cannot feel any pain making him virtually unstoppable).

The script of TWINE makes a serious effort in creating better then average character development, and the director (Michael Apted) seems to have been hired with that idea in mind, since he was known more for character pieces then action based film. This partially works since Apted gets excellent performances out of his actors and the film does indeed contain more depth of character then usual.

However there are some issues.

Plot wise the script is more then a little murky. It's lacks a clear narrative and the motivations of the characters arent really clear until very late in the film (possibly because of the desire to hide the intentions of certain characters).

Also, the action scenes arent as good as the previous 2 90's Bonds. The Thames rives chase is fine, but everything else feels rather average. Lacking in momentum and visual clarity (despite David Arnold doing his damnedest with the music)

Shot by the usually excellent Adrian Biddle it doesnt really have the visual splendor of the previous two either, save for a few shots.

Once again Brosnan is in good form and quite convincing when he tries to add some depth to the role. Sophie Marceau looks amazing and creates a character who can get away with anything because of that. The definition of the "French and difficult mistress". Despite the fact that her character isnt French of course. But the Bond films have never been too fussy about that anyway.

Making what appears to be the lead Bond girl into the villain is an inspired idea, though more could have been made of the revelation I think. This could have been a big WTF moment when Elektra suddenly turns on M, instead it was pretty much clear beforehand. Nevertheless Marceau plays one of the most layered and interesting Bond girls of the series.

Denise Richards on the other hand plays one of the worst. I'm no so fussed about the fact that at no point she has any credibility as a scientist. Hey it's a Bond film. Credibility is hardly a priority. It's simply that she gives a completely stale and unappealing performance. There's no chemistry between her and Brosnan at all and nothing in the way of character development. (the writers define her by the fact that she doesn't like puns made of her name Christmas)

Robert Carlyle makes for a rather interesting henchman, though I do think more could have been done here. The writers seemed to be straddling between a classic henchmen with unusual strength or a villain with some actual complexities and often get stuck in between the two. Renard is introduced as being impervious to pain, yet this is an attribute that never really comes to fruition (apart from him holding a scolding rock).

This is the first time that Judi Dench is given more to do, and though traditionalists may not like an M who goes into the field, more Judi Dench is never a bad thing.

Interesting to note that the revenge part of the story would basically be reused for Skyfall, by the same writers. Complete with a bombing on MI6.

This is also the first Bond film that seriously questions M's judgement. Something that would become a staple of the Craig era films.

TWINE has the final performance of Desmond Llewellyn as Q, looking rather ancient, yet still possessing his usual charm. That moment where he disappears into the floor is actually rather moving. John Cleese would take over for a brief period and is quite hilarious playing John Cleese. (i can understand why they didnt use him in the Craig era though)

Like i said the action scenes aren't really noteworthy. It has the weakest ski chase of the series, the submarine fight is lacking punch and the opening scenes in Bilboa were deemed so underwhelming that they were actually shortened and the Thames boat chase was brought forward to play before the credit scene.

That chase is excellent though. And sets a bar that the rest of the movie action scenes never really reaches. It would not be until QoS that a Bond films action scenes would be this non-memorable.

The score is amazing. A bit less of a big band throw back then the previous one. Arnold fuses a massive orchestra with then contemporary techno beats and creates a score with some really furious action work but also actual compositional complexity. His themes are more subdued then usual but form the spine of this score. I particularly love his Elektra's theme, which hints of the dubious and tragic nature of the character without driving the point home.

The song, written by Arnold and Don Black and performed by Garbage is also a good one.

The first Bond script by regular writers Purvis and Wade already show some of the hallmarks which would become commonplace in the Craig era. More emphasis on character development. An attempt at a more serious tone. Yet it also tries to follow the standard formula. And at times the two styles don't really match brilliantly.

That with the fact that the script is rather muddles and the action isn't all it could be makes this a slightly underwhelming entry in the franchise.

Still going to give it *** out of **** for effort, since they were finally started to go towards the direction I always wanted them to go.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

All these double-ups! I write my main comment in the Last Shit Movie You Watched thread and I have to think of something else here.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

At least in this thread they dont all sink to the bottom after a few hours

[Jay 37,281]

One mistake they really made with this film was ending everything in a submarine, which is exactly what they did in the previous film....

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Wrong. That was a stealth boat, not a submersible vessel.

[Jay 37,281]

Eh, close enough

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

And the next was was in another enclosed space inside a plane.

Look! Parachutes for the both of us... whoops! Not anymore!