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The world is not enough

Threat advisory: High - High risk of entertaining activities

Movie propaganda

The world is not enough is the nineteenth instalment in the James Bond series. Pierce Brosnan reprises his role as James Bond, who must race to defuse an international power struggle with the world's oil supply hanging in the balance. Sophie Marceau stars as Elektra King, the daughter of a murdered oil tycoon whom Bond is assigned to protect. Robert Carlyle joins the cast as the villain Renard, who has a bullet lodged in his brain rendering him unable to feel pain.

Also starring Denise Richards as Doctor Christmas Jones, Judi Dench as M and John Cleese. Directed by Michael Apted.

Cinematic intelligence sources

The world is not enough official movie site
Studios and distributors:

Intelligence analyst

Special Agent Matti

Theatrical report

Bond, Pierce Bond.

Every actor who has played 007 has brought something different to the role. Pierce's interpretation has been growing over the series such that it is now distinguishable from all the others. His bond is much more into bad puns and is more sexual than the all rest put together. He's also a lot more emotionally involved: he feels the loneliness of his position, he hurts when he is betrayed and he gets really angry when you try to kill him. Kudos to Pierce for actually acting in a Bond flick!

As for the story, it does what all spy stories must do, and that's take the boss out into the field. Judi gets a much bigger part in The world is not enough because the dilemma is all her character's fault, but she didn't get to be head of MI6 by having nice shoes so she's not lost when taken away from her desk. Cool. It also expands on the relationship between the new M and the old Bond (funny how they can get away with that, isn't it?), there is a mutual respect, a determination to get things done and a determination to do it their own way that gives them a nice closeness while maintaining an aggressive distance.

Action flicks are a dime a dozen so a good one needs something to make it stand out from the crowd. Bond number 19 is a big change from the Moore/Dalton years where the playing became more important than the game, but now the story, the characters and the drama are being given as much emphasis as the stunts, the girls and the gadgets. The world is not enough is a big winner in almost every area, equalling or surpassing every previous Bond film ever made.

The low points for me were the character of Doctor Christmas Jones, who was little more than a way to explain nuclear stuff, and the actor who portrayed her, Denise Richards. There was no time where I thought that Denise actually understood what she was saying. It's imperative that the characters seem real or they become charicatures - even John Cleese as Q's bumbling replacement manages to come across as someone who knows what gadget he's just built even if he would never be in a situation to use it.

Other than that, The world is not enough is a great action flick, sexy, funny and entertaining and entirely suitable for watching.

Media intelligence (DVD)

The making of: Some Hollywood chick wanders around the set making obvious comments and asking cast members obvious questions... more of an advertisement than an explanation of what goes on
The secrets of: What you saw on the screen interspersed with story boards, pre-production sketches and on set footage - all the best action bits for people who can't handle too much dialogue in their films
The official theme song music video by Garbage
The Bond cocktail: Interviews with cast and crew (including some footage from The making of) in enough detail to let you know how they get things done
Bond down river: All about the opening chase scene on the Thames River
Tribute to the late Desmond Llewelyn
Trailer: Theatrical
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