Bond Retrospective: "The World Is Not Enough"

Released: 1999

Actor: Pierce Brosnan

Villains: Elektra King (Sophie Marceau), Renard (Robert Carlyle)

Henchman: none worth reporting

Allies: Zutovsky

Bond Girl: Christmas Jones (Denise Richards)

First Appearance: John Cleese as new Q

Notable Reappearance: Zutovsky

Notable Departure: Desmond Lleylwn as Q

Precredits sequence: Bond gets money for a man called King, narrowly escaping death to get it. Back at MI-6, King reconnects with his old friend, M, and goes to get the money. Bond notices something is awry, and tries to stop King, but he sets off an explosion when he touches the money. Bond traces the assassin, but she kills herself at the end.

Plot: Picking up with King's funeral, Bond sees his daughter, Elektra. Bond insists on being on the mission to discover King's assassin. M reveals that, many years back, Elektra was kidnapped by a man named Renard, and M advised King not to pay ransom. By the time 009 went to save her, she escaped. Renard now as a bullet that's going to kill him, but currently makes him impervious to pain. Bond goes to Azerbaijan to visit Elektra. She wants him to stay with her, but he declines, and goes to visit his old pal, Zutovsky, and then finds Elektra's head of security in league with Renard, kills him, and infiltrates to the base where they have a bomb. Bond unsuccessfully stops them, but escapes with Christmas Jones, the resident nuclear scientist. Elektra asks M for help, and in concern, M comes. Meanwhile Bond realizes Elektra is behind the plot with Renard, and warns M, but it's too late. Bond is sent to die by Elektra in the guise of stopping a bomb, which turns out to be a dud. Bond realizes and escapes with Christmas again, but M is captured after Elektra reveals her true self. Bond eventually finds his way back to Elektra, kills her, frees M, and finds the sub where they're planning to launch a nuclear missile, which would destroy the other oil lines, basically, and leave Elektra's line as the only one supplying oil to the west. Something alone those lines. Bond is able to stop the bomb and Renard.

Thoughts: You know, Brosnan so far hasn't fallen for the Connery hit. Moore fell for it. It's when a goon sneaks up from behind Bond and hits him in the neck, putting him unconscious. Happened many, many times to Connery. But, we did get the peeping Tom Q ending, where Q and company find Bond making love at the end of his mission, as they did so many times with Moore. Overall, this was a fine Bond film. I liked the plot, but the whole switch with Elektra really being the villain, and her connection with M, made this special. Renard also had a cool story, impervious to pain. And Q's exist was sad. Richards, as many critiques online mention, isn't the best actress, and delivers her lines as if she's reading them off a cue card. She's easily the weakest part of the film. Again, I consider this a pretty solid Bond film, typical Brosnan.

 

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