Bond Secret File #19 - The World Is Not Enough

Introduction: 10/10
Once again an introduction worthy of a James Bond film, why people found the Bond series to on a downslide with Pierce Brosnan I'll never understand, after Moore and Dalton these films are a breath of fresh air! This intro tops Tomorrow Never Dies and offers forth an awesome couple of action sequences that are sure to get you pumped up for the remainder of the film. I thought it was all highly entertaining and definitely what a Bond introduction should be. 

 

Title Song: 9/10

Another home run beginning for a Bond theme song. During the intro sequence I actually didn't love the song because they really screwed up the audio and make it difficult to clearly make out the vocals. But when I downloaded the track I really enjoyed it, definitely one of the top Bond songs and may I say it's really been nice since a majority of the Moore era title songs were crap. The World Is Not Enough is performed by Garbage:

I know how to hurt. I know how to heal. I know what to show and what to conceal. I know when to talk. And I know when to touch. No-one ever died from wanting too much.

The world is not enough. But it is such a perfect place to start, my love. And if you're strong enough, together we can take the world apart my love.

People like us, know how to survive. There's no point in living if you can't feel alive. We know when to kiss. And we know when to kill. If we can't have it all then nobody will.

The world is not enough. But it is such a perfect place to start, my love. And if you're strong enough, together we can take the world apart my love.

(I). I feel safe. (I) I feel scared. (I) I feel ready. (I) And yet unprepared.

The world is not enough. But it is such a perfect place to start, my love. And if you're strong enough, together we can take the world apart my love.

The world is not enough. The world is not enough. No nowhere near enough. The world is not enough.

 

Bond: 9/10

I'll say it once more Brosnan has gotten better with each film, so no surprise that he blows it out of the park in this one. He's still not my favorite Bond but he's worthy of a little bit of praise by now, I think he has earned it. Plus it also goes to show that if presented with a descent script and a good supporting cast Brosnan can put forth a convincing performance.

Bond Girl:

 

Christmas Jones: 7/10
An expert in nuclear weapons Jones meets Bond when he makes an undercover appearance to an nuclear test site in Kazakhstan where they are in the process of decommissioning the weapons stored there. Jones is unaware of Bond's true identity and also unaware that Renard is underground in the bomb shelter stealing plutonium. When Renard later traps her and Bond underground and sets off a bomb she finds herself in the middle of a precarious situation and will later become a key ingredient in assisting Bond in putting a stop to Renard's evil plan. Believe it or not this is the first movie I have seen Denise Richards in, and I thought she did quite well. Looks wise she fits the Bond girl profile, her acting was average and not too bad for a majority of the film, although near the end her lines and acting became rather corny.

The Villains:

 

Elektra King: 9/10
At the beginning of the film your made to believe Elektra King is probably the Bond girl of the film, but that is quite untrue. King appears to fool everyone as secretly she's the one behind attacks on her own oil pipelines in an attempt to divert suspension away from herself while she and her lover Renard plan to blow up the competing oil pipelines and set her as the sole leader in oil. King also has a vendetta against MI6 and in particular M, who had suggested to her father not to pay the ransom demanded by Renard when she had been kidnapped. During that period she began to fall for Renard and developed a hatred for M and her father for using her as bait to get to Renard. Sophie Marceau puts on a great performance as a Bond villain and becomes the first main female Bond villain in the series which is actually quite nice to see.

 

Renard: 9/10 

MI6 attempted to assassinate him but failed. They stuck a bullet in his head which became a ticking time bomb to his imitate death but until then it caused him to be stronger and more dangerous than ever. Renard spends his remaining days assisting Elektra in taking over the world's competing oil pipelines and taking revenge on MI6 for putting a bullet in his brain. Renard is one of the best lesser villains in the franchise, really he could possibly be lumped into the category of main villain but since the film focuses more on Elektra King its more reasonable to stick him here. Overall he's a very menacing looking character, a great villain and perfectly cast!

Total Rating : 8.8/10
Overall (Including Film Rating) : 8.4/10

8/10