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Comments
This is a really excellent PTS (do I keep saying that about all of them?). It's a whole mini-movie in its own right; you could show it to somebody who had never seen a Bond film and had no idea what it was all about (these people exist, apparently) and they'd get it straight away. Bond is wonderfully ruthless in the bank, we see a lot of MI6, and who doesn't enjoy a good traffic warden gag?
The Millennium Dome though. What an enormous national embarrassment that was. (I went. It was terrible.)
The oily, viscous titles have a classic look that wouldn't feel out of place in a Connery movie. The theme feels like a brave attempt to do something contemporary, but it fails for me, although the way elements are worked into the score is pretty nice. (Spoiler: there won’t be another theme song I actually like until Skyfall, so prepare for whinging.)
It's a pretty cunning plot, leaning slightly more towards characterisation and deduction than action. Perhaps for this reason, things are a bit quiet on the stunt and chase fronts after the excitement of the PTS.
Brosnan’s Bond (or 'The Man from Del Monte says yes' - my flatmate)
Brosnan is looking noticeably more mature now than in GE, and it suits him; he’s lost the ‘action figure’ look I so disliked when he first appeared.
Uniquely, Bond gets injured early on, and has to carry that around for the rest of the film. This is one of my favourite elements; it gives him a vulnerability and fallibility that I feel the character needs, and is sometimes lacking. Sure, he only remembers to go ‘ow' when it’s useful for the plot, but my boyfriend broke his collarbone a couple of years ago and he only drew attention to it at convenient moments, too.
Bond girls (or "Oh, it’s her, she’s in...loads and loads of really terrible things!" - my flatmate)
I’ve never liked Christmas Jones. As a huge Tomb Raider fan, I saw her as a very poor ripoff. (In the Bond By Design book, there’s a character sketch labelled ‘Christmas Jones (Laura Croft)’ [sic], confirming all my suspicions.)
Luckily, Elektra King is superb. She goes from a vulnerable figure Bond wants to protect to a calculating mastermind, and remains convincingly damaged in both guises.
I had no idea until it came up for discussion here that the doctor's name was Warmflash. I do not feel I have gained anything by this knowledge, but I did enjoy her short, silly scene with Bond.
Villains (or "Is that Goldie!?" - my flatmate)
Renard is a grade-A git and psychopath, yet in his final moments I feel a fleeting sympathy for him. It takes quality acting and a decent script to do that. And yes, flatmate, that is Goldie, however this means nothing to me.
Supporting cast mostly consists of Robbie Coltrane, as far as I'm concerned. Reprising his role from GE, he's still successfully walking the line between comedy and serious, friend and enemy. Two movies seems to be the right number for this kind of character, and Zukovsky leaves on a high note. Good job, Rob.
Meanwhile, back at MI6:
A beautiful exit from Q, transitioning smoothly from comedy to tearjerker. I'm always deeply moved by funny characters having serious moments, and this is no exception.
John Cleese has a very sticky wicket here - as if George Lazenby had to do his first scene in OHMSS with a disapproving Connery standing directly behind him. His performance doesn't quite work for me, but I do rather enjoy the blow-by-blow description of how to put a jacket on. It's a concept I struggle with most mornings.
It's painful to see M falter and make poor decisions when she's usually such a force of nature. She is rougher on Bond than she's ever been before, but, as always, her bark is worse than her bite. I would have cheered if she'd given Elektra a proper punch, not just a slap.
This is, for me, the worst ending of any Bond film. The absolute worst. More cringeworthy than anything the Roger Moore era gave us, because twenty years have passed since then and surely we should have grown up a bit? I’m glad Q made his escape earlier and didn’t have to suffer through this. Also, Bond seems to have prioritised renting a tux over letting his employer know he's still alive. Poor show.
Misc
Of course M went to Oxford. This is because Oxford is better than Cambridge.
As soon as you see the helicopter dangling the chainsaw in the first Azerbaijan scene, you know it'll be back. Nice. And who hasn't wanted to cleave a BMW in twain? I know I have, usually when I've been cut up on my commute.
Is the first archive headline about Elektra's kidnapping from an issue of Tomorrow?
And finally: Back in 1999 I definitely did not know 'what happens when a man is strangled' and why this might make Elektra want to sit on Bond's lap. What with the torture chair and Xenia Onatopp, did Brosnan preside over James Bond’s kinkiest era?
Samantha Bond as Moneypenny has grown on me here. Nothing terrible and I enjoy the remark and look she gives Molly during a briefing scene.
Speaking of Molly, her addition did nothing much to add to the move but provide us with a piss poor plot point (the shoulder) and a chance for Bond to get his jollies. Kinky underwear by the way.
Mr Bullion, played by Goldie. Why he was cast, I'll never know. I can only imagine that it was the gold teeth to, tenuously, hark back to Jaws. There for the twist of him working for Elektra, as a lot were and a crappy performance from Goldie to boot.
Tanner & Robinson - I wish they were still around in the Craig movies, no reason why not really. Ok, so CR rebooted the franchise but we still had Dench, why not bring those two over as well? Two great actors in the role, Colin Salmon and Michael Kitchen. No disrespect to Rory Kinnear, who I don't mind too much, but these guys could have been top drawer. I will, obviously, give my thoughts on Kinnear as we gonna in but I watched his Black Mirror episode and, now, he will always be that guy :D
JAMES BOND:
Brosnan marks the halfway point of his era with his second installment, and I do enjoy him in this (hell, I enjoy Brosnan in everything). He seems a bit more confident and experienced this time around, using everything at his disposal, from his wits to his gadgets to weaponry, to get the job done. His performance gets a bit hindered with the overly emotional moments (such as him mentioning that Paris got "too close to comfort"; makes it out like Bond got too scared when she got too close) and the in-your-face sex quips, which somehow get worse and more obvious as his era presses on. Having said that, it's another good appearance of his, and I think his take on the character is just fine here.
BOND GIRLS:
Wai Lin: This is about as close as we can get to finding a female that is "Bond's equal" without it being rubbed in your face how much better she is. Skilled in martial arts and firearms, she holds her own throughout, and I like that her and Bond manage to go back-and-forth with besting one another throughout the runtime (he gets the encoder and stops the progress she made with breaking into Carver's, but later on, she one-ups him with her escape from their mutual shower). As others have pointed out, they don't seem to have the greatest chemistry, but I attribute that to the fact that they don't get as many quiet moments together as a lot of the other Bond girls, sharing plenty of screentime through the action. Still, they're a good pairing, and I've always liked her.
Paris Carver: Not so much a fan of Teri Hatcher's, and she doesn't do too much to impress me here, just an unwitting, helpless Bond girl caught in the middle of a fight, torn between two lovers. I have always enjoyed, though, how short-yet-tragic their newfound affair is, as she has no choice but to listen to Carver, while subsequently deciding to help Bond out once more before her untimely demise, which gives Bond yet another reason to cut down Carver by the end of the movie. As usual, overt corpse-sniffing occurs before Bond leaves her.
BOND ALLIES:
Charles Robinson: Our first appearance of Colin Salmon in the original role is short but sweet, all due to scheduling issues with the casting of Tanner. Thankfully, Robinson would get to stick around once he returned, appearing in two more films with a slightly more fleshed out role. I've always been a big fan of Salmon's/Robinson's, particularly the friendly banter he shares with Bond. If we were to ever have a black Bond, let's jump back to the 90's and hire him.
Jack Wade: An even shorter appearance that GE with a bit more comedy thrown in, it's always nice for him to pop up and help out Bond however he can. He gets a couple of moments that I enjoy, such as the "Sounds like my first marriage" quip, or the way Bond silently disagrees with his choice of attire on a military base.
M/MP/Q:
M: She's great in this - gets a bit more screentime to work with, and also shows just how competent and confident she is amongst all the generals, soldiers, and techs in the command room, even hiding bits of information to help Bond out later on. I miss these days, when M was used just enough without overstaying his/her welcome. Can we please get a return to this?
MP: I've always liked Samantha Bond in the role, but whereas she made an immediate impact with her short exchange with Bond in GE, here she is reduced to being a setup for those cheesy sexual jokes, which ruins a lot of moments for me.
Q: Our time with Llewelyn is sadly coming to an end as he makes another appearance in one of his final few roles. I enjoy seeing him go out into the field once more to deliver the vehicle to Bond, and I always liked the moment where he lists off the 'insurance' questionnaire for Bond to answer. The BMW introduction is another good moment between the two.
VILLAIN/HENCHMEN:
Elliot Carver: While I'm a big fan of Johnathan Pryce and have always seen Carver as a bit of a snob with a unique way of getting what he wants (media/manipulation of governments), he just doesn't cut it for me. He isn't remotely threatening in a physical sense, and most of the time when he speaks, he just comes across as pouty; like the kid who was bullied too much in school, and is vying for revenge decades later through the only way he knows how. I'd like to think it falls down upon the writing and lines he was given, as Pryce IS a fantastic actor. Shame.
Stamper: I feel like we get a pretty physically imposing henchmen every few films - the last one being seen in TLD - and Stamper seems to deliver here. I wish he had even more time to make a bigger impact, but when he's on screen, he's usually being rather sinister or killing someone, so I suppose that's good enough. He's got the unique henchman trait of heterochromia, and he seems to be rather twisted in that he loves to give and receive pain. Something unique I found out recently was an earlier draft mentioned his work with snuff films, which explains why he records the execution of the Devonshire crew.
Henry Gupta: He's more of a background character to me; I know he's influential within the events and plot of the story, but he doesn't ever have that one moment that makes me feel threatened by him/nervous as to what he is capable of. To me, he's nothing more than another one of Carver's puppets, perfectly demonstrated as he cuts down Gupta without a second thought during the finale.
Dr. Kaufman: A seasoned hitman tasked with framing the deaths of Bond and Paris, he's given a few short moments that rival the appearances of a lot of the other bad guys, particularly Gupta, Chang, and arguably Stamper. Bond's trick with the phone to stop him reminds me of the briefcase trap that 007 uses to trick Grant in FRWL.
STORY/ACTION:
As previously mentioned, Bond is up against a media mogul who is hellbent on starting World War III for ratings in hopes of having complete media control across the globe. It's unique enough that it works for me, I don't have a problem with it.
The action in this just might be one of my biggest complaints: outside of any large stunts, the action itself is too soft-hitting for my tastes, with the poor sound mixing making it seem even more tame and unimpressive. The eclectic group of older gentlemen that Bond finds himself fighting throughout doesn't help things, either, as it reminds me of Moore fighting older guys in AVTAK to account for his age...which isn't a problem in this, so I'm not sure why that was a decision throughout this.
PTS: Aside from the unnecessary "filthy habit" line, it kicks off with Bond causing a massive amount of damage before a lot of the goons involved can even react. I do enjoy his "race against time" to expel all the ammunition/destroy as much cargo and weaponry as possible before the missile strikes. Sure enough, he's successful, flying through a cloud of fire at the last second to make his escape. The "backseat driver" bit becomes a bit too comedic at times (Brosnan's pain face not particularly helping the case), but the way he manages to dispatch the guy strangling him/the jet in pursuit with the press of a button is rich, as is his underhanded quip to the admiral about the delivering of the bombs. This might be one of the very few action moments I wholeheartedly enjoy in this movie.
Post-PTS: I've always liked these big, destructive sequences in the series that don't involve Bond, particularly anytime a submarine/ship is getting destroyed and sent to the bottom of the ocean. The tension is displayed pretty well, and it all leads up to an inevitably deadly conclusion at the end of Stamper's machine gun.
Studio Fight: Probably the cheesiest, weakest fight scene in the series for me. Bond can hardly hold his own against a couple of fat, old goons, and the aforementioned sound effects make things even worse. The only highlight is Bond testing out the ashtray before smashing it into the last guy's skull.
Break-In At Hamburg: The beginning of all this is good; a bit of investigation and infiltration by Bond, before he finally figures out the location of the encoder and steals it. I'm also a fan of him going out of his way to destroy the satellite, solely because he knows it costs a fortune and would piss off Gupta and his crew. Here is where it goes downhill: another cringey, unexciting fight that seems to have no impact on anyone. Cue the bad sound effects once again. However, I have always liked his escape on the little cart, followed by him rolling underneath the shutter door and eventually taking out Kaufman.
Escape From Saigon: I always like these little situations that Bond finds himself in that puts a really unique and dangerous spin on what could otherwise be a generic action scene. This is one of the other few bits that I like - Bond and Wai Lin, handcuffed together, escaping the Saigon headquarters in unison. Their risky escape off the side of the skyscraper is a wonderful stunt, and again, what could've been a normal motorcycle escape turns into something else as they have to shift and contort their bodies to not only work with one another, but to ensure a hasty escape from the pursuing vehicles and helicopter. Good fun, and probably the last action sequence I thoroughly enjoy in the movie.
Martial Arts at Wai Lin's: Another fight scene that doesn't involve Bond, this one isn't as bad as the others - it's still pretty soft-hitting and lacking in danger, for some reason, but it's not the worst. A cool highlight of this: Bond's fake lighter assistance, leading into him knocking out the guy standing guard outside.
Finale: A lot of good moments in the quieter moments (stealthy knifing of the guard, Bond taking a moment to trick Stamper with the corpse of the soldier he previously took out, the "tuned out" line and subsequent trap Bond sets with the grenade), but the action itself seems like it was pulled from an 80's Schwarzenegger action movie, which typically wouldn't be a complaint. However, it doesn't work for me; Bond dual-wielding an MP5 and a suppressed P99 is too ridiculous for my tastes, even if I don't account for how many times he's obviously meant to be firing, but the guns aren't firing themselves. It's just a bit too over-the-top for my liking, and is intercut with so many explosions and so much destruction, it's hard to get a grasp on the placement of characters throughout (in terms of their surroundings). Carver meets a nasty end eventually, albeit one he could've easily escaped, and it's a shame that we don't get to enjoy the gory bits of his end as we do with, say, Dario. I actually enjoy Stamper's demise more than Carver's. The film wraps up with nobody knowing if Bond and Wai Lin survived, while also somehow knowing that Bond and Wai Lin survived. Odd.
MI6Community Bondathon: (May change at any time.)
This might be the first huge change of my ranking; TND hasn't gotten this close to the bottom before, but as the years have passed, I've managed to enjoy it less and less, so nowhere near as much as I did as a kid, while subsequently finding my appreciation for TMWTGG and MR (two that typically hit the Bottom 5) increasing. It's not the worst installment (which we'll touch upon in about a month), and I still manage to find a good bit of entertainment throughout, but for the most part, I enjoy myself with the previous 17 films more than this one.
1.) GE
2.) DN
3.) OHMSS
4.) LALD
5.) TSWLM
6.) GF
7.) YOLT
8.) FYEO
9.) FRWL
10.) OP
11.) LTK
12.) TB
13.) AVTAK
14.) DAF
15.) TLD
16.) TMWTGG
17.) MR
18.) TND
Yes. (Let's not forget the necroBond discussed above.)
GENERAL THOUGHTS:
A big improvement over TND, this ranks as my second favorite installment of his. A better group of characters, better pacing/action, etc. helps heighten this one over its predecessor, and contains a lot to enjoy, regardless of its ranking. The main complaints that come to mind are a weak villain (you could've done so much better with a villain that feels no pain than what we got, particularly the final standoff during the finale, which is way too short and uneventful), those aforementioned, bad sexual quips, and Denise Richards as a nuclear physicist doesn't help things much, either, though she's nice to look at. Overall, not too bad at all.
TITLE SONG:
I've been a fan of Garbage since the time this movie was released, and their theme song is pretty good - not my favorite of the era, but a solid track overall. I do love the lyrics, very fitting for the film.
TITLE SEQUENCE:
Love the title sequence, particularly the way the Bond girls slowly "appear" by having the oil draped over them. The use of color is great in this, too, displaying just about every one on the spectrum. Certain parts of this are heavily reminiscent of GE, such as the running cogs/oil drillers (reminds me of the hammers/sickles falling and striking the ground in the GE title sequence).
I am trying hard to. Nobody in this thread is helping.
I can write about the Craig films in my sleep, however, and it juices me up to talk about them, so I wouldn't miss being here until the end. It's just that sometimes things moved fast and I didn't want to rush my thoughts on certain films, as I didn't like my writing when I did that.
I am glad we did this, however, as it motivated me to write out my thoughts on all my favorite films, and I'll be doing the same for eras I've neglected, so it's only been positive. I've also had a blast going back to the Dalton films, which I've enjoyed more than ever and love writing about.
Anyway, finally we conclude the Millenium Movie....
The World Is Not Enough - Production Notes
Michael Apted who until this point had directed several successful biopics, and the BBC documentary series 7 Up was the surprising choice to direct this, his first big budget action film.
The producers thought his reputation for creating good drama would rub off on this film. But of course you need a great script and great actors to make the whole thing work, which leaves it wide open for debate as to whether it succeeded or not.
Brosnan clearly enjoyed giving his Bond a bit of intensity but it was the more subtle performance from Judi Dench which seemed more suited to Apted's approach.
The film's title sequence sees oil drenched girls doing the exotic dancing. With the thought of Agent Fields now fresh in our minds it seems slightly less appealing than it once did. In fact, watching the girls sink in to the oil left me somewhat queasy.
The script isn't choc full of memorable one liners or great dialogue, but Dench, Robbie Coltraine and others work well with what they have.
The film is shot in deep browns, gold and blue. The sets are dominated by wood. Clearly deliberate, but of course it makes Ms Marceau's red dress leap even further out of the screen than it does anyway.
Pierce wears a lot of dark suits, which he looks good in (although the whole climax sees him in a cream suit).
David Arnold is back. He updates the Bond theme, adds intense music to the action scenes. The score is assured, exciting and thankfully melodic (in scenes such as Bond and Elektra ski-ing).
And the title song with it's lovely, sweeping melody is more akin to John Barry's early Bond music as opposed to the great man's later pop collaborations.
The sets are good. Elektra's home is wonderfully ornate, the shaky caviar factory, the Scottish castle, the casino. All designed perfectly.
The way the film is edited gives the film a lack of the urgency of say Tomorrow Never Dies. For a Bond film the pace is almost casual.
Apted directs like he is worried about making some terrible mistake, so he takes no risks, tries no tricks. He attempts to give the dramatic scenes plenty of pathos but sometimes comes closer to bathos.
So we have a carefully constructed, pedestrianly paced Bond film, almost an oddity. But a likeable oddity for all of that.
Michael Apted seems to do a good job here with what he is given. He gets to direct some very good actors here, most who give him good performances. This pts looks very good, however some of the other action scenes lack, the caviar factory in particular.
Again, we are treated to some very nice visuals in the opening title design. For the most part, they fit the movie very well.
The script leaves a little to be desired. Some weak dialogue, poor plot points, especially with the shoulder thing that is used too many times during the movie, in a convenient way. The final line of the movie, geez, was a shocker.
We have some very interesting locations during this movie but I don't think they are shot to their full potential. I did think the skiing scene looked beautiful, some nice camera work there.
The score is fine, not outstanding but it's good. The theme tune is integrated into the score very nicely and we have some good use of the James Bond theme. Speaking of the title track, I'd never really heard much of Garbage before but this song isn't as per their name. It's a good song, better than the Sheryl Crow effort for me and the second best of the Brozzer era.
Nothing much to mention about the editing of the movie. All seems to move along nicely with nothing of note being seen. As I've said before, these bits are not my best subject so I could well be very wrong.
All the characters look good in any costume that hey are given to wear. The outfits of Renard's men are what you'd expect them to wear I think. Brosnan always looks the cool, suave agent. The only one who gets short shrift is Denise Richards, having been dressed in anything to show of her figure. Takes away from the character somewhat. Robbie Coltrane looks a lot better in this than GE too, he looked quite dapper in the suits he's given.
The Maidens Tower and the warhead bunker are the two sets of note in this movie. Both there to serve a purpose but nothing that would trouble the sets of yesteryear really. Just ok.
We can leave the thread open when we eventually finish so if anyone wants to fill in the blanks (cough...Brady...cough) or anyone new wants to begin their Bond Odyssey then away you go.
And when we review DAD I think we should all try to find something nice to say about the tsunami surfing. Just to see if it's possible.
It has some nice sound design.
It's nice that there's ONE thing that all Bond fans can agree on. This scene sucks.
Damn, they're onto me...
@NicNac, I promise to find at least ONE thing, no matter how small, to compliment in that CGI tsunami scene. Maybe. Hopefully.
"Now pay attention, 007; I've always tried to teach you two things. First, never let them see you bleed."
"And the second?"
"Always have an escape plan."
JAMES BOND:
Aside from a few bouts of pain face that I can never unsee, Brosnan is in top form here as he works alongside (and subsequently against) the woman he has been tasked with protecting, in hopes of tracking down Renard and stopping him before it's too late. I find Brosnan to be pretty commanding throughout, doing very well with the dialogue and scenes he's given, and I rarely find him to be upstaged by those he is sharing the screen with. A definite improvement over TND, I love him in this.
BOND GIRLS:
Elektra King: A Top 10 Bond girl, she does a wonderful job of keeping you guessing as to whether or not she's the helpless, sheltered girl that does need protecting, or if there's a much larger game afoot and she's actually a criminal mastermind. From her first meeting with Bond until her final moments, she's always standing out in my eyes, playing those around her with the inevitable goal of making her dream realized. A great actress, it's a shame she didn't really explode in Hollywood after this.
Dr. Christmas Jones: 90's Denise Richards is most certainly attractive, but her playing the role of a nuclear physicist is way too much, and the ego she brings to the role doesn't help, either, almost always talking down to those around her like she's infinitely better than them, solely because she's an attractive, female physicist. It gets to be way too much, culminating in the cheesiest sexual pun in the series (something she would've clawed Bond's eyes out for saying mere days back).
Dr. Molly Warmflash: I love these named-yet-short Bond girl appearances; she's there to move along the fact that Bond is on the inactive roster, while also becoming another notch under Bond's belt. I miss these types of roles in the films lately, which seem pretty lacking on Bond girls/flirtatious background women in general.
Cigar Girl: Sexy, competent, and very deadly, she makes for another solid femme fatale of the Brosnan era, and the way she's quick to kill herself when backed into a corner really helps heighten the danger of the plot Bond finds himself in; he won't see Renard for sometime, but he's already proven to be a dangerous foe.
BOND ALLIES:
Valentin Zukovsky: Loved him in GE, always happy to see Coltrane return to the role. This time, he's much more pivotal to the story (past setting up a meeting with Alec Trevelyan), with his nephew in the mix, as well. In both GE and TWINE, he seems to fluctuate back and forth from being good and bad; in GE, he very well could kill Bond, but then he ends up helping him out. In this, he starts out helping Bond, while subsequently working with Elektra (the real plot unbeknownst to him), then refuses to help him at his factory, before finally coming through and saving the day, and Bond's life. A fitting end to the character, and I've always enjoyed the male allies during Brosnan's tenure.
Charles Robinson/Bill Tanner: Both are reduced to some very tiny roles in this - the former getting a bigger appearance as he takes Bond to Elektra's pipeline - but I am happy to see them keep Robinson around, even after Michael Kitchen's availability cleared up and he returned.
M/MP/Q:
M: This is where the screentime for the MI6 crew - M in particular - gets quite heightened, though it's still not bordering on the extreme for me; she appears here and there throughout in tiny bouts, and only becomes heavily presented near the end, once she's flown out to see Elektra/becomes Elektra's prisoner. Should've listened to Bond! As always, I love Dench in the role; I grew up with her as M, and while she isn't my favorite, she's always a delight on screen. Of course, my one complaint does end up falling back on my original statement: M does not need to be featured this heavily, and eventually, neither does Q or MP.
MP: A rather short appearance from Samantha Bond this time around, and it's delivered with a bit of short pompousness, I suppose? I'm not sure how to explain it, but here is where the MP/Bond connection turned from flirtatious and fun to her sort of one-upping Bond with the sexual quips and the dominant dialogue; whereas 60's Maxwell would've had a cute line about receiving a cigar, Samantha's MP grows a slight attitude and throws it right in the can.
Q: Ahh, Llewelyn's final performance; it's bittersweet, incredibly saddening, and yet highly touching. The exit he's given is incredibly well-done, and a touching tribute to a wonderful character. Such a shame he would lose his life in a car accident merely one month after the premiere, and he's more than missed in the role.
VILLAIN/HENCHMEN:
Renard: What a villain this could've been. I've been a fan of Carlyle's for many years now, and for 007, it doesn't get any more dangerous than a villain that feels no pain - unfortunately, this must've had a better execution when they were spitballing ideas, because it isn't translated on screen in a proper way at all. The only time we get any shot of this is the way he casually notices he was shot while trying to steal the bomb; past that, it's nothing. He and Bond finally go toe-to-toe in the finale, and after a couple of weak punches and some odd choking, that's it. We could've gotten an intense fight that Bond should've been close to losing, only for him to one-up him with the plutonium rod instead. A man can dream, but we got what we got, and I still enjoy the character enough. Even to this day, though, I still find myself randomly torn over deciding on the main villain of the film. I've always said it's Renard, but sometimes Elektra seems to dominate the screen a lot better than he does, so it's a toss-up at times.
Elektra King: (See BOND GIRLS).
Bullion: A bit snobby, this one, and you can sense his disgust for Bond from their first meeting onward, even before we find out that he's also working with Elektra. He's always come across as the "innocent" one in the movie that manages to avoid a lot of the death and destruction throughout - he disappears in the casino after Bond puts the gun to his chest, he avoids the hubbub at Zukovsky's, appearing at the end when it's all said and done, and sets the bomb/evades the explosion. Hell, even in the finale, he hides himself away underneath Maiden's Tower, and once he's located, he still pretends to be the innocent one that has done nothing wrong. Thankfully, Zukovsky sees right through that, as do a few SMG bullets.
Davidov: Another character that's important to the story but never makes a grand impact - again, I don't mind him, but he's hardly shown throughout, so it's tough for him to be seen as one of my favorite henchmen. Once we finally get our first good look at Renard, we see just how much control he has over the likes of Davidov and Dr. Arkov, the former merely being a puppet so Renard can get his hands on the bomb. Of course, even through Bond taking over Davidov's identity, Renard still succeeds.
Gabor: He's relatively quiet throughout and doesn't do anything impactful past executing the pipeline workers and taking M hostage, but I've always enjoyed him - he looks pretty suave in those suits, and lingers in the background with an air of menace, which is always welcome. I'm not sure why he appears to be Elektra's bodyguard throughout, and yet disappears in the one moment she truly needs him (Bond escaping the torture chair), but I guess it would've made Bond's escape that much harder, and he had to be sidelined so Bond can kill him with ease as soon as he escapes.
Lachaise: While everyone in this bit of the PTS appears to be a threat other than the man himself, I still included him; he's solid enough to help kick off the events of the movie, and in a few short moments, we find that there's someone infinitely bigger than Lachaise that Bond should be hunting, as displayed by the sniper (Renard) outside and the fact that Cigar Girl isn't who she claims to be, executing Lachaise before her escape. His display of fear and willingness to cooperate is well done, albeit too late for Bond.
STORY/ACTION:
(In hindsight, I realized just how well paced the action is in this movie - we're given four or five bigger action moments, all paced well enough between the PTS and the finale. Long enough to make an impact, but not too long to overstay their welcome.)
Bond sets out to stop a terrorist focused on a nuclear plot, all the while attempting to protect an oil heiress while also questioning the loyalties of those around him; it's a simple enough plot that you'd come to expect from the Bond series, with an added layer of mystery, given that Bond doesn't know who is friend or foe throughout. Still, through all that doubt, Bond works off a hunch that ends up paying off, and he saves the day once more. Now, for the action:
PTS: The longest PTS in the series, and it's not without its share of good fun and wonderful stuntwork. I've always liked the shootout at Lachaise's office; so much happens in a small span of time, and even Bond is left in confusion as he makes a last-second escape through the window. I love it, but I've always questioned the blind-strap not snapping and sending Bond to his death, but rather a sturdy, massive desk leg breaking.
After the assassination of Sir Robert King at MI6, Bond seizes the Q-Boat and takes off in pursuit of Cigar Girl, giving us some gorgeous shots of London as Bond zips after her down the Thames, using his GPS and all the weaponry at his disposal to combat her, catch up with her, and finally, stop her boat. It's thrilling, it's questionable at times (the Q-Boat skidding along the streets of London without losing any speed or damaging the boat's functionality? It's a Q gadget, so I guess it works), and it all wraps up with a nice, last-second jump by Bond to keep up the pursuit. Unfortunately, Bond comes to realize that he's dealing with a far more nefarious villain, given that Cigar Girl could so easily end her own life in fear of Renard's hand. She should've listened to Bond and allowed him to protect her, but at the same time, I guess she realized that if they could assassinate someone so powerful inside a place as closely-guarded and protected as the MI6 headquarters, then she knew Renard could eventually get to her.
The Survey Lines: I'm happy to see the return of a beautiful locale and a much-needed skiing action sequence; not only that, but it's a bit of a unique twist, as Bond finds himself up against parahawks that take to both the snow and the air to combat him, as opposed to him merely fleeing a few goons in pursuit with rifles. I'm a big fan of him tricking the parahawk off the side of the cliff, just for him to realize that he had a backup parachute, and Bond finds himself fleeing once more. I know people find the moment to be a bit too melodramatic, but one of the few genuine, humanistic moments that Elektra has is when they survive the avalanche, and she seems to display some real, terrified fear. It's refreshing, given that she spends the rest of the running time deceiving and tricking Bond.
Silo Escape: With the odds constantly stacking up against Bond, he fights his way through numerous goons, before being stopped in his tracks by a fleeing (and bomb-armed) Renard, who gives him mere seconds to escape the room and inevitably, the silo. I always enjoy Bond having a trick up his sleeve (no pun intended) through the use of his watch, and in this case, he uses it to escape the spot they pulled the bomb from, which is a nice touch. I also enjoy the shot of Bond diving through the closing doors, just to land, roll, and shoot the bad guy in front of him. Another highlight: the way the "Bond, James Bond" delivery is cut up, delivering the first half before taking the platform higher up the silo, where he concludes the line. Finally, being the gentleman he is, he lets Jones go up the ladder first, certainly not so he can stare at her cheeks the entire way up.
Zukovsky's Factory: I like the inclusion of the sawblade helicopters laying waste to everything nearby; it's a unique addition to the action scene itself, as Bond finds himself fighting some bad guys one minute, and the next, he's incorporating everything nearby in hopes of taking out the helicopters before they can stop him. I love a lot of the explosive stuntwork, particularly the large explosions that kick off as Bond is falling/jumping from one dock to another. The actual gunfighting is a little tame, and it seems to be a staple of the Brosnan era: a lot of ill-timed muzzle fire/lack of kickback with the weapons makes it hard to tell if Bond is actually shooting at times or not. Still, this is good fun, and the inclusion of the theme song makes it all even better. Random, but I recall rewinding the hell out of the line "The insurance company is NEVER going to believe this!" when I was a kid. Made me laugh a lot, for some reason.
Finale: Pain-face and erotic asphyxiation aside, the torture scene is pretty great, as is Zukovsky assaulting Maiden's Tower with his men and saving Bond. The action doesn't truly begin until Bond boards the sub, but him chasing after Elektra, rescuing M, Elektra's death scene, and his dive from the tower are all very well done - one of Brosnan's stronger moments. "I never miss" is a terrific moment.
As I mentioned when going over Renard, the final fight scene could've been done so much better and been a lot heavier hitting, considering 007 is going up against someone that cannot feel pain. Unfortunately, after sabotaging the sub, and being forced to exit/swim back in (which is an awesome tactic by Bond), we're limited to a few soft blows before Bond is trumped and locked away, forced to watch the end of his world. Thankfully, with some quick thinking, he manages to turn that plutonium rod back on Renard, impaling him and finally giving him the proper death he deserved. Shame there wasn't more leading up to this, but I'll take what I can get.
Again: it's also a shame that the film has to conclude on such an awfully cringe-worthy line, but it is what it is.
MI6Community Bondathon: (May change at any time.)
I can't recall where I last ranked it, and typically I'd think to place it over AVTAK and DAF, but I enjoy those two just a little bit more/for different reasons than TWINE; thus, it currently ranks in 15th, and will surely drop a few spots before the end of this.
1.) GE
2.) DN
3.) OHMSS
4.) LALD
5.) TSWLM
6.) GF
7.) YOLT
8.) FYEO
9.) FRWL
10.) OP
11.) LTK
12.) TB
13.) AVTAK
14.) DAF
15.) TWINE
16.) TLD
17.) TMWTGG
18.) MR
19.) TND
Thank you! I'm itching to fire up DAD tonight instead of waiting until tomorrow.
Sorted.