The World Is Not Enough appreciation thread

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  • ForYourEyesOnlyForYourEyesOnly In the untained cradle of the heavens
    Posts: 1,984
    I'll give it a rewatch and try to elevate it. I know it's got plenty of good ideas, but the execution seems rather bungled to me.
  • echoecho 007 in New York
    edited February 2018 Posts: 6,277
    barryt007 wrote: »
    Personally I feel Renard is the weak link in the film,and I feel Robert Carlyle didn't have the physical presence of how Renard should have been,

    I feel that too. He is a bit weak, but then this weakness is necessary to show how really manipulated and used he is by Elektra.
    Renard even realized that himself in a later scene.
    Making him too menacing may have not worked.

    Still, it's possible Renard was miscast.

    The problem with Renard is the writing. They gave him a great setup--a villain who can feel no pain and gets stronger until he dies--but it never paid off in the final fight with Bond, and it should have. (P&W did something similar with Stamper in the previous film--odd that they could never get that concept right.)

    Also, Zukovsky was better as menacing in GE than goofy/comic relief in TWINE. One gets the sense that his death scene could have been so much more fraught if we actually believed for a second that he might shoot Bond.

    The film loses its momentum when Marceau departs, and the climax with Renard and Jones is poor. (Renard needed to threaten *M*, a totally believable damsel-in-distress, not the city of Istanbul with some tacked-on submarine scene.) And of course, the less said about the final line, the better.

    The story is one of the stronger recent Bond ones, but the script needed another rewrite.
  • It is my favorite Brosnan too. I think that the movie does a great job selling Bond having real feelings for Elektra - something unique only to a handful of films and always welcomed. Great PTS. The scene in the mine where Bond meets Renard is one of the more intense in the series. Decent twist - at least by Bond standards. Sophie Marceau is absolutely gorgeous. On the other hand, the action is a little cluknky at times and the climax with Renard is disappointing. Of course Denise Richards...

    But I still have it in my top half.
  • edited November 2019 Posts: 1,970
    Happy 20th Anniversary The World Is Not Enough!! Best Bond Film Ever!!!!
  • 00Agent00Agent Any man who drinks Dom Perignon '52 can't be all bad.
    edited November 2019 Posts: 5,185
    Happy Anniversary!
    My first Bond film in cinemas, and the only Brosnan Bond i saw on the big screen.
    Though i had been a massive Bond by that time already.
  • Posts: 1,970
    Had a little TWINE celebration by re-watching it today on the 20th anniversary.
  • If the character Christmas Jones didn't exist, I think this would have been a classic.

    The ski scene was and the submarine scenes were the only scenes I didn't enjoy.

    I think the ski scene should have been replaced with Bond eating at Elektra mansion and learning more about her family.

    I think Skyfall did what TWINE failed to do.
  • secret_007 wrote: »
    If the character Christmas Jones didn't exist, I think this would have been a classic.

    The ski scene was and the submarine scenes were the only scenes I didn't enjoy.

    I think the ski scene should have been replaced with Bond eating at Elektra mansion and learning more about her family.

    I think Skyfall did what TWINE failed to do.

    You need the ski sequence - firstly, it's exhilarating and inventive. Secondly, it brings the characters closer together. It establishes Bond falling for Elektra and shows their vulnerability through a fairly traumatic and intense experience....it's a vital sequence in that respect. Also, it's cool and feels like OHMMS (In retrospect, we know that it's a ploy by Elektra to make her more credible and manipulate Bond further. She's wrapping him around her little finger)

    Also, I do think that Christmas Jones and Denise Richards gets it in the neck a bit too much.....if it wasn't for 'Wild Things' having come out the year previously, people would have been softer on her. It isn't a bad performance.

    In fact, it's pretty misogynistic to say that a beautiful woman can't be a scientist. It's akin to saying 'you're too pretty to be taken seriously.' Also, she wears a hazmat suit to work fr 8+ hours a day in the middle of the *freaking* dessert in Kazakhstan. I don't blame her for wearing that outfit under her suit, she must be sweltering.

    960full-the-world-is-not-enough-%281999%29-screenshot.jpg
  • suavejmfsuavejmf Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 5,131
    Nothing is as good as those first 20 minutes. There is some creaky plotting and the post-Cold War villain is nasty in a commonplace way and, being realistically peripatetic, has need for a subterranean palace to luxuriate in. Desmond Llewellyn's Q prepares to bow out and, somewhat unwisely, is preparing to hand over his workshop to the neurotic (and awful pantomime) John Cleese.

    But M is in the field this time, pluckily putting herself at risk; the pace is that of a high-velocity bullet; a buzz-saw hanging from a helicopter, designed to clear forests, carves up buildings and Bond's BMW as if slicing the Sunday joint. Christmas Jones, we learn, is so called in order that Bond, the double-entendre agent, can have the climactic pay-off line: 'I thought Christmas came only once a year.'

    The single authentic bit of Ian Fleming is to be found in the movie's title. Though no one explains its provenance, it derives from the last book published in Fleming's lifetime, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, in which 007 visits the College of Arms to examine his family tree and is informed that the Bond family motto is 'The World Is Not Enough'.

  • echoecho 007 in New York
    Posts: 6,277
    I didn't mind TWINE on its initial release. It was a welcome respite from the wham-bang wall-to-wall action of TND, and Sophie Marceau is, objectively I think it's safe to say, great casting.

    But it really seems dated and out-of-step in the Craig era.
  • DwayneDwayne New York City
    Posts: 2,838
    I’ve always considered TWINE as Brosnan’s best Bond effort after GE. I don’t have a specific reason for this opinion, its’ just that I never really warmed up to TND and I hate DAD. That said, the Renard’s character is underdeveloped and Denise Richards isn’t believable for a single moment (note that criticism is aimed at her character not the actress. Ms. Richards is a very attractive woman and anyone that maintain their sanity after living with Charlie Sheen must have something extra going for them!)

    On the plus side you have Sophie Marceau and Robbie Coltrane, and Desmond Llewelyn’s final moments at Q (“never let them see you bleed”) never fails to leave a lump in my throat. As for Pierce, I think that its’ his most assured performance as Bond, and his wardrobe is definitely a step up from TND.

    Still, TWINE will always be known – among general movie fans – for this:


  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,205
    Dwayne wrote: »
    I’ve always considered TWINE as Brosnan’s best Bond effort after GE. I don’t have a specific reason for this opinion, its’ just that I never really warmed up to TND and I hate DAD. That said, the Renard’s character is underdeveloped and Denise Richards isn’t believable for a single moment (note that criticism is aimed at her character not the actress. Ms. Richards is a very attractive woman and anyone that maintain their sanity after living with Charlie Sheen must have something extra going for them!)

    On the plus side you have Sophie Marceau and Robbie Coltrane, and Desmond Llewelyn’s final moments at Q (“never let them see you bleed”) never fails to leave a lump in my throat. As for Pierce, I think that its’ his most assured performance as Bond, and his wardrobe is definitely a step up from TND.

    Still, TWINE will always be known – among general movie fans – for this:


    That is glorious.
  • LeonardPineLeonardPine The Bar on the Beach
    Posts: 3,996
    I really enjoy TWINE up until around the Casino scene. Then the film kind of meanders along and it's all a bit meh.

    Of the later scenes i do like the Pipeline sequence and the torture scene. The climax is ok but the fight between Renard and Bond should have been fast and brutal. This guy is supposed to not feel pain and have super strength remember!

    The PTS is really good and David Arnolds score just knocks it out of the park. A wonderful Bond score from a guy that knows Bond music.

    I think Denise Richards is fine in the film in a really poorly written part.

    I like Brosnan in this and he keeps up nicely with the excellent Sophie Marceau.

    This regularly vies with TND for my favourite Brosnan film.

  • Agent_47Agent_47 Canada
    Posts: 330
    If Skyfall and Tomorrow Never Dies had a baby, it would be The World Is Not Enough.

    Any synopsis of this film should just open with that; Tells you everything you need.
  • Posts: 1,916
    Agent_47 wrote: »
    If Skyfall and Tomorrow Never Dies had a baby, it would be The World Is Not Enough.

    Any synopsis of this film should just open with that; Tells you everything you need.

    I consider that an insult to both of those films.
  • Agent_47Agent_47 Canada
    Posts: 330
    BT3366 wrote: »
    Agent_47 wrote: »
    If Skyfall and Tomorrow Never Dies had a baby, it would be The World Is Not Enough.

    Any synopsis of this film should just open with that; Tells you everything you need.

    I consider that an insult to both of those films.

    That's true; TWINE shouldn't be mentioned alongside either of those films... because it's better than both of them.
  • LeonardPineLeonardPine The Bar on the Beach
    Posts: 3,996
    Agent_47 wrote: »
    BT3366 wrote: »
    Agent_47 wrote: »
    If Skyfall and Tomorrow Never Dies had a baby, it would be The World Is Not Enough.

    Any synopsis of this film should just open with that; Tells you everything you need.

    I consider that an insult to both of those films.

    That's true; TWINE shouldn't be mentioned alongside either of those films... because it's better than both of them.

    From a script point of view TWINE makes a lot more sense than SF
  • BondAficionadoBondAficionado Former IMDBer
    edited October 2020 Posts: 1,889
    Thought this might be worth sharing:

    Insider made another video on the realism in films this time with a former submarine commander briefly talking about The World Is Not Enough's final scene. Now of course these type of videos aren't meant to be taken that seriously, but I did find it interesting how he rated the realism a 6/10 considering he was much harsher with other films on the list and many people still complain about how ridiculous the whole sub finale is. Although there is a lot of valid criticism in the video too. Maybe it'll give us something new to think about on the next rewatch?

    Here's the clip (TWINE starts at 2:26):
  • Mi6appealMi6appeal Denver, CO USA
    edited October 2021 Posts: 10
    TWINE has it all, including the two best Bond character beats in the entire series: The first is in the casino, when the goon approaches Brosnan, and Bond uses his x-ray specs to spot the guys knife, then pulls it out from inside the guy's jacket, stabs his tie into the bar, kicks out the guys legs so he starts choking, then also pulls out the goon's gun, trading it with the bartender for the martini he's just ordered, then downing it in one gulp, all in a single, fluid, effortless motion! 😎

    The other:

    "You'd miss me."

    Bang!

    "I never miss."

    😯
  • Posts: 526
    The PTS was pretty good.
  • VenutiusVenutius Yorkshire
    edited October 2021 Posts: 3,147
    Sophie Marceau. I don't need to say any more.
  • QBranchQBranch Always have an escape plan. Mine is watching James Bond films.
    Posts: 14,556
    Someone here described the action perfectly - something along the lines of a Warner Brothers stage show, or perhaps 'James Bond: The Ride'. Especially when he's jumping and leaping around at the caviar factory. All very staged. I like the film enough, but half the action is Bond hanging from stuff: curtain cords, balloon moorings, piton wires, chains and power lines.

    I love the pipeline control centre scene, there's a bit of urgency there.
  • LeonardPineLeonardPine The Bar on the Beach
    Posts: 3,996
    QBranch wrote: »
    Someone here described the action perfectly - something along the lines of a Warner Brothers stage show, or perhaps 'James Bond: The Ride'. Especially when he's jumping and leaping around at the caviar factory. All very staged. I like the film enough, but half the action is Bond hanging from stuff: curtain cords, balloon moorings, piton wires, chains and power lines.

    I love the pipeline control centre scene, there's a bit of urgency there.

    Yeah, i like the pipeline scene. The switching between Bond in the pipe and the control room is well edited. I love Arnold's music in the sequence as well.

    The action is mostly pretty flat in this, but the boat chase is excellent and the shootout in the bunker is quite good.
  • fadetoblack7fadetoblack7 Chicago IL
    Posts: 60
    This film holds a special place in my heart - it was the first Bond film I saw in theaters, and I’ve seen each one in theaters since. My dad took me to see it when I was 10, and this one holds so many memories for me. As flawed as it can be, the goods outweigh the bads all the time. Excellent film 👍
  • Posts: 526
    Does this film remind anyone of NTTD? The tone, feel, and Craig’s portrayal?
  • Posts: 1,916
    Does this film remind anyone of NTTD? The tone, feel, and Craig’s portrayal?

    No, it reminds me of SF. Craig's portrayal of Bond in NTTD is miles from Brosnan's in TWINE and so is everything else in TWINE.

    Can you give other examples of where you think these occur?
  • Posts: 1,394
    Love the score.
    Love the boat chase.
    Does this film remind anyone of NTTD? The tone, feel, and Craig’s portrayal?

    Nope.Bond doesn’t retire.He actually sleeps with several women.The movie has a happy ending...

    TWINE does remind me of SF though.

  • Posts: 526
    BT3366 wrote: »
    Does this film remind anyone of NTTD? The tone, feel, and Craig’s portrayal?

    No, it reminds me of SF. Craig's portrayal of Bond in NTTD is miles from Brosnan's in TWINE and so is everything else in TWINE.

    Can you give other examples of where you think these occur?

    @BT3366 I’d have to rewatch it to be honest, it’s been a long time. I just think the entire feel of TWINE is similar to NTTD. Now the ending are very different, of course (to answer @astonlotus). Craig’s Bond’s attitude and style was similar to Brosnan’s imo. Using the machine gun and a high body count (common for Brosnan films). But, I guess that Craig just reminded me more of Brosnan’s Bond in this film. I will rewatch twine and give a better response soon.
  • edited November 2021 Posts: 1,596
    Well said about the action in the film. It is certainly up (down) there, aside from the PTS and maybe slight flashes here and there, with the worst of the series.

    I've tried to come around to the film as a whole, however, over time. And I can find things to appreciate. By and large, though, the action is not one of them.
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