Good afternoon ladies & gentlemen! First off, I hope you all had really great Labor Day on Monday, as well as a fun Labor Day weekend overall. Second, today we are going to review the nineteenth entry in the 007 movie series that was made by MGM, and Eon Productions. Interestingly enough, this movie came out during the same year that Star Wars came out with it’s first film of it’s prequel trilogy, Tarzan was the last animated film to be part of the Disney Renaissance Era, and Disney/Pixar came out with the second installment of the Toy Story franchise. Presenting the one and only 007: The World Is Not Enough.
Plot: When a British oil tycoon named Sir Robert King (David Calder) is assassinated by some high-tech terrorists, James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) is assigned to help protect King’s daughter, Elektra King (Sophie Marceau). While doing so, will Bond be able to track down the very people who killed Sir Robert King, and bring them to justice once and for all?
Holy cow! I may have mentioned that some of the James Bond movies of the past have been in either the A range, or the B range, more often than not. Of course, there was also 007: The Man With The Golden Gun, which I have a C+ a while back. So, how was 1999’s 008: The World Is Not Enough? Well everyone, I have to be honest, I was really, really stunned by how great this 007 film ended up being in the end. Honestly, if you’re not a professional critic, you may yet be surprised as well. How this film only got a 52% rating on Rotten Tomatoes is beyond me. Anyway, what makes 007: The World Is Not Enough yet another winner in the series, you may ask? Well, for one, the story is impressive, likely even more so than the first two 007 films that Pierce Brosnan played James Bond in, 007: Goldeneye (1995), and 007: Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), respectively. Yes, those two were mostly good too. However, 007: The World Is Not Enough ends up improving greatly in some areas that you may find yourself wishing that it had in previous 007 movies of the past. For one, not only are most of the supporting characters so well developed this time around, but even James Bond himself stands out this time around. Oh yes! James Bond does still act like his typical self like he has in the other eighteen 007 films before this one. However, in 007: The World Is Not Enough, there are situations where James Bond acts more noble, is much more humble, and attempts to give certain people a chance to turn to the good side, whether they deserve that chance, or not. If any of you can recall any other times before, or after this film, where Bond has this much better character development, please feel free to share! As for the villains, wow, thus far, these characters may be unlike any other villains that we have seen in this movie series. I won’t say who the villains are, but one of them is just really, fleshed out. So much so that this villain becomes really complex, and you know why this villain starts doing some villainous things. Okay, no sin is justified by any means. Still, at least the audience will know where this villain is coming from. Additionally, this film can teach some very valuable lessons. One of these lessons includes how taking revenge against those who have wrong you, or have supposedly wronged you, is NEVER the right course of action. Another lesson to take away from watching this film is how it is better to not repay evil for evil, but rather good for evil. Considering that this is not a faith-based movie, but a mainstream movie that is made by a major studio like MGM, that was most certainly a bold move to incorporate some really good messages like that. In addition to all of this, we should take a moment to talk about how this was the last 007 in which Desmond Llewelyn played the memorable Agent Q. Apparently, the actor who played him passed away shortly after this film’s release. RIP Desmond! You certainly played one of the best characters that this film series could have ever had! Anyway, the movie seems to know how to balance out the action with having a really good storyline at the same time. Yeah, seeing as most, if not all of these movies before this one seemed to try to focus on one more than the other, this was a great change for this time around. Finally, it’s great how we can sympathize with most of the good guys, and maybe even the villains as well. There is really great heart, and emotions with the characters, and the story overall.
And that concludes my review for 007: The World Is Not Enough. It just goes without saying that either the studio knew how to make a good film this time around, or they were just trying their luck once again. Who knows? Maybe the makers of this film learned from their mistakes in some of their previous films, and improved for this film. With all of that said, if you want a 007 film that has a great story, fantastic characters that stand out in one way, or another, and some really good messages that seem to often be missing in mainstream media as if nowadays, then all the more reason to check this film out ASAP. True, there were some scenes that had sexual innuendos. Still, since this was rated PG-13, that’s likely expected. Truth be told, I’m just sorry that I didn’t take time to see this film either back in 1999, or shortly after. This is one that I may watch multiple times in the future, and I’m sure that a lot of other people who see this film may say the same. Still, feel free to let me know your thoughts if you’ve seen it! Again, take time to see 007: The World Is Not Enough, if you haven’t, and see what you think!
Final Grade: A+
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