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It's
hard to find a film franchise with more artifice than
James Bond. And what ensures the survival of this species
is the natural acting of Pierce Brosnan.
In "The World Is Not Enough," the spy who is as
ageless as Barbie finds himself the unwitting conveyor of
a death weapon, a turnabout he finds most unsatisfying.
An oil magnate and friend of M - Bond's boss at British
Intelligence, played by Dame Judi Dench - has been blown
apart; what's worse, the sacred ground of MI6
headquarters as been desecrated. The businessman's
daughter has escaped her kidnappers just in time for her
father's funeral. This woman, Elektra King (Sophie
Marceau), has inherited the fortune, and immerses herself
in completing an oil pipeline that will span western Asia
and help supply the entire Western world into the next
century.
Our hero sets out to guard Elektra's body, as he believes
a dreaded terrorist is back in circulation, and Elektra
may be his next target. Of course Bond is successful in
saving her life, but then goes out on his own in an
attempt to find the evil Renard (Robert Carlyle). During
this self-directed sub-mission, Bond encounters a young
and brilliant scientist named Dr. Christmas Jones (Denise
Richards). It is here in an underground mission complex
that Bond and Dr. Jones (catchy name, no?) fall into the
clutches of the saggy-faced fox Renard - just another
level in the game of following the Bond formula. Will
James even have time to get friendly with Christmas?
The conflict is more complicated than this, and very
formulaic. There's really nothing we haven't seen before.
So how does Pierce Brosnan figure? This man's acting is
not as stylized as the acting of Sean Connery -- the only
better Bond. But Brosnan is strong precisely because he
calls little attention to the artifice; he simply engages
in corny one-liners and then gets into the next action
sequence. Somehow he manages to maintain his dignity and
wit throughout; it's as though he tolerates the whimsical
demands of the script, and focuses his talents on what
he's good at - interacting with others in the cast. No
one before him has played a more sympathetic Bond. Most
viewers won't even get angry at him for the loose morals
he continually displays, or for the downright tacky
sexual puns. We even get a tiny glimpse of vulnerability.
Once it is implied that Bond has lost one close to him,
and at various points we are convinced by Brosnan's wincing
that his collarbone is not fully healed from the hi-jinx
near the start of the story.
As in any Bond installment, the women are beautiful, and
Sophie Marceau is believable enough in the multi-faceted
role she is called upon to play. As the American
scientist Jones, Denise Richards speaks and reacts
sufficiently well, but gives herself away when she opens
her mouth. With the accent and looks of a teenager,
Richards fails to create the illusion of scholarly wisdom
and worldly sophistication needed for the role. As Bond's
superior, M, Judi Dench acts with understatement; we hope
to see her in more scenes than are usually allotted, and
we are not disappointed. We even get a peek at the skills
that helped her gain her status.
One underutilized character is Desmond Llewelyn's Q. He
appears in only two scenes, showing Bond a couple of
gadgets and scolding him for stealing a miraculous boat
he was saving for his retirement. Yes, it is suggested
that he's going, as we meet John Cleese, that master of
the cameo appearance, as R, Q's slightly buffoonish yet
haughty replacement.
Renard does an adequate job as the main villain. Early in
the narrative we are treated to a holographic profile of
this evil man. What's scary is that he has suffered a
gunshot wound to the head, the bullet lodging in his
brain, unable to be removed. Slowly it is killing him.
The right side of his face resembles melted plastic, and
he sports a shaven head, which causes him to resemble a
young Alan Arkin. He is hateable enough, but one wishes
for a bit more motivation, a few more explanatory tidbits
from the too-slick script.
Robbie Coltrane does a reprise of his character from
"Goldeneye," Valentin Zukovsky, offering a
degree of comic relief and support for Bond. In one scene
we get to see the big man swimming in Beluga caviar,
nearly drowning; the scene, by the way, repeats the motif
in the opening credits, the nude silhouettes dripping
oily stuff!
Michael Apted is a very accomplished director, and it
shows in the film's pace and tone. Apted takes risks here
and there, but never goes too far over the top. The chase
scenes are plenty, and have the necessary conventions of
action. Apted is able to blend scenes of exposition well
with the action. His only handicap is the script's lack
of detail; the set-up is too fast, and we sometimes find
ourselves wondering if we missed something.
The short review is that Apted links his scenes well, and
delivers a solid third campaign in Brosnan's naturally
suave Bond. This whole franchise has always been a method
of delivering sex and style, wit and chase. Don't miss it
if you're a fan of things Bond.
Related
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 Danger
Suspense Excitement. There must be when he's around.
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