While the James Bond films hit there peak in the sixties and even a little bit into the seventies by the time the franchise hit the eighties the popularity of the franchise was starting to dwindle but then the franchise came back big time in the nineties with two solid Bond films that proved that there was still life left in the franchise. With the film that i'm going to be reviewing for you all today being the film that really did continue that trend of having a lot of really good James Bond film come out during the nineties and so then join me as I review the film that is the final film to feature Desmond Llewelyn as Q with the film in question being called simply just "The World Is Not Enough" enjoy.
The plot of this film is when a billionaire is murdered James Bond is tasked with protecting his daughter only to find himself wrapped up in a scheme that involved nuclear weapons. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty not that bad with the plot of this film not only doing something knew by basically having Bond act as a bodyguard to this rich persons daughter but also by M be a family friend of theirs as well which is something that none of the other Bond films have really done both before and since this film came out which is odd as it does serve as a great plot idea as it then makes the mission more personal to her just like Quantum Of Solace was Bond however what makes it work so well in this film is the fact that the plot it self is one that doesn't really pull any punches and really leaves you with no idea just wear it's going next which is something that is key for the plot of a spy film and having Bond piece things together as we the audience are is also something that does work for this film as we the audience should never be ahead of Bond interms of information where this film does flat on it's face interms of it's plot is the fact that alot of the time the plot really doesn't get alot of focus which does result in alot of scenes that are only there to have an action scene and really nothing all the more then that as they add so little to the plot of the film in the first place with the plot of this film also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.
This film does of course star Pierce Brosnan as James Bond , Samantha Bond as Miss Moneypenny and Michael Kitchen as Bill Tanner. Also starring in this film is Colin Salmon as Charles Robinson , Desmond Llewelyn as Q , Robbie Coltrane as Valentin Zukovsky , John Cleese as R and Dame Judi Dench as M. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about thew actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty not really good as these are the main MI6 regulars they are of course all reprising their roles from other film and so they would all have a really good handle on just who there character is and how they would act in any given situation with Pierce continuing the trend of the third film being the film where the actor who is playing James Bond really does turn in a really good performance as he is really good to watch in this film with it being made crystal clear that he is more confident in the role in this film then he was In Tomorrow Never Dies which even then he was still really confident in the role in that film and in Goldeneye as well with all of the main MI6 regulars getting alot of time to do there usual schtick with there scenes together reminding us all why we like these characters so much in the first place with the best actor in the film being Dame Judi Dench as this is the film where M pretty much becomes a co-lead character in the film and it's something that the film really does take full advantage of with Dame Judi Dench really proving why she is one of if not the best actor currently working in England today as she is just so good in this film.
Also starring in this film is Denise Richards as Dr. Christmas Jones and Sophie Marceau as Elektra King. Also starring in this film is Robert Carlyle as Victor "Renard" Zokas , Serena Scott Thomas as Dr. Molly Warmflash , Ulrich Thomsen as Sasha Davidov , Goldie as Bull , John Seru as Gabor and Claude-Oliver Rudolph as Colonel Akakievich. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty not that bad with all of the films guest actors turning in some really decent performances with the only exception to this being Denise Richards as while she's not all that bad in this film and isn't that bad of an actor in her own right she's just horribly miscast in this film and it gets to the point you don't end up believing her as this nuclear physicist with the best guest actor in the film being Robert Carlyle as he is just so cool to watch in this film with the actor really showing us that he is thinking through every single outcome before he even makes one step which is something that does make more of a threatening villain to Bond in the process with this being something that really does help to make character more scary in a way with it also being made clear that actor Robert Carlyle really is having a blast playing Renard in this film with the acting that's i this film really being helped by the fact that this films script is just so good that all you have to do is just say the lines as they are written and aa good performance will come out of them naturally which is something that really does help the overall quality of the acting that's in this very film.
This film does technically have two Bond Girls in it with the first one being Elektra King who is played by the drop dead gorgeous Sophie Marceau and the other one being Dr. Christmas Jones who as mentioned is played by the seriously stunning Denis Richards. With it being hard to say just who is the better Bond girl in this film as while Elektra is better acted her character wasn't all that interesting where as with Christmas Jones it was the other way around where she's not that well acted but is the more interesting of the two characters as her character is one that is just trying to do the best job possible and is just caught up in Bonds mission purely by accident where as while the idea of having Elektra be someone who is working with Renard is a good idea the film really doesn't go all the way with it other then having it mentioned once or twice near the end of the film and that's really it where as it would have made her character all the more interesting if we saw her acting evil in smaller ways at the start of the film just to sort of plant the idea that this character really isn't all she says she is as that is something that would make us the audience question everything that she tells us about herself and it would then make sense as to why her kidnappers don't make a second attempt to kidnap after there previous one fails as why would they want to kidnap someone who is basically signing their paychecks and yet with Christmas even tho we don't get to find out all that much about her a character there was potential for her to be one of the more better Bond Girls out there as on paper she does seem like a fun filled character she just needed a little bit more thought put into her character is all.
As was mentioned at the start of this film this was the last film to feature James Bond icon Desmond Llewelyn as Q. Ad the actor died shortly after this film and yeah it is sad to see a character and an actor that had been with the franchise since 1963 and was for the longest time the only connecting actor between FIVE James Bond actors and while he doesn't get much to do in this film it is pretty much clear that the plan was to have the character retire anyway since he does mention retiring at the start of his final scene with them even introducing his replacement in the form of R played by John Cleese but either way it is sad that he didn't really get to leave the franchise that he held so near and dear to his heart on his terms as Q was a huge part of his life and that is something that will never ever be taken away from Desmond not matter how good Ben Whishaw is in the role with Desmond even adding so much personality to what could have been as being a really dull and boring character just by having him have this father and son relationship with Bond with him basically acting as a father figure to Bond in all of there films together and now to see that be taken away from us is yes something that doesn't really take away from any of the other films as they all still work without that aspect of the character but it is something that does leave a hole in the franchise and due to the fact that they would cast a younger actor to play Q in Skyfall it's a whole that's not really been fixed as Bond should have that father figure there just to help him out in some way shape or form and while Ben is good as Q and while Skyfall would also introduce someone who it could be argued is a father figure to Bond in the form of Gareth Mallory nothing will ever be able to top Desmond Llewelyn as Q.
Doing the production design for this film was of course Peter Lamont with his work on this film being just OK at best. While fans of his work might like the sets that he created for this film i'm not one of them as while yes he can have some amazing sets just look at films like Die Another Day or even Tomorrow Never Days as proof of that but when he misses it makes it all the more upsetting because of the fact that we know he can do much more better work and while the sets that he makes for this film aren't bad persay there just not up to his usual high standard with alot of them feeling very flat and dull and boring to look at as well whereas if you look at James Bond sets from the sixties and seventies they all have one thing in common even the bad ones and that's the fact that they were always very visually interesting to look at where as here all of this films sets just look lifeless with it seeming like that the makers of this film didn't bother to give him the budget that he really needed to make some truly stunning sets as there are some good sets in this film like Elektra and Renards home castle base looks good but it just needed that extra something to make it standout a bit more and to make it visually interesting with the same thing also being for the inside of the tube as there's really nothing to that set and with the James Bond films basically being fantasy films then the makers of this film really could have gone all out with the sets and it would be totally believable for that world as this is a world wear having larger sets would fit right in with the rest of the world with that also being something that this film is also very sorely lacking.
The title song for this film is also called "The World Is Not Enough" and is performed by Garbage with the films opening titles being done by Daniel Kleinman. With the films title song being a decent song but really isn't one that's up there with the rest f the great title songs for the James Bond films as it just feels like that the song is just going through the motions but in saying that it is a really well sung song and one that is really well written as well with the song mixing in really well with the images that are being shown to us in the films opening titles which depict the theme of what might be oil and just how deadly that that can be which granted has nothing to do with the film itself as the film is all about nuclear power and it's destructive forces and has nothing to do with oil it still doesn't change the fact the films opening titles do offer some really striking visuals that do make it one of the more better James Bond opening titles with it being clear that while alot of effort was clearly put into the films opening song as it is kind of a catchy song there was alot more effort put into the films opening titles as we do have all of this striking imagery that none of the other James Bond films had at this point in time with that being something that does make this films opening titles standout from all of the rest so much so that it would be understandable if people said that this was there favorite James Bond opening titles but it wouldn't be understandable if people said that this films opening song was there favorite one as there's really nothing to this song to make it standout from all of the other James Bond theme songs out there outside of the fact that it's a rock song and that's really it and that's not enough to make it a truly memorable song and while this song does have some positive aspects to it there not enough to counter all of the negative aspects to it.
Now then this film has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly two hours and eight minuets and twenty seconds. Which to be fair to this film is perfectly solid running time for this film to have as this is a film that really does have more then enough there interms of plot to really cover that amount of running time but in saying that tho this film really doesn't use it's running time all that wisely as the plot of this film isn't well developed with the film being more focused on giving us pointless action scenes that it is in giving us a more well thought out story as the film has alot of action scenes in this film that don't really do anything for the plot of the film with the screen time that it spends on those action scenes being time that could have been spent of developing the plot of the film a bit more with the same thing also being true for the films characters as well as the film is more interested in giving us an almost FIFTEEN minuet long retitle scene which don't get me wrong is a perfectly well done scene but at the same time tho it's also one that does go on for far two long this is despite the fact that it does technically start of the films plot but at the same time it's also one that really doesn't need to be as along as it is as it does take away screen time that could have been better spent on either developing the plot of the film or even developing the films characters but for one reason or another the makers of this film chose not to do that which does result in a film that despite having a really well done plot it's also not as developed as it could have been and characters that are good ideas but aren't aloud to be great ideas as the film now has to rush along to the next plot point but I really will admit that this film really does have some really good pacing to it tho.
So now then as this is an action film that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good. With this film having alot of really good action scenes in it which granted alot of them do go on for a tad bit to long but in saying that tho when the action scenes are this good you kind of want them to be long just because of the fact that your having such a good time watching them with all of this films action scenes being really creative which is kind of shocking given just how long the franchise had been going on for when this film was being made and yet the makers of this film still managed to come up with some really cool and creative active scenes with perhaps the best action scene in the whole entire film being the films third act as that's when we get just how fun and creative that this films action really can be with it being made as clear that alot of the attention from the makers of this film went as they managed to make every single second of the films third act not only entertaining but also worth watching as we get to see Bond fight Reynard in a really tense fight with Bond only just managing to win not through the use of any gadget but rather through his smarts with that being something that the Pierce Brosnan films very rarely had Bond do as they more usually then not had Bond use some form of technology to beat the villain and yet here there was none of that and it is something that worked really well with the rest of the films action scenes also doing that as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.
Overall it's not hard to see why alot of people really do like this film as it is a good film that has alot of good ideas in it it just needed to use it's running time all the more wisely to make those ideas seem more fully fleshed out then what they are in the final cut of this very film in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad thigs that re in this very film in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very film really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 7.5 out of 10 from me.
Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys an girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from the official James Bond fandom wiki page , Wikipedia and Google Images. With my personal favorite website to use to get the images that I used in this very review being the official James Bond fandom wiki page just simply due to the fact that pretty much all of the images that are featured / presented to us and are currently up and also on the official James Bond fandom wiki page are all fairly high quality and as well as being fairly high definition and well then boys and girls just freaking like James Bond I will return.
Comments
Post a Comment