The World is Not Enough (1999)


   
THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH is fun for, oh, forty minutes.  Tops.  Sty-
lish stunts, punny sex talk, Monty Norman's theme music, etc. all  
work their wonderful magic until you realize that, yet again, this 
ain't gonna be even *half* as good as your father's Bond.  Brosnan 
keeps getting better-- he's cheekier this time around-- but the 
films aren't.  This one's just as lame as GOLDENEYE and TOMORROW 
NEVER DIES.  Oh well, at least (most of) the other actors are as 
good as he:  Sophie Marceau, Judi Dench, and Robbie Coltrane.  Rob-
ert Carlyle (THE FULL MONTY) makes a memorably unmemorable villain
-- complete with laughable sympathy scenes-- while the terrifically 
top-heavy Denise Richards (STARSHIP TROOPERS) is just plain bad.  
Well, that is, save for her scenes as a walking advertisement for 
tank-tops.  Wish we had more of John Cleese, too, undergoing groom-
ing as Q's replacement...  The rest is a sloppy, suspense-less stew 
of explosions, narrow escapes, self-serious speeches (yawn), bad-
guy bullets that keep missing (double yawn), and enough plot for an 
entire *fourth* movie!  (How hard can it *be* to keep the formula 
simple, stupid?)  Oh and Richards' character-- like, a nuclear sci-
entist-- is named Christmas Jones, so be ready for one howler of a 
closing line after Bond beds her.  I laughed enough that I forgot 
to ask for my money back!  Michael Apted (Michael Apted?) directs.
(Rated "PG-13"/128 min.)

Grade: C-
            
Copyright 1999 Michael J. Legeros
Movie Hell is a trademark of Michael J. Legeros

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