I rewatched this one yesterday and I feel like my opinion of it changed again. Honestly, its the one Bond film that my opinion seems to change about everytime I watch it. I still see rank it 3 out of 4 for Brosnan, but I didn’t scoff at it as before. I think the biggest criticism I would give it is that it doesn’t really feel like a Brosnan Bond film. It feels more like a 90s Dalton film. Bond is more serious, but it is undermined by Brosnan not being able to hold a British accent throughout. Christmas Jones isn’t really all that bad. I can live with Denise Richards. No she’s not a great actress, but Bond girls aren’t cast based on their acting prowess. She is certainly better than some characters: Holly Goodhead, Mary Goodnight, Stacey Sutton cringe, Jinx, Paris Carver, etc. Richards does actually bring emotion to the scenes, unlike say, Lois Chiles. She doesn’t say any groan-inducing lines like Halle Berry. She doesn’t constantly scream for Bond to save her like Tanya Roberts (okay, she does do it once, but not constantly). The locations of the film are different, but not the most exciting. I’m not sure many people are clamoring for films set in Azerbaijan or the desert in Kazakhstan. Overall, a solid middle of the road Bond film, not great, but not terrible.
I got what you meant though.
Aside from her, umm, chestal aspects she does not have much in the way of curves.
Okay, creepy old guy rant over. Back to the mature discussion at hand.
I think the DAD hate is overblown. There’s so much to like about that first half. The second half gets smashed by people, but really it comes down to the invisible Vanquish, the Icarus beam and the ice wave.
If the second half is guilty of anything, it’s letting their imagination and creativity go wild. They were thinking big and extravagant, like the concept of the Ice Palace, which I do like.
The ice wave CGI is poor, but I think the concept is pure Bond. They created a Bondian situation that couldn’t be performed in real life, much like Indiana Jones getting into a fridge to survive a nuclear blast. Hokey? Sure. But it’s in the tradition of ‘how on Earth is he going to escape THIS?’. I can at least admire that.
My stance on DAD has softened somewhat in the 15+ years since it’s release. The second half of the film is certainly absurd, too much CGI, too much Jinx, not enough plot. But the villain is fairly decent and it is certainly exciting and fun, despite being way too ridiculous. I think it really just didn’t use its locations very well. There was nothing about the Iceland sequence that screamed Iceland. Having it set in the middle of the glacier does nothing for it as it could’ve really been set anywhere there is ice. I still think Jinx is just terrible. She is more than a little annoying and has terrible dialogue. Halle Berry is completely wasted in the role. As I said, I prefer Christmas Jones to Jinx. Lee Tamahori’s directing also really ruined a lot of it. Though, I don’t mind shutting my brain off to watch this.
I remember when I walked out of the cinema in 2002 I was furious. However, in time, I’ve learned to enjoy DAD. For the most part. Its first hour is perfect. If they had decided to go with plastic surgery instead of face mutation, skip the para surfing scene, VR shooting range, get rid of that silly looking Graves’ armour (save the glove), the film would’ve been much, much better. I’d be okay with Jinx, satellite and invisible car (especially with invisible car). There are many great moments in DAD: the PTS, Cuba, fancing duel. And Toby Stephens gives a really solid performance. Shame. A wasted potential.
Having said that, right now I can easily enjoy watching the movie. I suppose that’s something.
We’re getting off topic as this thread is supposed to be about The World Is Not enough, so I created a thread for Die Another Day.
Pierce gives his best performance from all his bond films.
I find it a good film and the plot is good.
The problem is the ski chase, it would have been better to replace that scene with Bond having dinner with Electra at her mansion and talking about family motto’s.
Also get rid of the Christmas Jones character, there was no need for her or to have another bond girl.
The movie should have ended once bond shoots Electra with Renard being arrested to make it different.
It had so much potential to be a classic and I think the producers learned from that mistake with Skyfall.
Yes there is a lot of good potential in TWINE but some of Brozza’s acting is just awful: where Reynard grabs his shoulder in the bunker being particularly cringe! I absolutely loved Sophie Marceau as the villainess though and am excited for these Bond 25 female villain rumours!
I feel that like Goldeneye, the N64 game was better than the movie. The two N64 games introduced me to James Bond. This was my first 007 movie I ever saw. While there are flaws, I enjoyed it because I’m a bit biased for that reason. I noticed Dynamite Comics’ Hammerhead arguably owes some debt to The World is Not Enough. I feel that comic storyline is this movie done right! With Daniel Craig as well!
Possibly why you think it’s better than the film…not a criticism, Casino Royale is mine due to a cast I’ve loved in other things as well as the film itself, it prominently featured two hobbies (parkour and poker) and a line I find FAR more relatable than I should.
I hope it’s “Do I look like a give a damn?” and not “your mistake will be short-lived” or “The bitch is dead.”
It’s…
“Don’t worry, you’re not my type”
“Smart?”
“Single”
Oh, how wrong he was…
Watching bits and pieces from TWINE and I think the underwater sequences with Bond holding his breath were well done. I liked it back in 1999 and appreciate it even more if anything. The finale in the submarine gets criticism for being small scale but I think the overall concept is a good one in terms of drama. The N64 game did a good job in translating the sequence too.
It has many qualities and great ideas, only the execution is often disappointing.
But the „I never miss“-scene alone raises it above lesser entries.
I told my dad that I enjoyed TWINE. His response was that it was one of his least favorites, and that there were better Bond movies. He was right, and it wasn’t a generation thing. I’m a bit biased towards TWINE as it was my first Bond movie I saw. It’s similar to Carte Blanche, it was my first Bond book. I do however get fan’s frustrations with them both. Some story elements and characterizations that don’t feel like James Bond, namely. But I stand by them both, for more than one reason. Namely spoilers: female villains.
I do feel like TWINE has some great ideas, and Denise Richards was truly in a no win situation. The writing of the movie is why I enjoy the Raymond Benson novelization of it more than the final movie, same with TND. I think this review can best shape its uniqueness in Bond history: Pete Debruge of Variety wrote in 2012 that “[The World Is Not Enough] presents a conflicted persona torn between the corny antics of the Roger Moore era and the grim seriousness of where things would eventually go under Daniel Craig’s tenure. It also contains a dose of Timothy Dalton-esque toughness […] Much of what made Brosnan such a great Bond is thrust into the backseat by lame jokes and a premature attempt to mix up the formula”, concluding that it was “nothing but a reversion to the franchise’s most adolescent tendencies”.
Similar to another 1999 movie character, Jar Jar Binks, I feel fans were a bit hard on Denise and her character. The most memorable things about her for me are her name, her tank top and her bellybutton tattoo. One thing that I don’t like about TWINE was it pushed M to the front. It’s getting old, the writing for M to been sympathetic has been poor. I don’t like how EON thinks that they should be a mentor figure to Bond, when all they do criticize him for his actions. This arguably started in TWINE. The best thing about TWINE is the N64 game, which in some ways I like better than GE, and the original movie. All in all, TWINE misses a lot of great opportunities, but EON learned their lessons from it, to give us better movies. A movie ahead of it’s time, in some ways.
I agree and felt she should never have been cast. She turned 28 shortly after filming started. She looked that age if not younger. To me they should have cast someone like Rene Russo who would have been 1) at an age (45) that was more realistic for the part and 2) more age appropriate for Bond. I know the producers have a tendency to focus on very beautiful women. I have just never understood why they can’t do that with women closer to Bond’s age. I was 31 when this movie came out and thought (and still do) that Rene was gorgeous. I guess we got the Thomas Crown Affair.
I agree, but EON was forced by MGM to cast her.
Jar Jar and Denise comparison. 
One of Brosnan’s best moments for sure, followed by the great dive into the water. DAF eat your heart out! I also like the torture chair sequence for the simple fact it’s his equivalent of the Le Chiffre interrogation from Casino Royale.