CommanderBond.net
  1. The World is not Enough celebrates 10 years (Part II)

    By Devin Zydel on 2009-12-02

    As The Countdown Begins For The New Millienum There Is Still One Number You Can Always Count On…

    The World is not Enough – 10 Years On

    PART II

    Late November 2009 marked the 10th anniversary of Pierce Brosnan’s third James Bond film, 1999’s The World is not Enough. The nineteenth adventure in the official Eon-produced 007 series, the twisting and turning storyline concentrated on Bond overlooking the daughter of Sir Robert King, an oil tycoon and personal friend of ‘M’—but as 007 soon discovers, appearances can be deceiving.

    The World is not Enough originally opened in the US on 19 November 1999 (following an 8 November premiere). The UK premiere was held on 22 November while the general release followed a few days later on the 26th.

    The World is not Enough generated an opening weekend box-office gross of $35.5 million in the US and eventually grew to $126 million in total. Worldwide (including the US), the film eventually grossed $361 million, becoming the highest grossing film in the James Bond series until the release of Die Another Day three years later.

    Despite the film’s general success at the box-office, reviews from fans and critics alike was and remains uneven. Reflecting the general split down the middle in opinion amongst film critics, The World is not Enough currently holds a 51% approval rating on the popular movie review website Rotten Tomatoes. The film also has the tendancy (or talent, perhaps?) of sparking heated reaction (both positive and negative) when it comes up for discussion on the CommanderBond.net Discussion Forums.

    Taking into account the 10th anniversary of the film, CommanderBond.net asked our forum members to recall their first (or most memorable) time seeing The World is not Enough. To share your own remembrance, simply register here (it’s free and only takes a minute) on the CBn Forums.

    'The World is not Enough'

    Remembering The World is not Enough by… JimmyBond

    I was a Bond fan before Brosnan was ever announced as 007. But I wasnt a hardcore fan, in fact I hadnt even seen all the Bond films until after GoldenEye came out. My dad had shown me all the Connery’s and then I searched out more: I went for the Moore films next, than I watched the two Dalton’s, then I finally went ahead and watched On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (that one took me a while to warm up to).

    So flash forward to after Tomorrow Never Dies had come out. I (thought) I had a good idea of who Bond was and how the movie’s should be. And at that point I wasnt really warmed up to the Brosnan films yet. I felt they relied too much on long drawn out action scenes in favor of the slow steady build ups many of the old films had. So needless to say anything that was different from Tomorrow Never Dies would have been enjoyed by me.

    So come opening day in 99 as I sat in the theater and watched The World is not Enough unfold before me I felt it was a pretty good film. Sure it still had the long drawn out action scenes but (at the time) I felt the film made up for it with interesting “dialogue” scenes. Marceau was good and Desmond’s exit was touching. And this being the third Brosnan film and feeling they werent really going to change course too drastic, I just accepted a lot of the silly stuff that happend in the film.

    Of course my opinion of the film has thus changed, but that’s niether here nor there.

    I went back and saw it two more times. Once with my brother and another time when it hit the dollar theater.

    Remembering The World is not Enough by… The Ghost Who Walks

    First watched it as a kid on a friend’s birthday party. Loved it. Thought the action was amazing, Pierce was really cool (it’s probably his best performance in the role as I see it), and I really wanted to marry Sophie Marceau.

    I still like the film, though I recognize its many shortcomings, but among CBn members, I feel The World is not Enough is an underrated movie in many ways. It’s better than GoldenEye in my opinion.

    Remembering The World is not Enough by… Turn

    It’s not surprising that my least favorite Bond movie was accompanied by probably my least memorable experience of seeing a Bond film upon release.

    I went, as is my custom, on the second day of release at the evening showing. My wife and I were to meet one of my best friends and his girlfriend for dinner and then on to the film. My friend showed up without the girlfriend, which automatically put my wife in a less than chipper mood.

    It was the last time I saw a Bond in the biggest cinema in my town. It was crowded. One of the things that stood out was a guy named Jason Collier, who went on to play a couple of seasons in the NBA and died a tragic death a few years ago, was in his senior year of high school and in the audience with friends that night.

    I was as excited for The World is not Enough as I was for any new Bond film. But as it wore on I just could not get into it and it never clicked with me. I remember my friend and I talking about how flat it was afterward, him telling me there’s were no superlatives, but kept going on about Denise Richards in the submarine scenes.

    That was as memorable as The World is not Enough got at that point and today is at the bottom of my Bond films list. That didn’t stop me from going home to scout out The World is not Enough items on eBay that night.

    A bit more memorable was returning a week or so later on Thanksgiving weekend to the brand new state-of-the-art multiplex in a neighboring town. The film didn’t get any better. I recall going home and watching For Your Eyes Only on a TBS marathon upon returning home.

    Remembering The World is not Enough by… The Richmond Spy

    First Bond I saw in the theater and then there were some great marathons on that Christmas season on TV.

    Both very key to my development as a fan.

    Remembering The World is not Enough by… dinovelvet

    Saw it on the Friday it was released, at the local ‘plex. It was pretty much full, and a woman with a baby sat right next to me, and I thought,mdash;there’s going to be crying and screaming for the next two hours.

    As it turns out, the baby was completely silent throughout, and I was the one doing the crying and screaming.

    Remembering The World is not Enough by… bond 16.05.72

    I saw it on it’s opening Friday night, the pre-titles sequence was fine and Pierce Brosnan showed some real promise in the Swiss banker scene but then it was elongated to a ridiculous and somewhat tiresome boat chase around the Thames complete with the ludicrous tie straigtening scene.

    It’s not a great surprise that Die Another Day was like it as the ground work had started with Tomorrow Never Dies and The World is not Enough‘s supposed attempt to be bit more grounded just rings hollow with all the other over the top moments in this film, It’s probably the most eneven of all Brozzer’s entries, make you mind up what you want to be. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service or The Spy Who Loved Me, you can’t be both. plus Robert Carlyle was completely wasted as Renard.

    No, not one the best big screen Bond experiences.

    Remembering The World is not Enough by… DR76

    When I had first seen The World is not Enough, I walked out of the theater in the middle of the movie, to take a break. I just needed a break from the movie, because I disliked it that much.

    Yet, seven years later, I watched my VHS copy of it and realized that it has become my second favorite Bond movie featuring Pierce Brosnan. I still dislike the ending on the sub, but I must admit that I have grown to really like the movie’s story. And I think it featured Brosnan’s best performance as Bond.


    As always, stay tuned to the CommanderBond.net main page for neverending James Bond coverage. Be sure to check out our Twitter feed as well.