| legeros.com > Movie Hell > 1999 > Reviews |
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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