The World Is Not Enough (1999)

The World Is Not Enough is a 1999 spy film, the nineteenth in the James Bond series produced by Eon Productions and the third to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. It was directed by Michael Apted, from an original story and screenplay by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Bruce Feirstein. It was produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli. The title is the translation of the motto on the Bond family coat of arms, seen first in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. The film’s plot revolves around the assassination of billionaire Sir Robert King by the terrorist Renard, and Bond’s subsequent assignment to protect King’s daughter Elektra, who was previously held for ransom by Renard.

During his assignment, Bond unravels a scheme to increase petroleum prices by triggering a nuclear meltdown in the waters. Filming locations included Spain, France, and the UK, with interiors shot at Pinewood Studios. The film received mixed reviews, with the plot and Denise Richards’ casting frequently targeted for criticism; it also received praise for the performances of Brosnan and Sophie Marceau, and for its emotional weight and focus on characters in comparison to previous entries. The World Is Not Enough earned $361.8 million worldwide. It was also the first Eon-produced Bond film officially released under the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer label instead of United Artists, the franchise’s original owner and distributor.

Plot.

In Bilbao, MI6 agent James Bond meets a Swiss banker named Lachaise to retrieve money for Sir Robert King, a British oil tycoon and friend of M. Bond interrogates the banker to identify the assassin of an MI6 agent, but Lachaise is killed before revealing this information, and Bond is forced to escape with the money. At MI6 headquarters in London, the money is revealed to be laced with explosives that kill King. Bond chases the assassin by boat on the Thames to the Millennium Dome, where she attempts to escape via hot air balloon. Bond offers her protection; she refuses and blows up the balloon at the cost of her life.

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Bond traces the recovered money to Renard, a KGB agent-turned-terrorist. Following an earlier attempt on his life by MI6, Renard was left with a bullet embedded in his brain, which makes him immune to pain but will eventually kill him. M assigns Bond to protect King’s daughter Elektra, whom Renard had previously abducted and held for ransom. During a tour of the pipeline’s proposed route in the mountains, Bond and Elektra are attacked by a hit squad in armed, paraglider-equipped snowmobiles. Bond visits Valentin Zukovsky at a casino to acquire information about Elektra’s attackers. There, Bond grows suspicious as Elektra

immediately loses $1 million on a game of high card draw, and discovers that Elektra’s head of security, Sasha Davidov, is secretly in league with Renard. Bond kills Davidov and boards a plane bound for a Russian ICBM base in Kazakhstan. Posing as a Russian nuclear scientist, Bond meets American nuclear physicist Dr. Christmas Jones. Renard removes the GPS locator card and weapons-grade plutonium from a nuclear bomb. Before Bond can kill him, Jones blows his cover. Renard steals the bomb and flees, leaving everyone to die. Bond and Jones escape the exploding silo with the locator card.

Filming.

The pre-title sequence begins in Bilbao, Spain, featuring the Guggenheim Museum. After the opening scene, the film moves to London, showcasing the SIS Building and the Millennium Dome on the Thames. The sequence lasts for about 14 minutes, making it the longest pre-title sequence in the series until No Time to Die in 2021. Originally, the pre-credits sequence was to have ended with Bond’s leap from the window and descent to the ground, finishing as Bond rushes away from the area as police cars approach. Then, after the credits the sequence in MI6 headquarters would have been next, with the boat scenes the next major action sequence. However, the pre-credits scenes were viewed as lacklustre when compared to ones from previous 007 films, so the credits were pushed back to appear after the boat sequence. The Daily Telegraph claimed that the British Government prevented some filming in front of the actual MI6 Headquarters at Vauxhall Cross, citing a security risk.

Box office.

The film opened at the top of the North American box office with $35.5 million earned during its opening weekend. For five days, it remained in that spot until it was handed to Toy Story 2. Its final worldwide gross was $361.8 million worldwide, with $126 million in the United States alone. It became the highest grossing James Bond film of all time until the release of Die Another Day. The film was also selected for the first round of nominations for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and it was failing to get nominated. The film was nominated for a Best Action/Adventure/Thriller Film Saturn Award, Pierce Brosnan won both the Empire Award and the Blockbuster Entertainment Award as Best Actor, and David Arnold won a BMI Film Music Award for his score. The film became the first in the Bond series to win a Golden Raspberry when Denise Richards was chosen as “Worst Supporting Actress” at the 1999 Razzie Awards.