Barbara Broccoli, the longtime producer of the Bond franchise, not too long ago revealed that the seek for the subsequent 007 is underway. Bond is a kind of IPs that may by no means die, irrespective of how a lot time passes in between initiatives or how good or dangerous they is perhaps. Certainly, the franchise is filled with undeniably excessive peaks, like Goldfinger and On line casino Royale, and embarrassingly low valleys, like Moonraker and Die One other Day. Most of Pierce Brosnan’s tenure as 007 is someplace in between, along with his four-film stint because the spy with a license to kill providing an uneven mix of well-executed motion and unadulterated and fairly unintentional camp.
Of his 4 films, the third, Michael Apted’s The World Is Not Sufficient, is the toughest to pin down. On the one hand, it’s completely terrible, with a ridiculous story that embraces the worst facets of the franchise and clumsy motion sequences which have aged like milk. And but, the movie is so shamelessly entertaining and deliriously foolish that it’s laborious to not fall below its spell. On its twenty fifth anniversary, let’s look again on the difficult legacy of The World Is Not Sufficient and talk about how this deliciously terrible film remains to be one of the purely pleasant James Bond outings.
Nowhere close to sufficient
The World Is Not Sufficient stars Brosnan as James Bond, the suave and knowledgeable spy with a license to kill on behalf of Her Majesty’s Secretc Service. This time, he finds himself concerned within the aftermath of the homicide of billionaire businessman Sir Robert King by the hands of the harmful terrorist Renard (Robert Carlyle). Bond is assigned to guard King’s daughter, Elektra (Sophie Marceau), who was beforehand Renard’s captive. In the course of the project, he meets American nuclear physicist Christmas Jones (Denise Richards) and discovers a plot to extend the value of oil by triggering a nuclear meltdown within the waters off Istanbul.
From that plot alone, you may just about assume the kind of film The World Is Not Sufficient finally ends up being. Whereas Brosnan’s first outing as Bond, GoldenEye, was a real spy thriller, and the sequel, Tomorrow By no means Dies, was a Hong-Kong-influenced motion spectacle, The World Is Not Sufficient is camp embodied. The movie is weird, like a teenage model of James Bond: overly sexy, clumsy, foolish, and corny. And but, it has an ove-complicated plot that thinks so extremely of itself that it descends into absurdity. The script goes into some actually puzzling locations. It desires to look like an intense political thriller, however failing, it should be mentioned, fairly miserably.
Brosnan additionally seems to be woefully confused at the entire thing, however, ever the consummate professional, he doesn’t let it derail his efficiency. Certain, he typically seems to be like he desires to offer a The Workplace–model have a look at the digital camera after each dumb line he’s requested to say, particularly when he name-drops the title with all of the subtlety of a hammer. Nonetheless, Brosnan sells it, which is greater than may be mentioned for a lot of different actors in equally dangerous films. Carlyle, too, does extremely nicely with what he’s given, chewing surroundings left and proper because the KGB agent-turned-terrorist on the heart of the movie’s plot. Supporting gamers like Dame Judi Dench and the late Robbie Coltrane are additionally reliably good at bringing some logic to the nonsense.
I additionally should stick up for Richards, whose efficiency as Christmas Jones has lengthy been the topic of ridicule. Certain, she’s not probably the most plausible nuclear physicist, and certain, she actually struggles to get her dialogue proper, not to mention make it plausible. But, there’s a top quality to her efficiency that matches the movie’s campy tone. She delivers each line with the boldness of a toddler in excessive heels, and I, for one, love her for it.
The Bond Woman has by no means been significantly well-developed, and Christmas Jones is about as complicated as a 2 x 2 multiplication drawback. Nevertheless, Richards does loads to forestall Jones from turning into a strolling joke by choosing a self-aware method that not almost sufficient folks acknowledge. The movie has her ship a bunch of physics phrases in hotpants and bathed in child oil, for crying out loud; it’s to her credit score and the dignity she brings to the position that Jones isn’t the joke the film tries to show her into.
If she will be able to’t have all of it, then no one will
You may need observed that I’ve but to say the strongest facet of The World Is Not Sufficient, and rightly so, for Sophie Marceau deserves a piece to herself. The César Award winner performs Elektra King, the movie’s obvious main woman who’s greater than meets the attention. Certainly, Elektra is definitely the movie’s main antagonist — she kills her father and makes use of Renard to execute her bold oil plot. Marceau’s activity is difficult, as she performs either side of the normal Bond Woman: the damsel in misery and the femme fatale. The actress comes out on prime, crafting a deliciously depraved villainess that not solely ranks as the very best antagonist within the Brosnan period, however one of many total finest within the 007 collection.
And but, she’s barely an precise antagonist. Marceau spends many of the film enjoying the mendacity sport, pulling a fragile balancing act of scarred kidnap sufferer and manipulative seductress and making it look easy. Her eventual reveal as a villain comes late within the second act, resulting in the now-famous scene the place she tortures Bond with a garrote whereas wanting completely gorgeous in a grey Ungaro see-through bodice and lilac Versace skirt. Elektra is the embodiment of what the Bond Woman ought to be: lovely, at all times made up, completely flawless, and dangerously deadly — somebody who can torture and hearth a gun whereas flaunting stilettos and a full face of make-up. Elektra runs and climbs countless flights of stairs in heels; it’s wholly ridiculous, even by ’90s requirements, however Marceau sells the hell out of it, and one can’t assist however give in to her spell.
Elektra’s motives and perspective are additional explored in The World Is Not Sufficient‘s spectacular theme music courtesy of rock band Rubbish. The eponymous orchestral rock tune is carried out with sluggish attract by vocalist Shirley Manson and offers with themes of seduction and ambition. “There’s no level in residing in case you can’t really feel alive,” sings Manson because the anthemic orchestral association performs within the background. Composer David Arnold described it as “a metal fist in a velvet glove,” which can be an ideal description of Elektra King.
King represented many firsts in Bond. Feminine villains are few and much between within the collection. Normally, the feminine antagonist performs second fiddle to the male villain — suppose Famke Janssen’s Xenia Onatopp or Rosamund Pike’s Miranda Frost. Certainly, in Bond’s 60-plus-year historical past, there have solely been two major feminine villains: Lotte Lenya’s Rosa Klebb in Bond’s second outing, From Russia with Love and Marceau’s Elektra King 36 years later. Since Elektra, there has not been one other major feminine Bond villain. And what a disgrace as a result of each Rosa Klebb and Elektra King are amongst Bond’s most iconic and memorable villains, simply outshining the common Bond dangerous man. Do you genuinely keep in mind Common Georgi Koskov? Precisely.
Prepared and but unprepared
Is The World Is Not Sufficient a great Bond film? Effectively, it’s a campy Bond film, the sort that may’ve excelled within the Roger Moore period earlier than he descended into self-parody. But, its flaws are too large and noticeable for me to confidently name it “good”; so dangerous it’s good is extra on the nostril. Marceau can solely achieve this a lot, and imagine me, she does loads.
If I needed to describe The World Is Not Sufficient in a single phrase, it will be “confused.” It has one thing of an identification disaster, desirous to be enjoyable and foolish, but feeling obligated to ship the type of larger-than-life spectacle anticipated of each the Bond collection and the common late-Nineties motion romp. It thinks too extremely of itself to offer in to the ridiculousness, however has too inept of a screenplay and too newbie of a route to tug its ambitions off. One of the simplest ways to look at The World Is Not Sufficient is thru rose-tinted glasses.
Come for Brosnan’s attraction, Richards’ unintentional humor, Carlyle’s scenery-chewing baddie, and Marceau’s spectacular villainess. Come for the nonstop motion and unexpectedly humorous setpieces. Come for the cringeworthy dialogue (what number of instances does Christmas come a 12 months?) and the surplus of all of it. The world will not be sufficient, and neither is that this film, however you recognize what? It’s a fairly good place to start out, my love.
The World Is Not Sufficient is on the market to stream on PlutoTV.
