Information about The World Is Not Enough

The World Is Not Enough
The World Is Not Enough film poster
James Bond	Pierce Brosnan
Also starring	Robert Carlyle Sophie Marceau Denise Richards Goldie Judi Dench John Cleese Michael Kitchen Robbie Coltrane Samantha Bond John Seru Victor LeBlanc
Directed by	Michael Apted
Produced by	Barbara Broccoli Michael G. Wilson
Novel/Story by	Neal Purvis & Robert Wade
Screenplay	Neal Purvis & Robert Wade and Bruce Feirstein
Cinematography by	Adrian Biddle
Music by	David Arnold
Main theme	The World Is Not Enough
Composer	David Arnold Don Black
Performer	Garbage
Distributed by	United Artists
Released	November 19, 1999
Running time	128 min.
Budget	$135,000,000
Worldwide gross	$362,000,000
Admissions (world)	77.1 million
Preceded by	Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
Followed by	Die Another Day (2002)
IMDb profile

The World Is Not Enough, released in 1999, is the nineteenth spy film in the James Bond series, and the third to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional British secret agent James Bond. The film's original story and screenplay were written by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. It was produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli. In the film, Bond is assigned to stop Renard, a terrorist who plans to permanently disrupt petroleum shipments from the Caspian Sea by causing the meltdown of a nuclear submarine in the waters of Istanbul.

The World Is Not Enough would end up being the last to feature Desmond Llewelyn as Q, following his death in December 1999. The title traces its origins to the English translation of the Latin sentence Orbis non sufficit, which was said by Bond in the novel On Her Majesty's Secret Service and in its film adaptation was revealed to be the Bond family motto on the family crest.

Plot

A British oil tycoon, and friend of M, Sir Robert King, is assassinated in an attack on MI6 Headquarters itself, by an agent of Renard, an international terrorist. M assigns James Bond to protect King's daughter, Elektra King, from Renard, who previously had kidnapped her. She assumes control of her father's oil business at a pivotal time, taking over responsibility for an oil pipeline through the Caucasus, from the Caspian Sea to Turkey.

Prior to the events in the film, M sent 009 to assassinate Renard. 009 failed, only wounding Renard by leaving a bullet lodged in Renard's brain. The bullet is slowly working its way towards the cerebral cortex. As it moves, it eliminates his senses of pain and touch, enabling him to physically drive himself beyond normal human limits. This will in turn allow him to continually gain strength until the bullet inevitably kills him.

Renard steals a quantity of weapons-grade plutonium from a former Russian ICBM base in Kazakhstan,which is controlled by Colonel Akakievich, there encountering Bond. After Bond escapes from a booby-trapped missile silo with American nuclear physicist Christmas Jones, the two return to the King pipeline, discovering that Renard has set a nuclear bomb in a section of the pipeline in a cleaning rig headed towards the pipeline's oil terminal. They enter the pipeline, catching up with the bomb in a spare cleaning rig, to attempt to defuse the bomb, but find that Renard only used part of the plutonium. Bond allows the bomb to explode, which makes Jones angry. He and Jones jump off the rig inside the pipeline seconds before the explosion and survive. When Bond radios in that he survived, he discovers that M has been kidnapped.

Bond quickly surmises that Elektra is operating with Renard; Renard has hijacked a Russian Victor III class nuclear submarine. Eventually, when Bond confronts Elektra, he finds she had made a professional and romantic alliance during captivity with Renard. Their plan is to introduce the remaining plutonium to the submarine's nuclear reactor, overloading it and causing a nuclear meltdown in the Bosporus at Istanbul killing at least eight million people and contaminating the Bosporus for decades. The effect would prevent shipment of Caspian Sea petroleum through any existing route for tankers through the Bosporus. The only alternative would be the King pipeline.

Bond teams up with Valentin Zukovsky to track Renard and Elektra. One of Zukovsky's trusted henchmen, Bull, plants a bomb in his boss' operations room; Bond, Zukovsky and Dr. Jones manage to escape severe injury but are captured by Elektra. Bond is taken to King's hideout and tortured for King's pleasure at his rejection. "I could have given you the world," she tempts "The world is not enough," Bond responded. Jones is given to Renard and taken aboard the submarine. Zukovsky arrives at Elektra's hideout, demanding to know where the hijacked submarine is since his nephew is the captain. Seeing his nephew's naval hat on a nearby table, he realizes that the man is dead. Elektra shoots Valentin and continues to torture Bond. Before he dies, Zukovsky shoots one of the bands holding Bond to the torture device. Bond escapes and chases Elektra through her headquarters, pausing momentarily to free M. He catches up with Elektra, and kills her despite her signal to Renard to begin his mission.

Bond boards the submarine and, after a brief battle with Renard's men, sabotages the controls and scuttles it on the bottom of the channel. He and Renard briefly fight. Bond delivers a few blows to various parts of Renard's body. Renard, who didn't feel the hits, gains the upper hand. But Bond manages to overpower Renard, impaling the villain with the same plutonium rod he planned to use to cause the meltdown, but is too late to stop a small explosion in the reactor room. Bond and Dr. Jones escape to the surface before the sub explodes.

Later, MI6 tries to locate Bond with a thermal-imaging satellite, they discover Bond and Christmas in a compromising position. R quickly shuts down the viewer and quips "Must be some premature form of the Millennium Bug."

Vehicles and gadgets

Main articles: List of James Bond vehicles and List of James Bond gadgets

BMW Z8 — Bond's Aston Martin DB5, as seen in the previous two films, was due to make an appearance and was filmed driving 007 and M to MI6's castle HQ after the funeral, but this was cut. The only shot in which it appears is a thermal satellite image at the end — Bond apparently having had his car shipped to Istanbul to replace the Q-issued BMW he was driving, but which was destroyed. The car is loaded with several Q refinements including ground to air missiles, a key chain that can control the car remotely, and as R proudly points out, six cup holders. It was later sawn in half and destroyed during a battle at Zukovsky's caviar factory.

The Q Boat was an unfinished "fishing boat" created by Q for his retirement. It includes torpedoes and a GPS tracking system. It could also submerge, although this feature wasn't quite finished when Bond took it (the windshield probably hadn't been installed at that time) and forced him to hold his breath while underwater.Q gives Bond a protective ski jacket, that when deployed encloses Bond and potentially another person inside a ball. Bond uses it to survive an avalanche when out skiing with Elektra.

Blue X-ray shades, Bond uses in the casino to locate the guards' weapons and to visually see the undergarments of the attractive female guests.

Cast

• Pierce Brosnan as James Bond: An MI6 agent.
• Sophie Marceau as Elektra King
• Robert Carlyle as Renard
• Denise Richards as Dr. Christmas Jones: a nuclear scientist assisting Bond in his mission.
• Robbie Coltrane as Valentin Zukovsky: a Russian mafia head who battles Electra.
• Judi Dench as M: The strict head of MI6.
• Samantha Bond as Miss Moneypenny: M's secretary
• Desmond Llewelyn as Q: MI6's "quartermaster" who supplies Bond with multi-purpose vehicles and gadgets useful for the latter's mission.
• John Cleese as R: Q's assistant
• Maria Grazia Cucinotta as Giulietta da Vinci (Cigar Girl)

This was Desmond Llewelyn's last appearance as "Q" before his death in December, 1999. The film also introduced "Q"'s successor, credited as "R", played by John Cleese. The name "R" is a joke in the film made by Bond upon their introduction. In the following movie, Die Another Day, he takes over the job of Quartermaster, thus taking on the title "Q". In Llewelyn's final scene, his "Q" is lowered into the ground while quipping: "Always have an escape plan". It was stated in promotional interviews at the time that this was not intended to be Llewelyn's final appearance onscreen, that he was going to continue with Cleese as his assistant. The scene turned out to be prophetic, as the actor died in an automobile accident only a few weeks after the film's release, at age 85.

See also:  and

Production

During filming of the opening boat chase, web cams were set up overlooking the River Thames and Internet users could watch the filming from around the world. The pre-title sequence lasts for about 14 minutes, the longest pre-title sequence in the Bond series to date. In addition, director Michael Apted says in the making of documentaries on the Ultimate Edition DVD release that this scene was originally much longer than that. Originally, the British government objected to filming the actual MI6 Headquarters at Vauxhall Cross, citing a security risk. However, then Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Robin Cook said, "After all Bond has done for Britain, it was the least we could do for Bond."^[1]

Initially the film was going to be released in 2000 and a suitable title Bond 2000 was slated. Other working titles included Bond 19, Death Waits for No Man, Fire and Ice, Pressure Point and Dangerously Yours.^[2]

Filming

The introduction to the film was set in Bilbao, Spain and the Guggenheim Museum featured in the film. The later scene in the long introduction was set in London, England, with the SIS Building and Millennium Dome on the river Thames. Eilean Donan castle in Scotland was used in the film by MI6 as a temporary headquarters. Locations then included Baku, Azerbaijan, the Kazakhstan Oil Rocks and finally Istanbul, Turkey where the Maiden's Tower featured.

The studio work for the film was shot as usual in Pinewood Studios including Albert R. Broccoli's 007 Stage. Bilbao, Spain was used briefly for the exterior of Swiss bank and flyover-bridge adjacent to the Guggenheim Museum. In London outdoor footage was shot of the SIS Building and Vauxhall Cross with several weeks filming the boat chase on River Thames eastwards towards the Millennium Dome, Greenwich. The canal footage of the chase where Bond soaks the parking attendant was filmed at Wapping and the boat stunts in Millwall Dock and under Glengall Bridge were filmed at the Isle of Dogs. Stowe School,Buckinghamshire was used as the site of the King family estate on banks of Loch Lomond. Filming was then shot in Scotland at the Eilean Donan Castle, Scotland to depict the exterior of MI6 temporary operations centre at "Castle Thane". The skiing chase sequence in Carpathian mountains was shot on the slopes of Chamonix, France.

Much of the filming for Baku, Azerbaijan in the film was shot at Halton House, RAF Halton and the interior (and single exterior shot) of L'Or Noir casino in Baku. RAF Northolt was used to depict the airfield runway in Azerbaijan.

The exterior of Kazakhstan nuclear facility was shot at the Bardenas Reales, in Navarre, Spain and the exterior of oil refinery control centre in Swindon, United Kingdom. The exterior of oil pipeline was filmed in Cwm Dyli, Snowdonia, Wales while the production teams shot the oil pipeline explosion in Hankley Common, Elstead, Surrey. Istanbul, Turkey was indeed used in the film and Elektra King's Baku villa was actually in the city, also using the famous Maiden's Tower which was used as Renard's hideout in Turkey. The underwater filming of submarine scenes was actually filmed in the The Bahamas.

Music

Main article: The World Is Not Enough (soundtrack)

The World Is Not Enough is the second James Bond soundtrack composed by David Arnold, released in 1999. Arnold broke tradition by not ending the film with a reprise of the opening theme or, as with the previous three films, a new song. Originally, Arnold was going to use the melancholy song Only Myself to Blame at the end of the film, however, it was replaced by a techno remix of The James Bond Theme. Only Myself to Blame, sung by Scott Walker and written by David Arnold & Don Black, does appear on the soundtrack album, and its melody appears throughout the film as the pathos-laden theme for the character of Elektra King; it is most prominently heard in Casino, Elektra's Theme and I Never Miss. Arnold's score was widely criticised for its regular use of electronic elements and a perceived over-usage of the Bond theme, but he was immediately engaged to score the next Bond film, and indeed the most recent. Arnold added two new themes to his Bond repertoire with this score, both of which are reused in the subsequent Die Another Day.

The Music used in the trademark credit sequence is The World Is Not Enough, written with and performed by the band Garbage. On the film's 'Ultimate edition' DVD release, they state: "When we first got together, we all said that we wanted to make a James Bond Theme, because that's how we come up with our songs." The band also contributed to the music heard during the chase sequence – Ice Pirates – which was released as the B-side to their single release of the theme song.

Release and reception

The World Is Not Enough premiered on November 18, 1999 in the USA and on November 26, 1999 in the UK.^[3] At that time MGM signed a marketing partnership with MTV, primarily for American youths who were assumed to have considered Bond as "an old-fashioned secret service agent". As a result MTV broadcast more than 100 hours of Bond-related programmes immediately after the film was released, most of them involving Denise Richards.^[4]

The film grossed $361 million worldwide, with $126 million in the United States alone becoming the highest grossing James Bond film of all time until the release of Die Another Day.^[5] The opening weeking collections in USA were $35.5 million.^[6] The film was also selected for the first round of nominations for the Academy Award for Best Special Effects but failed.^[7]

There are three different documentaries on the disc, as well as a "Secrets of 007" featurette that cuts between specific stunt sequences, behind-the-scenes footage and storyboards to reveal how it was all done, and a short video tribute to Desmond Llewelyn ("Q"), who died not long after this movie was released. The first "making of" piece is presented by an American woman and is aimed squarely at the MTV market. "Bond Cocktail" gamely distils all the essential ingredients that make up the classic Bond movie formula--gadgets, girls, exotic locations and lots of action. Another documentary on the disc is "Bond Down River", a lengthy dissection of the opening boat chase sequence. Director Michael Apted provides the first commentary, and talks about the challenges of delivering all the requisite ingredients. The dvd also has the original theatrical trailer, Garbage music video, the PlayStation Game Trailer and the booklet has further behind-the-scenes info.

Rotten Tomatoes currently lists the film with a 53% "fresh" rating.^[8]

However, other critics have praised the script for bringing the Bond formula successfully into a modern context, as well as giving acclaim to Pierce Brosnan's and Robert Carlye's performances as Bond and Renard, respectively. Roger Ebert said the film was a "splendid comic thriller, exciting and graceful, endlessly inventive", and gave it three and a half stars out of four.

Adaptations

Main articles: The World Is Not Enough (novel) and The World Is Not Enough (video game)

The World Is Not Enough was adapted by then-current Bond novelist Raymond Benson from the screenplay by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Bruce Feirstein. It was Benson's fourth James Bond novel and followed the story closely, except in some details. For example, Elektra does not die immediately after Bond shoots her; instead, she begins quietly to sing. The novel also gave the Cigar Girl a name: Giulietta da Vinci, and retained a scene between her and Renard that was cut from theatrical release. Also, Bond is still carrying his Walther PPK instead of the newer P99.

In 2001, film was adapted into a first-person shooter video game of the same name by Electronic Arts for the Nintendo 64 and PlayStation. The World Is Not Enough would ultimately become the last James Bond game to appear on either console. The Nintendo 64 version was developed by Eurocom and the PlayStation version was developed by Black Ops. Black Ops had previously developed the James Bond game Tomorrow Never Dies. Eurocom would later go on in 2002 to develop the Bond game Nightfire. Versions of The World Is Not Enough for the PC and the PlayStation 2 were planned for release in 2000, but cancelled. These aforementioned versions would have used id Tech 3. This game Marks the fifth appearance of Pierce Brosnan, the game included his likeness but not his voice.

Coming off the failure of the previous Bond game, Tomorrow Never Dies, it was decided that The World Is Not Enough would go back to its roots as a first-person shooter, popularized by the success of the Bond game GoldenEye 007. In the Nintendo 64 version, it would also see the reintroduction of the multiplayer portion of the game that gave GoldenEye 007 such a lasting appeal.

References

External links

• The World Is Not Enough at Rotten Tomatoes
• The World Is Not Enough at Box Office Mojo
• MGM's official The World is Not Enough website
• The World is Not Enough page on the Ultimate James Bond Community
• "MI6" fan site with many film details
• The Digital Bits DVD review
• Movie Tour Guide.com - Maps and directions to The World is Not Enough Filming Locations
• The World is Not Enough info

•  • [ e] The James Bond Films

"Official" (EON Productions) films Dr. No • From Russia with Love • Goldfinger • Thunderball • You Only Live Twice • On Her Majesty's Secret Service • Diamonds Are Forever • Live and Let Die • The Man with the Golden Gun • The Spy Who Loved Me • Moonraker • For Your Eyes Only • Octopussy • A View to a Kill • The Living Daylights • Licence to Kill • GoldenEye • Tomorrow Never Dies • The World Is Not Enough • Die Another Day • Casino Royale • Bond 22 "Unofficial" (licensed, non-EON) films Casino Royale (1954 TV) • Casino Royale (1967 satire) • Never Say Never Again