The World Is Not Enough

Better than the last?

Eh, it's kind of a toss up. Tomorrow Never Dies is just a bit of action entertainment to watch on a lazy afternoon this one is more standard Bond fare. It's very well done and story wise is the best of the Brosnan era, with Bond protecting an oil tycoon's daughter after he is murdered by a rogue criminal only to slowly fall for the woman and hunt down her father's killer. I would say this is Brosnan's best performance, mainly because he has more material to work with and can occasionally prod more emotional levels while still having his classic Bond persona present. Sophie Marceau is great as Elektra King, sort of a combo of Tracey and Tania with a dash of Fiona Vulpe, she is lovely in this movie and has a big impact on the series' standards. Robert Carlyle makes for an interesting villain as Renard if only because of his relationship with Elektra and I do quite like the whole backstory that he got shot in the head but didn't die and the bullet is killing off all his senses slowly while making him stronger, that's kinda cool. I may get some good grief over this but I don't hate Denise Richards as Christmas Jones, yeah it's silly to think she could be a nuclear physicist and her line delivery isn't always top notch but I've seen worse in this series and she's barely in the movie until past the halfway mark. She never annoyed me or made me roll my eyes, she was just there so I never took great issue with her. I quite like how M has a more prominent role in this and actually gets dragged into the danger, it helps up the stakes and get you more invested near the end. The action is more lax this time around though that pre-title sequence is great, but it's really not that kind of Bond film and it's more about Bond and Renard's relationship with Elektra which is handled very well. It's never dull and I guess I do enjoy it more than the last movie. I'd give it a solid 8/10 this time around. I somehow doubt the next movie will do as well, if good at all but we shall wait and see as I review the movie that put the Bond franchise on hold for many years, Die Another Day.