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The World Is Not Enough

Movie · 1999 · 15 people

Pierce Brosnan's third outing as agent 007 came in The World Is Not Enough, which Michael Apted directed in 1999 as the nineteenth entry in Eon Productions' James Bond series. Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Bruce Feirstein wrote the original screenplay, and the title is a translation of Orbis non sufficit, the Bond family motto. Reviews were mixed, with the plot and Denise Richards' casting often criticised, yet it earned over $361 million worldwide, eighth among 1999 releases.

The story begins with oil magnate Sir Robert King killed by the terrorist Renard. M fears King's daughter Elektra (Sophie Marceau), once kidnapped by Renard for ransom, is a target and sends Bond to protect her. The case leads to Azerbaijan, where he uncovers a plan to trigger a nuclear meltdown in Istanbul's waters to raise oil prices. He teams up with physicist Dr. Christmas Jones and must also rescue M. Robert Carlyle, Judi Dench and Maria Grazia Cucinotta are also in the cast.

Filming took place in Spain, France, Azerbaijan, Turkey and the UK. The building shown as Baku is really the Küçüksu Pavilion in Beykoz, Istanbul. It was the first Eon Bond film released under the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer label instead of United Artists, and Garbage performed the theme song. It was Desmond Llewelyn's last film.

DirectorMichael Apted
Production companyEon Productions

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Cast

Only cast members with a profile on this site are listed.

Sophie Marceau Sophie Marceau Actor · 59 years old Maria Grazia Cucinotta Maria Grazia Cucinotta Actor · 58 years old Pierce Brosnan Robert Carlyle Denise Richards Judi Dench Robbie Coltrane Desmond Llewelyn John Cleese Serena Scott Thomas Goldie Ulrich Thomsen Colin Salmon David Calder Judi Shekoni

Through different eyes

Action & Thriller Fan Puts pace, tension and set pieces first; little patience for slow drama.

Everything you expect from Bond is here: an international conspiracy, an adventure spread across several countries and the threat of a nuclear disaster in Istanbul's waters. As the danger grows, so does the pace, and the fact that Bond has to rescue M as well as protect an heiress makes it personal. If you like the Brosnan-era Bonds, the scale and tension you want are all here.

History & Society Lens Asks about the period, the social background and what the work reflects.

For Turkish viewers, the interesting thing is that Istanbul plays both itself and somewhere else: the building presented as Baku is really the Küçüksu Pavilion in Beykoz. That small detail says something about how easily the region can be blurred together when seen from outside. More importantly, a plot built around oil prices, Azerbaijan and Istanbul's waters reflects how strategic energy routes looked at the end of the 1990s. The villain's scheme may be over the top, but the anxiety behind it was far from detached from the news of its day.

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

The nineteenth entry shows the formula's strength and its fatigue at the same time. After the opening assassination, the script strains to hold its oil, terrorism and bodyguard threads together, so it is no surprise that contemporary reviews targeted the plot above all. Casting Denise Richards as the physicist was also among the most criticised choices. On the other hand, Judi Dench's M stops being a figure who just gives orders and becomes someone who needs rescuing, adding an unusual vulnerability to the series. As Desmond Llewelyn's last film it carries a sense of an era closing, while the box office proved the formula still worked.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

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