Brosnan's World Is Not Enough?

Muston · November 2012

Following on from the 'Goldeneye is best' post, I thought I'd see what love is out there for TWINE, one of my top 5 Bond films. Other fans I've spoken to have always panned Brosnan's 3rd outing and I don't know why? I love this one, despite some of it's short comings. This is as close as Brosnan got to being the 'real' James Bond. I like the fact that he gets used and hurt and also in the PTS he looks very cool but pissed off. The final show down in the sub is also very strong. Its one of those Bond films I never get bored of watching. Sorry if this has been posted about before :007)

DTReinsma · November 2012

I love TWINE. One of my favorites despite Denise Richards. I feel the PTS is the best in the series, especially the scene in the Swiss bankers office. The way he handles everyone is bad ass. The look on his face when he shoots the banker is pure Bond to me.

minigeff · November 2012

"Wait, stop! It isn't finished!"

Cue the best chase sequence from a Bond film.

BIG TAM · November 2012

I didn't care for THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH at first but enjoy it more & more on repeated viewings. It has its problems, principally the complete waste of Robert Carlyle, an unfocused plot & yet another totally unfunny Q scene (with the addition of equally unfunny John Cleese). But Sophie Marceau is excellent & there's a comforting feel to the whole film. Not exactly classic then but I always find myself enjoying it as it unfolds.

Barry Nelson · November 2012

I love TWINE, it is my favorite Brosnan Bond and probably in the top 5 of all Bond films.

Opening PTS is excellent, especially the Swiss banker scene which I think is pure Bond.

Sophie Marceau is one of the better bad Bond girls the series has had. Elektra torturing Bond near the end of the film was a good lead in to the climax of the movie.

Some excellent action scenes like the shoot-out in the underground missle storage facility, which includes an excellent Bond, James Bond moment. As Bond and Christmas get on the lift to escape the explosions Christmas says, so you're a British spy, do you have a name, Brosnan responds, "Bond", shoots something (I forget what) that launches the lift up and adds "James Bond".

The final Q scene is very sentimental and well played by Brosnan.

I thought Robert Carlyle was excellent., something of a sympathetic bad guy.

Robbie Coltrane adds some light humor to the movie.

Bond seducing Dr. Warmflash to get medical clearance is another Bond moment.

The film has a good look and what I think is the best David Arnold soundtrack.

I also don't think Denise Richards is as bad as others think, she was given some awful lines to try and deliver, which isn't her fault. Plus, she was very nice to look at.

So overall, I thought the film was very enjoyable, with some classic moments and one I have watched time and again.

Napoleon Plural · November 2012

My fave Brosnan film, though I admit GE looks better and has better action; it unfolds better in terms of going from one scene to another.

The witty lines work, Renard is a bit of a feint admittedly and like the latest villain, is built up a bit too much and doesn't follow through.

It's the only Bond film that I've liked unreservedly in a long time. the one I'm least inclined to nitpick unlike all of them since. However, it is a bit diminished on the small screen.

Colonel Shatner · November 2012

Not quite the traincrash that was Die Another Day but still decidedly mediocre and the Brosnan era was getting rapidly stale here. It felt padded and disjointed much like GE but with less of the charm and energy than in either Brosnan's first movie and TND. The general plot was recycled from AVTaK (which in turn was copied from Goldfinger). It blew its wad early with the excellent Thames boat chase, with the other action scenes being somehow not as interesting. Bond's car fired a rocket then got sawn in half. Denise Richards was ridiculous and her character should've been played by Marg Helgenberger (more convincing as a nuclear scientist and more in Brosnan's age range).

wormlover · November 2012

As much as I love and feel nostalgic towards GoldenEye I think TWINE is my favourite Brosnan Bond movie. Despite the fact that Bond's BMW gets torn up in a matter of seconds it makes up for it with one of the best chase scenes in a Bond movie (the boat chase down the Thames).

Every time I watch it it sucks be back to the millennium when the hype about the millennium dome was so big and before it was just a lousy museum with that giant body sculpture. I also always spot London's most "hated" (use that term loosely- he won some competition I believe) parking meter maid get soaked by Brosnan's boat.

Besides that it was the finale for Desmond As Q who made a fantastic exit and of course Robbie Coltrane and Robert Carlyle were fantastic as their respective characters. Even Goldie makes me smile, the cheeky sod!

Blackleiter · November 2012

I agree TWINE is the best one or two Brosnan Bonds, and the weaknesses you identified are probably the reason I don't rate it in the top 10. Certainly one of the best PTSs of them all, and Sophie Marceau definitely lifted the film a few notches. But the waste of Carlyle was a real disappointment, especially since he is such an excellent actor and his character, Renard, had such a potentially interesting quirk (imperviousness to pain) that was barely used at all.

BIG TAM wrote:

I didn't care for THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH at first but enjoy it more & more on repeated viewings. It has its problems, principally the complete waste of Robert Carlyle, an unfocused plot & yet another totally unfunny Q scene (with the addition of equally unfunny John Cleese). But Sophie Marceau is excellent & there's a comforting feel to the whole film. Not exactly classic then but I always find myself enjoying it as it unfolds.

bailorg · November 2012

I think my biggest problem with TWINE is: why does Elektra think she's so special that Bond actually loves her to the point where he won't shoot her. I just saw nothing in the rest of the movie that would make that idea remotely believable.

Luke · November 2012

I find TWINE to be a very comfortable movie. It has gone down considerably in my list over the years, but I can always watch it without feeling bored or embarrassed. It may be one of the easiest Bond films to half-watch. It has a pleasant pace, a plot that doesn't demand too much attention, and action scenes that are oddly relaxing.

Moore Than · November 2012

I didn't like The World Is Not Enough much at all to begin with then warmed to it over the following years. But it's gone a bit cold again. I really enjoy the PTS, the pipeline action scene, Bond shooting Elektra King is dramatic, and Valentin Zukovsky livens things up. But there's not much else I enjoy. I don't buy how easily Bond falls for Elektra, I regard her as so-so, Renard is an under developed character and pretty unmemorable, the action scene with the parahawks makes no sense regarding the plot, and the ending is rather dull.

Virgil37 · November 2012

Brosnan´s best for me by a long shot. The story is well developed and believable, the stunts mostly feel real and are well integrated in the plot (GE/TND/DAD have the most unrealistic, far fetched and frankly laughable stunts in the whole series), and the characters are all well written. The plot has good twists and surprises. I specially like the relationship between Bond and Elektra (Sophie Marceau is Brosnan´s best Bond girl and one of the best of the whole series),and M´s kidnap. Brosnan (or the script) finally managed to balance the humour with the gritty aspects of Bond giving his best performance.

The worst is all related to Christmas Jones character, the movie would improve without a Lara Croft clone.

I clearly remember coming out of the theatre and thinking that after the big disappointments of GE and TND (not to mention the 6 year gap since LTK), EON had finally made a good movie, and there was a future for Bond.

Luke · November 2012

Virgil37 wrote:

I clearly remember coming out of the theatre and thinking that after the big disappointments of GE and TND (not to mention the 6 year gap since LTK), EON had finally made a good movie, and there was a future for Bond.

I actually rank TND quite closely to TWINE. I suppose I'm a bit lost on the distinction. Both films have a pretty solid cast, but I don't find Elliott Carver or Renard all that interesting as characters (blame it on those dogged writers, Pulvis and Wade), and I don't find the chemistry between Bond and Wai Lin/Elektra King very magnetic either (blame it on the Brozzer's fine but narrow acting ability).

The theme songs are almost identical, the cinematography in both films is pretty standard and at times "TV"ish, and the final acts of both films are rather duddish.

I'm as big a fan of Sophie Marceau as the next man, but then I also light a candle to Michelle Yeoh and even Halle Berry now and then, and you don't see me giving DAD the time of day.

I guess I don't understand the distinction. To me, they both suffer from similar flaws and feel like mediocre, fogettable 90s action movies. I still find myself watching them from time to time though, so perhaps something draws me to them that I am afraid to admit.

Virgil37 · November 2012

Luke wrote:

Virgil37 wrote:

I clearly remember coming out of the theatre and thinking that after the big disappointments of GE and TND (not to mention the 6 year gap since LTK), EON had finally made a good movie, and there was a future for Bond.

I actually rank TND quite closely to TWINE. I suppose I'm a bit lost on the distinction. Both films have a pretty solid cast, but I don't find Elliott Carver or Renard all that interesting as characters (blame it on those dogged writers, Pulvis and Wade), and I don't find the chemistry between Bond and Wai Lin/Elektra King very magnetic either (blame it on the Brozzer's fine but narrow acting ability).

The theme songs are almost identical, the cinematography in both films is pretty standard and at times "TV"ish, and the final acts of both films are rather duddish.

I'm as big a fan of Sophie Marceau as the next man, but then I also light a candle to Michelle Yeoh and even Halle Berry now and then, and you don't see me giving DAD the time of day.

I guess I don't understand the distinction. To me, they both suffer from similar flaws and feel like mediocre, fogettable 90s action movies. I still find myself watching them from time to time though, so perhaps something draws me to them that I am afraid to admit.

I agree that Michelle Yeoh is not bad, and I could say nothing bad about Halle Berry. Both great Bond girls.

However, Elliot Carver is, IMHO, the worst villain ever of the whole series. Johnathan Pryce is so over the top on TND that I could be watching Austin Powers instead. Sophie Marceau and Robert Carlyle are much more menacing and real, IMO. I like much better the story of TWINE and the stunts are not gratuituous.
Obviously everything is personal taste. That´s how I felt back when they were released, and that´s how I feel now. I recently saw all Brosnan movies and to me TWINE is by far Brosnan´s best (which makes it an average Bond film, and is still miles behind CR, for instance)

Jarvio · November 2012

Other than Goldeneye, I was never that fond of Brosnan's films. None of them were bad films by any means (Well, maybe DAD was), but they just didn't do much for me either. Having said that though, they're still bond films and I still enjoy them.

TWINE is probably my second favourite Brosnan film (my favourite being Goldeneye). I rank TWINE very close with TND. Both have their good points, but what gives TWINE the edge IMO is 1 - Elektra King being a very interesting villainess, and 2 - The return of Valentin. I was partiularly fond of the scene in the maiden's tower where elektra has bond trapped, and valentin frees him by gunshot - Lots of tension there and a highlight of the film IMO. Unfortunately though, Denise Richard's character really does suck.

Virgil37 · November 2012

Jarvio wrote:

I was partiularly fond of the scene in the maiden's tower where elektra has bond trapped, and valentin frees him by gunshot - Lots of tension there and a highlight of the film IMO. Unfortunately though, Denise Richard's character really does suck.

That scene is very good, classic . Brosnan´s movies don´t have that many but TWINE has at least two: the PTS and that one.

chrisisall · November 2012

I like Brosnan's three about equally. In fact, more than Craig's three (I really like them though, even QOS), yet less than Dalton's two.
So yeah, TWINE is up there for me.

Silhouette Man · November 2012

TWINE is great - one of the most complex of the Bonds and all the better for it!

Agent82 · November 2012

chrisisall wrote:

I like Brosnan's three about equally. In fact, more than Craig's three (I really like them though, even QOS), yet less than Dalton's two.
So yeah, TWINE is up there for me.

But he made 4 films. Unless you do not count DAD. Which I don't think anyone would really argue with here.

)

moonraker84 · November 2012

Agent82 wrote:

chrisisall wrote:

I like Brosnan's three about equally. In fact, more than Craig's three (I really like them though, even QOS), yet less than Dalton's two.
So yeah, TWINE is up there for me.

But he made 4 films. Unless you do not count DAD. Which I don't think anyone would really argue with here. )

DAD isnt great but i prefer it to TND,

)
Worst Bond film imo.

Blood_Stone · November 2012

I always thought The World Is Not Enough was Brosnan's best film. Even better than Goldeneye. To me, TWINE's only flaw was the miscasting of Denise Richards.

I think my biggest problem with TWINE is: why does Elektra think she's so special that Bond actually loves her to the point where he won't shoot her. I just saw nothing in the rest of the movie that would make that idea remotely believable.

Well, she was crazy.

Brosnan's World Is Not Enough?

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