the most depressing thing about the depressingly pedestrian james bond film " the world is not enough " is its final frame : white letters on a black background proclaiming " james bond will return .
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oh i certainly hope not .
with pierce brosnan in his third and reportedly last go - round as james bond 007 , " the world is not enough " is the best example to date that " ' enough " is enough .
in this , the 19th chapter in the seemingly - endless franchise featuring ian fleming 's debonair british secret agent who likes his martinis -- and his nemeses -- shaken not stirred , the sub - inspired screenwriters have chosen to rehash all of the setups , stunts , and sexy encounters of the previous 18 bond flicks rather than coming up with anything the slightest bit original .
we 've got previously - used speedboat chases , ski chases , and sticky situations aboard nuclear submarines .
we 've got a couple of hot - to - trot babes without an ounce of acting ability between them .
we 've got a post - cold war megalomaniac bent on world domination slash destruction ( here played by a skinheaded robert carlyle with mean , lean panache ) .
and , as has been the case since 1977 's " the spy who loved me , " we 've got a plot that has nothing whatsoever to do with anything conceived by mr . fleming .
we 've also got a main title song by garbage to which , with very little effort , you can fit the lyrics to * both * songs from " tomorrow never dies .
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while originality was never the series ' strong suit , the films were almost always fun , with at least some thought going into the nonstop stunts .
i ca n't think of one memorable set - piece in the entire -- and very dull-- " the world is not enough .
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in addition , michael apted ( yes , the respected director of such films as " coal miner 's daughter , " " nell , " and the " 28up " documentary series ) takes embarrassing advantage of the full range of bond clich ?
s
.
you get the " talking killer " plot device -- you know the scenario : the bad guy has the good guy at his mercy yet waxes poetic just long enough to die of old age .
and you get a slew of high - priced assassins who ca n't hit a barn door at 20 paces : in the film 's opening minutes ( of an endless 128 ) , bond chases a sultry sniper along the thames and the leather - clad lovely fails to hit bond 's souped - up " fishing boat " with a bazooka when he pulls within a few feet of her .
later , she takes off in a hot air balloon with bond dangling from a guy rope beneath her but is still unable to take him out .
these reliable absurdities are more frustrating than usual since there are no distractions other than occasional ads for luxury automobiles , vodka , or credit cards .
in and among the rampant product placements , brosnan grapples with carlyle , " braveheart " 's sophie marceau ( as former kidnap victim slash heiress elektra king ; she 's terrible ) , " wild things " ' denise richards ( as a nuclear physicist lord help me ; she 's laughable ) , and judi dench as m .
dame judi brings the only shred of dignity to a series that has long since jettisoned its self - respect ( about the time roger moore inherited bond 's walther ppk ) .
brosnan goes through the motions with the grace and charm you 'd expect of the former " remington steele " star , but even he has to be thinking there 's more to life than an easy paycheck .
he 's given plenty of wiseacre asides to deliver , but only one of them-- " i do n't know any doctor jokes
" --made
me chuckle ( although " i thought christmas only comes once a year " is more in keeping with the series ' penchant for grown - worthy puns ) .
depressingly pedestrian these reliable absurdities are more frustrating than usual she 's laughable sub - inspired screenwriters in and among the rampant product placements takes embarrassing advantage of the full range of bond clich ? s i ca n't think of one memorable set - piece