In these kinds of films, the tendency is to get
a little carried away and push the suspension of disbelief way
too far. Instead of being entertained, I'm sitting there thinking
"....naah... I'm not buying this". The last Bond Film
"Tomorrow Never Dies" really blew chunks, and I was
thinking maybe it's time to stop giving these people my money.
But I saw the trailer for the new one and the explosions were
nice and bright and the stunts were really happening, so I figured
what the hell. I'll bite.
I was pleasently surprised. "The World is Not Enough" is a nice, enjoyable blend of spectacular action, spectacular locations, spectacular property damage, mild to medium intrigue and spectacular sex (well, as spectacular as PG-13 allows).
Nothing deflates any flick more than a half-assed cardboard cutout villain. Robert Carlyle (from Trainspotting and The Full Monty) is one of the best Bond Villains ever. "The World..." delivers more great stunts and less dorky special effects than usual. Stunts rule. The plot twists lean towards the interesting side of absurd.
In short, this was one of the better Bond films. A fine way to gelatinize the brain and escape everyday woes for two hours. I'm still waiting to see some references to Jungian mythology and John Updike's literary output from the 1970's, but in the meantime, gratuitous carnage has never looked so good.