The World Is Not Enough
review by Justin Meyers
Rated PG-13
Studio: MGM
Starring Pierce Brosnan, Sophie Marceau, Robert
Carlyle, Denise Richards, Robbie Coltrane, Dame Judi Dench,
and Desmond Llewelyn
Running Time: 128 Minutes
Written by Neal Pervis & Robert Wade and Bruce
Feirstein
Story by Neal Pervis & Robert Wade
Directed by Michael Apted
Retail Price: 34.95
Features: Audio Commentary with Michael Apted, Audio
Commentary with Peter Lamont, Vic Armstrong, David Arnold,
Featurettes, Music Video, Collectible Booklet
Specs: 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, 5.1 Dolby
Digital English, English Captions, Spanish Captions, French
Captions, Chapter Search
When you think of James Bond, you think of explosions,
gadgets, beautiful women, and unstoppable action. The World
is Not Enough is no different. This marks the 19th Bond
movie, and in my opinion is the best script since the good
old Connery days. Since then, it hasn't felt like the real
James Bond, but Bond is back, and he's better then ever.
Pierce Brosnan returns for the third time as Agent 007. His
style and flair makes this a great movie and an awesome
Bond, much better then his two other efforts as the secret
agent in Goldeneye and Tomorrow Never Dies.
When the suave Agent 007 (Brosnan) is assigned to protect
a beautiful oil heiress (Marceau). He is catapulted into a
passionate, adrenaline-charged adventure that pits him
against one of his most deadly adversaries. Renard (Carlyle)
is a ruthless anarchist whose total imperviousness to pain
makes him a virtually unstoppable enemy.
When I saw The World is Not Enough in the theater, I knew
as I walked out that this was going to be a great DVD. Boy
was I right! With this disc there could be no wrong. MGM
really made a great one here and I stand up and give them an
applause. Though it is a good movie, this DVD wouldn't be as
good without a beautiful disc like MGM supplied us with
here. The only thing that I missed was the tribute to Q,
which was included on the VHS version, other then that small
detail the disc is amazing. This is one of my favorite discs
in my collection.
The World is Not Enough's picture is amazing. It is
presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and is flawless.
Colors and flesh tones are firm and natural. Blacks and
shadows appear with detail and accuracy. I couldn't find any
evidence of edge enhancement or smear. There are zero
problems associated with this transfer. It is spectacularly
detailed and sharp. To get a great example of the colors on
the disc, watch the opening boat chase at 7:55. You will see
how great the colors of this movie really are; they
literally leap off the screen. This was a pure delight to
watch, thanks to MGM. You have to see the movie to believe
how good it is.
The sound of The World is Not Enough is Dolby Digital 5.1
and it is one of the best and boldest mixes I have ever
heard. The smallest detail like the splashes of water and
the slight explosions give it the reality it needs. It is
always active and kicks up the bass for every detail. The
direction effects move around a lot with the gunfire and the
dialogue. It makes constant use of the split surround. The
sound is reference quality; this is the DVD to show off your
player. It is better then the Goldeneye and Tomorrow Never
Dies Special Editions. This movie is a must, just for the
sound quality. If there was ever a movie to compare the
sound quality to, it is Saving Private Ryan.
For the best example of the quality of the video and
sound go to 1:03:44, the gun fire and then the explosion
will really rock your sound system and give you something
really great to look at. Another example of the
extraordinary video and sound is at 33:11. The whole skiing
scene is spectacular and will really impress you and your
system.
There are two commentary tracks on the DVD of The World
is Not Enough. The first commentary track is with director
Michael Apted. It is screen-specific. He pauses only three
times. It is informative and refers to the directoral style,
which has some tidbits on the making of the movie. It also
tells you how he and other filmmakers attacked this project.
I immensely enjoyed this commentary track. The other
commentary track features the production designer Peter
Lamont, the second unit director Vic Armstrong, and the
composer David Arnold. It is screen-specific too and talks
about pretty much everything, from all the set design, to
the music. It is pretty insightful with three different
people talking about their different jobs, but it gets
highly technical. Huge fans will love these commentary
tracks.
There is a 15-minute featurette that is pretty good and
fun to watch. It is hosted by Leanza Cornett and has
interviews with Pierce Brosnan, Michael Apted, the late
Desmond Llewelyn, and Denise Richards. It has some great
information and some behind the scene footage. Though short,
it is packed with information. It covers everything from the
casting decisions to the scale of the big budget
blockbuster.
There is an alternate video option where you can watch
the making of some of the key action scenes while you watch
the movie. You press enter when the white 007 logo appears
at the bottom of the screen. It is fun to watch how they
made the stunts. There are behind the scene photos and black
and white sketch drawings here also.
There is a music video by Garbage called ironically The
World is Not Enough. It is presented in non-anamorphic
widescreen and the video and audio quality are as good as
the movie. There is a theatrical trailer, which has some
great music and key scenes in it. It is in good quality but
not as good as the movie, but is in anamorphic widescreen
and Dolby Digital 5.1.
There is also a collectible booklet in the box,
personally I think it should have been transferred to the
DVD. There was enough room to do this, but the booklet is
nice to have anyway. It gives you some great information
about the movie and the cast and crew. The extras make this
almost superb DVD even better. You will have hours and hours
of enjoyment.
As far as the menus go, the only thing I can say is WOW.
From when you turn insert the DVD into your player you will
be amazed at how spectacular the menus really are. As it
loads up it tells you "Welcome to this World is not Enough
Special Edition DVD" and then when you activate the code it
takes you through a mesmerizing tunnel to the menu where
there are red tinted scenes of the movie playing in the
background. All the menus are themed to the movie as the
Bond theme song plays as you pick your destination. The
scene selection menu is animated with captions under the
scenes. This is truly a great presentation of The World is
Not Enough.
I thought The World is Not Enough was the best Bond film
in more then 20 years. Pierce Brosnan has really shined as
007. I think he was made for the role. What really sets this
film out from the rest of the 90s Bonds is its story, while
hardly intellectual, at least gives us enough twists and
turns in the plot to ensure that concentration is required
at all times. While most of the supporting actors were good,
Denise Richards was way out of her league. She did the best
she could with the material though but it seemed she was
only there to get young men into the theater. Sophie Marceau
and Robbie Coltrane shined as the supporting cast. I liked
Q's exit; it seemed he was trying to say good-bye without
making a big spectacle about it. The special effects were
excellent. I'm glad James Bond can return every few years,
because there is so much they can do with CGI and effects
now that they couldn't do in the 60's and 70's. It was a
really great movie and an awesome disc. I hope the Bond 20
DVD is this good, because yes James Bond will return.
This DVD is staggeringly good. For a single disc Special
Edition, this should be the reference that all the studio's
need for creating the very best DVD. From the Menus to the
extras, this is the must have for any action lover and
especially for the average Bond fan. If you have not already
bought this DVD, what are you waiting for? Get up right now
and buy it! If you are a fan of 007, you will not be
disappointed!
 (4/5, NOT included in
final score)
 (4.55/5)
(4.5/5)
(4/5)
(4/5,
NOT an average)
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